r/chinalife

I am an American who is married to a Chinese woman. We live in the states but we visit China 4 months a year. I have many expat friends and acquaintances and most are stuck in china. They don’t love living in china but they don’t have options. They were not successful back home and many have families now. They are afraid if they went back home the couldn’t support their new family. They would only qualify for a warehouse job or maybe for a fast food job. I feel like the longer you sat in china the harder it is to get a job back home.

I have one friend who has been in china for 8 years. He has had multiple girlfriends in china and never had one back in the states. He Al’s told me he misses the weather back home ,his family and the food so much. He lost his job in china last year. So now he is stuck in Thailand waiting to get a visa or a job in china again. His parents want him back home but he feels like a failure back home.. He said he refuses to work at an Amazon warehouse or to clean toilets. His last job was at doing marketing at a mobile gaming studio. He helped them market games to the west.

I know another dude from the UK who wishes he can take his mixed kids back to the UK. He can’t afford international school in china so they attend public school. He wants them to go to high school back in ui but he can’t survive in the uk financially. He teaches English under the table in china and makes enough to support his family. His kids love the UK when they visited and even his wife prefers it there.

I have a white female acquaintance who is also stuck because she is too poor to sponsor her husband to get a US green card. She is miserable in China but she sucks it up to be with him.

It’s crazy how 80 percent of the expats I know don’t really like china but are basically stuck. Is this something that is common these days?

Edit- It is crazy to me how many of them will brag to me about how much fun they have here but in reality they are coping. They just can’t make it back home.

Seeing a lot of people in similar situations and curious what others have done.

This post isn't really realted to life in China per SE but I'm just curious to hear others opinions on this. For those who have also lived here for several years have you noticed a shift in favour of China from your home countries and has that affected how people interact or respond to you living there?

In the past year alone I've had dozens of people who had never expressed any interest in China whatsoever reach out to me about life here, it seems like everyone I know has visited China recently whether for a layover or designated trip.

I consider it a good thing overall that people are broadening their horizons but it also slightly irks me that when I first told people I wanted to move to China it was met with a lot of skepticism and 'why though?'s. Now those same people are posting online about how amazing their trip was and how they wish they could live here.

23f working at EF in Wuxi. Before I get crucified the contract is not bad, I get paid well, they helped me set everything up and my coworkers are all great. I’m not opposed to the schedule although sometimes I wish I had Sat & Sun off to go out and I am really dreading the summer busy season working six days a week. I am definitely capable of doing it but would prefer not to if I can.

My main problem is how lonely I’ve become. There are practically no expats here and I don’t really get along with the small community of them that are in my city. I’ve tried making friends with locals and practicing my chinese but I am treated like an attraction rather than a person. I guess these things are to be expected but it’s a lot more difficult than I anticipated.

Visiting Shanghai on my days off has been my saving grace. There is so much more community, constant events and activities and overall a better social scene for a young person craving that big city life.

How possible is it for me to end my contract here (started in march supposed to go to June 2027) and get a new job in Shanghai by summers end? I’m willing to pay however much to break it and my lease. I’ve sort of settled for this contract because people made it seem like getting to Shanghai was impossible and I also had doubts that it was realistic because of my race. But since getting here i’ve met a ton of people of all different backgrounds who have been able to secure a position in Shanghai. I don’t need to be directly in the city center but I would really like to be close to people and the friends i’ve made there. any advice is much appreciated.

So HR spoke to me the other day, and briefly explained to me the social insurance system. They showed me a table of consents breaking down how this will look on my finances (if anyone is interested you can DM me).

That's great, however they gave me two options.

1. Either I pay social insurance fully, with some of it refundable, but in the end I would have to pay a bit over 5k from the the total 7416rmb that the insurance costs (estimated % from my salary and in accordance with laws in my city)

2. Not pay SI, but sign a waiver that states that I was informed, and absolve the company of any legal responsibility (which from what I understand, has no legal weight in court)

Now, I have spoken to someone who is a bit more knowledgeable in this regard, and they did say that both options are illegal to even ask, but didn't have any advice other that lawyer up. I am asking here hoping that maybe someone encountered a situation like this and dealt with it. I like the job and the school and just would like to deal with this as peacefully as possible.

hiii :)) i’m looking to start my bachelor’s in china this coming fall. i’m pretty big into the gym and had a few questions about supplements/food and the like:

