Green is the colour in China and here’s why. As the pandemic continues globally and vaccinations continue to be rolled out, there is hope that an end is in sight. China seems to have gotten through the worst of it and has successfully gotten the virus under control, now hard at work trying to maintain a zero tolerance objective with regards to stopping the virus, with the majority of the middle kingdom now back to a semblance of normality. Trying to keep the virus at bay, the new normal now requires all travelers, local or foreign, whether your teaching English in China, working or studying here, to have a green health code and itinerary pass. This is to be shown to security to gain access and enter certain public places in China - airports, metro stations, hotels, shopping malls, tourist attractions etc. We’ll show you how you can apply for this and the best way to use it. 

Almost all provinces in China have launched their own provincial health code and itinerary card mini-programs or apps, which we’ll go into later. However the Chinese government has also launched a nationwide health code for those without mainland Chinese IDs. Inbound foreign nationals may apply for the health code to enable consistent and convenient inbound travel across the country. 

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Nationwide Health Code

To apply for China’s nationwide health code, you’ll need to search for the National Government Service Platform (国家政府服务平台) mini-program on WeChat or Alipay, or you can download the app directly from your app store. Enter those Chinese characters in the search and it shall come up. Once you’ve opened the program or app, you should see the below. 

• To apply for your health code click the circled ‘Health Code Traveler Version’ in the left picture above. This is specifically for foreigners and is in English for ease. 

• Once you’ve clicked on it you will be taken to the Pandemic Prevention Health Information Code where you’ll be able to register. Once you’ve registered you’ll just have to fill in some additional forms about your health and entry into China. 

• Then once you’ve submitted if your healthy and of low risk, voila, you should get your green health code, see top right. Please be aware you may not see the green health code immediately it may take up to 12 hours before it is visible, you’ll need to check back a few times. 

And if you have any technical issue like I did, as my code was just black and said there was no health information for me, you will need to contact tech at the following email: [email protected] and verify your details and health. They are usually very responsive and will get back to you within 12 hours or within 24 hours at most. 

Now you’ve got your green health code you can go almost anywhere in China. Enjoy! 

*Tip: When you need to login and show your health code, better to show Chinese version rather than English so locals can understand. It’s quite simple to do this, when logging in, just click ‘中文’ in the top right corner and input your phone number and password. 

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Nationwide Itinerary Card/Pass 

Some places may well require you not only to have the green health code but also an itinerary card/pass. This basically tracks you’re whereabouts within the last 14 days and gives you a pass if you haven’t been to any high-risk areas during the pandemic. 

• To get this, just open the Chinese National Government Service Platform (国家政府服务平台) mini-program or app again and this time click ‘通信行程卡’, circled in the pic below left, which is to the right of ‘health code traveler version’. 

• Once you’ve clicked ‘通信行程卡’ a window should pop up asking you if you allow to launch the mini-program, click ‘允许’ to allow and launch. 

• Then you will be taken to the page seen below on the right where you will need to input your phone number and verify it with a verification code. 

• Once you’ve verified your number then you’ll be taken to the page below left. just tick”同意并授权运营商查询本人在疫情期间14天内到访地信息”，which means agree and authorize the operator to inquire on the information about places you have visited within 14 past days during the pandemic, then click” 查询”，which means ”inquire”. It will then track your movements via your phone number, WeChat or Alipay data, and sim card, and whenever you’ve had to scan a health code. 

• If all is good and you’ve been to no high-risk areas, then you should get your green itinerary card/pass, seen in below right. Green is definitely a go! As you can see it details the places you’ve been to in the past 14 days. 

As for the itinerary card/pass, you can also download the app directly from your app store, just search ‘通信行程卡’. 

Most places that require your itinerary card/pass will have the code displayed where you just scan to reach your pass. For example as seen below. 

*Tip: For convenience you should just use the Chinese National Government Service Platform (国家政府服务平台) mini-program or app as this platform gives you access to both the health code and the itinerary card/pass. 

*Tip: To get to your health code and itinerary card as easily as possible, swipe down on your WeChat contacts page to see recently used mini-programs or just download the app to your phone.

The first mini-program is for the National Government Service Platform where you can access both health code and the itinerary card. 

The second mini-program is directly for the itinerary card. 

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As we touched upon before, most provinces in China have their own provincial level health code and itinerary card mini-programs. We’d recommend if you’re based in a certain city or province with their own, to use the specific health code for your region/area. Below is a list of some of the health codes or some of the key provinces in the country, which you can search the mini-program. 

As we’re based in Chengdu, Sichuan, for those teaching English in Sichuan, working in Sichuan or studying here or will be and who need to apply for a Sichuan Tianfu Health Code, you can do so via the following link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/M2ZGyo3bIVm0kHGAB_niBg.

For other provinces please search for their mini-program if able or contact the local foreign affairs bureau for more info. 

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We hope you’ve found our article useful. If you have any questions or have had any experiences relating to using the health codes in China and would like to share or elaborate, feel free to comment below.