r/chinalife

I am part of a large Wechat group with many Chinese undergrad students. It was a nice to receive Wechat message invitations as I was hoping to expand my network, but these people don't reply or say hello. Can anyone tell me why this happens?

Edit: I'm a chinese person, this is in a group for a US university, so fear of language barrier should not be an issue. I was thinking there was a cultural thing I'm not familiar with?

Hi everyone,

I will move soon to Shenzhen for work and I'm looking for recommendations for private language schools or centers that offer part-time Mandarin classes for working professionals (evening or weekend slots).

Since I have a full-time job, university language programs (like the traditional long-term student visa tracks) won't fit my schedule. I'm mainly looking for:

• Flexible schedules (after work / weekends)
• Practical, conversational, or HSK-oriented paths depending on the level
• Good teaching quality (either small group classes or 1-on-1 private tutoring)
• Locations that are reasonably accessible (Nanshan, Bao'An areas are a big plus)

If you have personal experience with any specific language school or independent tutor in Shenzhen, I’d love to hear your pros/cons, general pricing, and how they handled your working hours.

Thanks in advance!

People who have chinese spouses how you got on the good vices of your in laws got them to accept you? With all the usual worries etc they have.

I recently changed my service provider to Tello and am using their eSIM for my normal American number. When I get to China, I plan on getting a physical local SIM card put into my phone so I can have a Chinese phone number (I'll be staying for a year to study).

Now, will I still need a VPN app to access apps like TikTok/Instagram/etc., or use roaming data?

My cousin and his wife came to visit me in NYC. Me and my cousin are Polish and his wife is Chinese (she's from Beijing - and my cousin and his wife were college sweethearts). Pretty much throughout their stay his wife wore a surgical mask - she said she has a weak immune system and asthma and also my cousin and his wife are expecting their first child (and she wants to keep herself and the child as healthy as possible). I respect that she's keeping herself healthy that way.

I'm just curious how common is to wear a mask?

Hit my head a week ago and I felt like I might have concussion symptoms so I went to check it out today in one of the biggest hospitals here in Chengdu (二人民医院). I thought some people might find my experience insightful so I am sharing it here. I made an appointment with a general practictioner first at the time slot 14:30-15:00. The cost of this check-up cost only 17 yuan, which is great but perhaps explains the bad incoming service.

Since it's a big hospital, it's quite chaotic and sort of miserable but that's not a real issue. I was only admitted around 15:15 after about an hour+ wait since I have to arrive a bit early to scan my QR code and get my order in the system ahead of other people in that time slot. For some reasons they have about 6 people per time slot and some come back with test results and jump in randomly in between. Once you walk inside the GP room its just a bed and her desk with a computer, there was no real examination of any kind.

After I told her what happened and what I feel (with the help of a local friend translating), she just send me of for a CT scan. She also told me to go check my blood pressure on the second floor on the public machines. The CT scan only cost me 204 yuan, about 26 euros, which is quite amazing. Had to wait an additional hour to get that done around 16:20. Then wait one more hour for the result around 17:20. Then rushed in before the final 17:30 closing time to see what she said. I had already read the result and it appears that I have no abnormalities but I have some frontal sinusitis, perhaps from when I was sick couple weeks ago. However, the only thing she said is that I am fine and I have to see neurologist if I want better explanation. She didn't even ask about my blood pressure results, she didn't prescribe me anything for the sinusitis (for context, a serious sinusitis infection can be quite treathening and explain my dizziness). Just a ''not my problem, go figure it out'' after spending hours there...

I don't recommend this experience to be honest, maybe it's a Chengdu thing and Shanghai/Beijing are better, I don't know but this was quite unprofessional. We filed a complaint about this GP.

Hey! I'm a Chinese girl living in Shanghai. I've dated both Chinese guys and foreigners, traveled to like 30 countries, and lived abroad for years. I love sharing dating tips with my friends. I'm just super into understanding how international dating works.

I know Chinese girls and boys really well, especially when it comes to dating across cultures. So if you have any questions about dating in China or how Chinese people think about relationships differently, just ask!

I'm happy to help. 💕

I wonder what is the slowest (by the average travel speed) train route currently operating in China?

Hi everyone,
I’m from Iraq, I’m 27 years old, and I have a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. My GPA was 56/100.

I’m seriously considering moving to China for a few years to study, experience life there, and hopefully build some opportunities for myself.

The problem is that I’m honestly not very interested in engineering anymore.

I’m much more interested in business, selling, e-commerce and entrepreneurship. I already have a small online business selling coffee machines, and I’ve become really interested in importing products from China and selling them in my country.

So I’m a little confused about what direction I should take.

Would you recommend that I:

Get another bachelor’s degree in something like Business, International Business or Marketing?
Or use my existing bachelor’s degree and apply for a master’s in Business Administration, International Business, Entrepreneurship, E-commerce, etc.?

I’m leaning toward a master’s because I already have a bachelor’s degree and I’m 27, but I’m not sure whether Chinese universities would accept someone with a Civil Engineering background into a business-related master’s.
I’m also concerned about my 56/100 GPA.

I know it’s not particularly competitive, especially for top universities or scholarships, so I’d really appreciate honest advice about what options might still be realistic for me.

I’m also very confused about where in China I should go.

I’m currently considering places like Hangzhou, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
Since I’m interested in business and eventually want to import/export products, I’d love to live somewhere where I can actually learn about business and have access to suppliers, markets and entrepreneurs.

I’d also like to learn Chinese while I’m there.
So if you live in China or have studied there, I’d really appreciate your advice:

What major would you recommend for someone in my situation?