1.	how available are the typical gym supplements (creatine/multis/whey isolate/electrolytes/pre-workout/l-glutamine etc.) and hows the quality? are there any physical speciality stores or is everything better bought online? am i better off just stocking up at home?  
2.	food wise, i managed to find most things i needed when i travelled, but i was wondering about some more “niche” products - cartoned egg whites, fat free yoghurt, lean beef. will larger stores like costco carry them, or are there any online marketplaces i could find them?  
3.	do any of the larger stores carry energy drinks? i managed to find the occasional baby cans of white monster in some convenience stores but even those were rare 😭.. are there any online stores that carry celsius/full size monster or anything of the like?  
4.	bonus: are there any chains/popular takeout options that post macros? 

for context, i will be staying in a new tier 1 city, ~1.5h from hangzhou and ~2h from shanghai so i don’t mind taking the occasional trip to a larger city if needed.

thank you in advance for any insights!!

I'll be doing an internship in Beijing and the company will give me an allowance of 3400RMB, I can bring 3600RMB so that would make 7000RMB a month. Do you guys think that is enough? I have modest spending habits and I just want to acquire experience and learn the language while working.

Hi yall,

As the title suggests, looking for your favorite bean roasters to try out. Preferably they can be found on Taobao or JD.

I’ve moved to Shanghai, and while I enjoy popping over to the local Manner Coffee, I want a superautomatic espresso machine at home. Superautomatics are all-in-one machines that grind beans, brew espresso, and froth milk from a reservoir. I had a Phillips Lattego back in my home country and it made an ok drinks. However, it’s convenient and works for my family.

I want to get a machine and I’m aware of all the typical western brands but I want to see what a local Chinese brand can offer. I’ve found brands like Dr. Coffee and Wendougee online but I’m struggling to find where to see them in person in Shanghai. I want to press some buttons and taste some drinks before committing to a machine.

I have not had any luck finding a store that shows a number of Chinese brands or branded stores. Where can I experience some Chinese branded superautomatic machines in Shanghai?

Hello! Anyone know where to get some Velo /zyn here in shenzhen or huizhou? Or some wechat contact? im leaving next week and was hoping to get some before I leave here.

Thanks!

I’m pretty sure this is a IPhone only problem because my friends dont have this issue at all.
Many sites are concerned but the most famous one would be OF. I tried downloading chrome or some other search engines but that didn’t work

If anyone had the same issue and found a way to fix it please tell me 😭

If the start date says a particular date eg. 1st June 2026 until 31st May 2027. Does that mean that you must only start on the 1st June or after?

You can't start work earlier than that, say the 26th May? (Or you're not expected to start earlier than that date.)

Is this your official confirmed 365 working days? This on the "NOTIFICATION LETTER OF FOREIGNER’S WORK PERMIT" before applying for the Z visa.

I was wondering if anyone had the opportunity to relocate to China (by working in a Multi-national company) and is currently staying long-term.

My company offered me a relocation to China with a 3-years Chinese contract. They mentioned that the relocation would be for an indefinite time. My plan (and dream) is to live in China for the long term (permanently) but I'm not sure how realistic this scenario is given the contract.

Has anyone had a similar experience and is now living stably in China long-term? I likely won't qualify for a Category A talent, so I'm not sure what options I even have for getting a PR.

I have been assigned to work in Shanghai as an expatriate employee.
As I prepare for the application process, I am genuinely very excited about the opportunity to work in China.

However, when I obtained my Criminal Record Certificate, it showed a fine related to a speeding violation on an expressway from three years ago.

In other words, it means I technically have a criminal record.

I feel extremely anxious and discouraged about this, and it has honestly been difficult for me to sleep at night.

If anyone has knowledge or experience regarding Foreigner’s Work Permit applications in China/Shanghai, I would truly appreciate any advice or insight.

Thank you very much.

Honest question here, not having a go. But who's eating lean meat?

It seems like Chinese people have a vast preference for the fiddly parts of animals (wings, bones, tendons, skin etc) which I can understand as the principal of "not letting anything go to waste" and I totally get that. But I've never once seen a Chinese eat chicken breast. Seems like there's practically no protein in the parts they're eating.

Where's the chicken breast?

(Edit - I'm not talking about supermarkets, I'm talking about in the regular Chinese diet. I've never seen Chinese eating chicken breast, a tenderloin steak or that kind of lean meat)

hi, guys. I'll be landing in Shanghai around September and I need to buy a new phone before that. I have heard some phones do not support esims (IPhone i think, not sure ).. I am using a Samsung at the moment and i plan to buy an S24 now. Is there any thing I need to keep in mind before buying a phone I'll be using for 2 years in China? ofc, keeping in mind, the vpn, all those Chinese apps and esim I'll need to use there.