Think you can't travel China without a tour? This Aussie proved otherwise

Move over, Tokyo. Driven by cheap eats, viral landscapes, and an itch for something fresh, Australians are turning their eyes toward China in record numbers.

But beyond the concrete jungles and the digital firewall, what is it actually like to ditch the tour group and go rogue?

Grace Henskes wasn't planning a trip to China when she fell down an online rabbit hole.

"I was planning a trip to Europe last year and then I got served a TikTok video ... of this place called Furong Ancient Town, and then I just went up on a deep dive on TikTok and totally pivoted my plans and decided to go to China," said Henskes, 32.

Initially expecting a concrete jungle, the Sydney advertising worker found a landscape packed with ancient towns, national parks and world-class street food.

In Beijing, she fell for seasoned pork parcels they call "meat pies" and King Pao chicken. In Chongqing', two Australian dollars bought eight "delectable" street-side bao buns.

"I think about them every day," Henskes said.

Rather than booking a group tour, Henskes booked a three-week trip through Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu and Beijing for herself and two friends.

Public transport was "super easy", she said, noting they relied heavily on trains and e-bikes.

Henskes studied Chinese language in high school, but she said the English signage, automated train announcements and helpful station staff made getting around seamless.

To bypass China's internet firewall, which blocks Google, WhatsApp and and Instagram, Henskes activated an eSIM with a built-in VPN before she left Australia.

She relied on a handful of apps day-to-day: Alipay and WeChat Pay for payments, AMap for navigation (because Google Maps isn't used in China, its maps are outdated and often inaccurate) and RedNote for food recommendations.

Through the Alipay app, she was able to use DiDi, a ride-hailing and delivery service like Uber.

"If you need to translate [language] in stores, whether they use WeChat Pay or Alipay, you can generally translate through those apps," she said.

To setup Alipay and WeChat Pay, she loaded money onto a Wise travel card as Chinese yuan, then linked this to those payment systems.

Her top tip? Plan ahead.

"I don't know how you'd go if you just try to wing it," she said.

"And they decorate them in really cool ways, so they're not just like a stall in the middle of the road. They're all painted with flowers or have certain themes."

Skyscanner search data shows China is rapidly gaining momentum. Flight searches for June and July surged 44 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, outpacing Japan's 41 per cent growth.

Skyscanner Australia Travel Expert, Jarrod Kris, attributes the spike to curiosity driven by social media.

He said travellers are recognising there is "far more to discover than many may have previously realised".

"Content on socials are introducing travellers to destinations, neighbourhoods and experiences they may not have considered before, inspiring many younger Australians to look beyond traditional favourites," he said.