Editorial Policy

Effective October 25, 2026

Becoming Chinese publishes independent explanatory guides. Accuracy, useful scope, and a clear distinction between verified facts, cultural interpretation, and personal preference take priority over publishing volume or promotional language.

Source hierarchy

When a claim can affect a real-world decision, we prefer sources in this order:

1. The responsible government authority, regulator, court, standards body, or service provider.
2. Peer-reviewed research, recognized public-health institutions, universities, and museums.
3. Established specialist reporting or documentation that identifies its evidence and date.
4. First-hand experience used as an example, clearly separated from a universal rule.

Videos, forums, search-result pages, and general travel articles may help identify questions or lived experiences, but they should not be the sole support for a consequential or changeable factual claim.

Dynamic facts and verification dates

Entry rules, work and residence requirements, payments, banking, transport, app features, prices, health and safety guidance, and internet access can change. High-risk guides should display a “Last verified” date and describe their audience or scope. Readers should still check the linked authority before acting.

A modified or verified date is changed only after a substantive review. Formatting changes, spelling fixes, or automated builds do not justify presenting an article as newly verified.

Editorial review labels

“Editorial review” means the page has been checked against this policy by the site's publishing workflow. It is not a claim of specialist medical, legal, financial, or immigration review. If qualified specialist review is added in the future, the reviewer's name, role, and relevant qualification should appear on that page.

Cultural and health claims

We avoid treating China as culturally uniform. Articles should identify regional, generational, or situational variation where it matters. Traditional explanations and beliefs are labelled as such and are not presented as established medical mechanisms.

Advertising and external links

Advertising may appear around articles, but it does not determine editorial conclusions. A link is not an endorsement, and external pages may change after publication. Sources are selected for relevance and evidence rather than for whether they link back to this site.

Corrections

Factual challenges are assessed against the strongest available evidence. Material corrections update the relevant article and its modification or verification date. See the corrections policy for the information needed to review a report.