Use China Footnotes in your AI assistant

China Footnotes can answer questions inside ChatGPT, Claude and other assistants that support MCP connectors. The assistant asks our server for sourced facts and links back to the place pages.

Connector address: https://chinafootnotes.com/mcp

It needs no account or sign-in, and it only reads the published guide.

Add it

We plan to list China Footnotes in the ChatGPT and Claude directories. Until then, you can add it by address:

• ChatGPT: open Plugins, select +, choose Add custom MCP server, paste the address above, choose no authentication and select Create as a plugin. Whether you can add one depends on your account and workspace settings.
• Claude: open Customize › Connectors, select + Add › Add custom connector, paste the address above and choose No sign in. Free plans allow one custom connector; on Team and Enterprise plans an owner adds it under Organization settings first.

Then ask as usual, for example "Is Yu Garden open on Monday, and can I buy a ticket with my passport?"

What it can do

• search_places: find places by name (English or Chinese), area, or filters for city, type and tag.
• get_place: one place's full entry: why go, opening hours, tickets, booking and passport notes, getting there, notices, traveler tips and sources.
• list_pretrip_topics: the "Before you go" topics: when to go, visa, paying, internet, apps, booking ahead, getting around, safety.
• get_pretrip_topic: one of those topics in full.
• get_current_notices: dated notices in effect today, such as holiday traffic controls or temporary closures.

Coverage today: Shanghai (50 places), Beijing (20 places), Xi’an (10 places), Chengdu (12 places), Chongqing (10 places), plus the pre-trip topics.

What it does not do

• It does not book tickets or hotels and does not take payments.
• Facts show the date we read their source; they are not live confirmation for today.
• Traveler tips are summaries of other travelers' posts, not official rules.

Privacy

The connector receives only the search words, filters (city, type, tag), place id or topic id the assistant sends, and stores nothing. Read the full privacy policy.

Other ways for software to read the guide

• Plain-text overview for language models: https://chinafootnotes.com/llms.txt
• Read-only JSON API: https://chinafootnotes.com/api/openapi.json

Questions: Help and feedback · Terms of use · Back to the guide