Should I do a master’s or another bachelor’s?

Which city would you recommend?

Which universities should I look into?

With a 56/100 GPA, is getting a scholarship realistic?

How difficult is it to get accepted into a Chinese university as an Iraqi student?

Would my Civil Engineering degree make it difficult to enter a business-related master’s?

Is there anything you wish you knew before moving to China to study?

I’m not necessarily looking for the most prestigious university. I’m more interested in finding a realistic university and city that would be a good fit for my goals and give me a good experience living in China.
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have actually studied or lived in China.

Thanks! 🙏

Everything I've read online, and here, says that this can be done. Baby is registered as Chinese and gets a Chinese hukou. But we also apply for a British passport.

Baby requires a 旅行证 to leave China.

My wife recently asked the local immigration office and they said they don't agree we do this at all. They said if she wants a hukou she must renounce British citizenship. And they said 旅行证 cannot be done in China, only HK.

They also said that if we go along this route they wont process anything immigration related for our baby in the future.

Are they giving us bullshit?

Moving from Korea to China and curious about the cultural differences between students and their overall discipline. One of the things that shocked me during my time in Korea was how outspoken the kids were regarding other people’s physical appearance as well as the general acceptance of discrimination Some examples of that would be teasing other students who came back darker after their summer vacation or yelling “ugly” whenever they saw a picture of a black person or even commenting on the length of my coworker’s arm hair and his weight. I also don’t know if they felt like they could do or say whatever and there wouldn’t be any consequences because I worked at a hakwon vs a traditional school. There were even a few boys who were caught masturbating in class yet they were just let off with a warning. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself ahead of time. For those that have worked in both countries, how did they compare with regards to students’ overall attitude towards academics and general behavior of students infront of teachers.

I've been living in China for a long time (almost 14 years now), and life here has basically just become normal to me.

A lot of things have changed in that time, like safety, technology, and the overall development level.

But because things are so normal for me, it's hard to imagine what surprises people when they are in their first or second year of "China life."

So, I'm wondering...

If you moved to China from the US/Canada or "Western" countries more recently, what are the things that surprised you the most? What were the biggest contrasts?

Hi I can't believe I've spent almost 2 months in China and fell in love with this country. I'm very sad I don't want to go back to New York. I move to New York 10 years ago from Latin America and I never felt like I belonged. I feel a sense of emptiness living there, and working there. I know that being in China for 2 months is still the honeymoon phase. But I've made friends, studied here, and traveled around. It has brought me so much joy. Sorry just needed an outlet to open up.

I am trying to find out what the elementary eduaction is like in China. What is the curriculum? What do they focus on? Any technology to assist with learning? AI assistance? I would like to know the overall strategy. In the US we now have Google Learn and OpenAI for teens. The big AI labs have embedded themselves in our education system. AI is now prevalent throughout our education system. Is it like that in China? Also, we invest so much in data centers, hundreds of billions of dollars and I am thinking what if we invested that much in our education system and educating the youth? Or what if we matched dollar for dollar. Every dollar invested in data centers there would be a dollar invested in education. I believe, and I don't know how it is in China, but young children need to learn the "old school" way. No screens, No AI, just good old fashioned pencil, paper and your brain. Then, after those critical thinking skills have been developed then you can introduce AI and various technology. Just my opinion. It is really sad that we focus on Bible scripture in school rather than STEM.

I'll be spending roughly a month in Chengdu from mid-September to mid-October. Do folks here have recommendations for tutors they enjoyed working with in-person in that city?

In HSK "2.0" terms, my current level is somewhere around HSK 5. My listening comprehension is miles ahead of everything else because that's where I put most of my effort. I can participate in informal conversations with friends and even had a parent-teacher conference once, as long as the other side is OK with me speaking English. My goal is to actually work on my Mandarin speaking skills.

i spend around 3000 rmb + 4500 rmb for apartments. what about you? share your experience!

Hi
I’m going to be spending a few months a year in Wuhan, starting January next year. Can I play golf there? What are courses like, costs etc? Recommended courses?

Hi all, does anyone know how to connect Astrill to a PS5? Astrill's website has directions on how to install the vpn directly to the router but the instructions mean nothing to my technologically incompetent brain. I've just learned about uu accelerator which I don't really understand but seems like an option maybe? I mainly just want to be able to watch netflix on the ps5--what are my options please and thank you!

Also here are the router installation procedures from astrill if anyone wants to dumb it down for me.

1. Subscribe to AstrillVPN.
2. Lookup and Download DD-WRT for your router. You can then install OpenVPN-compatible software by using this firmware.
3. Now open your Router interface and install DD-WRT and then flash it.
4. Now open your Router Settings.
5. Head to the “Services” section and click on the “VPN” option.
6. Enter the VPN server and other details in the fields.
7. Now click “Apply Settings.”
8. Now you will be connected to the VPN server.
9. After applying the settings and connecting to a VPN server, connect your PS4 to the network.

I'm thinking of getting a Chinese driver's license. My license in my home country expired long ago. I've heard conflicting stories and what needs to be done. Then, I found an add on Facebook. I sent them a message and got this response.

*It will cost ¥3000 total for that category to be processed and it will take a maximum of 6-8 business days for your license to be processed, registered into the database and available for use.

The drivers license will be registered into the Chinese traffic police database and it will be valid for 6 years which can be extended to 10 years later.

You won't have to take the test as well as I need, just your requirements which i will use to do your application and process your driver's license.*

It's a bit expensive, but great not needing classes and exams. My main concern is this being a total scam. Is this possible to get a license this way?