Biometrics & Appointment Prep Checklist

If you're building a life in Chengdu, ignore the tourist framing for a minute.

Biometrics & Appointment Prep Checklist looks simple until you try to make it survive a normal month.

Layer one: non-negotiables

Money, time, legal constraints. If those aren't clear, every recommendation is cosplay.

Two payment methods, always.

Layer two: temperament

Some people need quiet compounds. Some need walkable chaos. Pretending you're the other type lasts about six weeks.

Two payment methods, always.

Layer three: street-level truth

You'll feel it in details — QR codes that feel like oxygen — long before you feel it in a ranking blog.

• One primary option
• One backup in your district
• One expensive break-glass option for emergencies

What I'd ignore

Advice that assumes unlimited energy. Also any plan that circles back to changing SIMs without telling your bank.

Write your decision with a date. Revise after thirty ordinary days.

If two options are close, choose the one closer to home. Travel friction compounds.

Protect your Tuesday-night self. That's who has to live with this.