Even Hong Kong, these days.
It's a shame, too. China has some really great cultural sites, substantial natural beauty, cosmopolitan cities, and excellent and varied cuisine. It would be a great tourist destination under a different government.
This is average schmuk stuff in China.
These are the people with the means to challenge the power structure, and they are watched more closely.
If someone in this wealth range holds up a blank piece of paper, they may end up in jail.
With any foreign country you should understand their cultural norms and laws. Your own ignorance is a valid consideration for travel, not being arrested as a political prisoner. You won't get in any trouble as a tourist or business person 99% of the time.
So there is 1% chance; and why would I take even 1% chance of getting into troubled country?
Good luck getting any Canadian that is not a dual citizen with China to visit, especially because CCP tyranny combined with Trudeau's incompetence cost these two people almost 3 years of their lives in Chinese detention.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detention_of_Michael_Spavor_an...
1. My visa took less than a week. In SF, where the consulate is busier than usual.
2. This is actually better than the last time I was there in 2019. Alipay now supports international credit cards.
3. Very true. Direct flights are rare.
4. It's annoying that even Gmail etc are blocked. VPNs that worked pre-Covid don't work anymore. The only thing that reliably worked was my roaming T-Mobile connection (but slow...)
5. This was always the case at my previous employer. We were issued temporary Chromebooks that were wiped after we returned. This time, I was extra careful and took a burner phone and left my personal phone off till I got to HK.
1. You need an onerous-to-obtain visa to visit. There is no visa exemption.
2. Banking is a total pain for a foreigner. Many places only accept Alipay or Wechat, which require a Chinese bank account. Cash doesn't work well either, because the largest denomination is tiny.
3. Many US-China flights were canceled in the pandemic and never restarted afterwards. As a result, flights to China are expensive.
4. The Western apps are commonly blocked in China, and the local apps don't have an English translation. Your smartphone is a lot less useful in China.
5. Many US employers ban their employees from bringing company equipment (laptops) into China for fear of corporate espionage.
6. Lots of reports of hostile behavior toward westerners...
The list could go on. There's a reason e.g. Japanese tourism is booming!