r/chinalife

Hello. I was wondering, how I could open an American bank account while living in China? I have a Chinese account but closed out my American account before coming here (I know, a mistake). Anyway, are there any banks that allow opening remotely or would I physically have to be there? Mostly need a bank account in the US to start paying off student loans. they require an American bank account to pay them off.

Hello,

I am kinda concerned on if I will be able to get a residence permit or not in china. Because I cancelled my Hukou about 6 months ago but I didn’t know that you also had formally renounce your nationality at the EEB. Now I have been admitted for exchange at a chinese university for more than 180 days, meaning I must get a residence permit on X1. I was born in china but I became a citizen of a foreign country, so I have proof of citizenship for a foreign country, a foreign passport, and have been living outside of China for over 15 years.

My main concern is that I wont be able to get a residence permit because of not formally renouncing my nationality. Anyone got any experience with similar situation?

I went to iweiyi but it seems way too expensive for a bouquet, I will only try it if it is my last option. I live in Canada and she lives in Changsha, China.
I dont understand the Chinese apps such as Meituan Wechat and all. Is there an international app or with some English so I can understand what I am buying?

I was just wondering, is penpaling a thing in China?

Is it possible to find someone from mainland China who could show and tell about the life there?

I heard they have 65k characters in their language so I wussed out before even trying to learn it.

If any Chinese person wants to be penpals with with me on reddit dm or email please reach out but I'm looking for people from mainland China.

I'm a 38 y/o male btw and incase you're wondering, yes I do have ADHD.

Regards,

Hello guys, I am an exchange student in China for a week in Northwestern Polytechnical University. I have just been sent to my dorm room that was assigned to me. I am currently the only person staying in this room. However the room is really dirty. There are footprints on walls and under the beds are full of dirt. The bed is clean table and everything is clean at first look, not even a single dust over the surfaces but under the bed is crazy dirty and ofc the rooms bathroom is dirty too. Is this a common situation in China or should I contact someone?

Update: The room was infact unhabitable and unhygenic. I took a lot of photos of trash and old clothes that I have found as well as the footprints on walls and sent them to whoever I could that may be able to help. After hours of talking FINALLY someone came to clean the room and we found... used socks (many of them), boxers, tshirts, a lot of empty cans stuck under the beds or dressers. As a cherry on top we found some cockroaches. No the mess was not something that I could clean with some cleaning supplies as the lady cleaning my room is here with over 3 buckets and a shit ton of detergents. We also had to use something to deal with the cockroaches. Again those are the expenses that I could not afford and also do not want to cover for just a single week stay. I am happy that someone finally helped, even the lady was disgusted btw and we have been cleaning for an hour now, although she does not let me touch anything easily. A total of 3 trash bsgs of trash was taken away from the room. Thanks to some of you I was able to build up the courage to actually look for help. So thx.

This summer I have just over six weeks free , I’m unsure what to do with it , I live in a boring tier 3 city and I have many friends over China I’d like to see them and check out some new places like Kunming and guiyang and Xian . I’ve lived in China 3 years now and already traveled the country quite extensively though. Nearby countries I’ve visited are only : Thailand and South Korea . I’m not that interested in visiting other sea places but my friends want me to go to Thailand with them again. I could try Vietnam for a week, or see Japan for the first time but I was thinking of saving that for golden week or next cny.

What do you think am I crazy? I planned a rough draft of where I’d travel to over the six weeks it’s essentially a loop around Shanghai - Guangzhou - Chengdu - Xian - Beijing

Hi Everyone,

I'm half Chinese and half white. My appearance is somewhere in the middle but Chinese people often tell me I look Chinese except for my grey eyes. I think I'm a pretty good looking and athletic guy. Perhaps if I was more western looking I would have an easier time.

I've applied for over 1,000 jobs in China this year with no luck. My WeChat has countless recruiters who usually ghost me when they realise I'm not 100% white.

Recruiters keep telling me the only jobs I can get are English teaching jobs advertised for Chinese English teachers from China. AKA a Chinese person who studied English and teaches English in China. These are obviously lower paid.

I really feel that China is a cultural desert. It feels like I'm living completely cut off from the outside world. Nobody at my kindergarten speaks English except me. I have no friends and there are no young people in the town I'm in except for Chinese new year when people return to visit their parents.

People even try and get me to teach Chinese but I can't speak Chinese.

I previously taught English in Cambodia where I had no problem with people understanding what I was. Chinese people literally cannot process the fact that you can be British and not white.

I've been feeling very low recently. I only got offered a job in a 6th tier city because the previous teacher quit at short notice and I already had all my documents legalised and was able to apply for the visa at very short notice for the start of term. I previously took the bus 2 hours each way to visit my girlfriend in a local larger city but she broke up with me when she realised I would not be able to get a job in the city she lived in. I feel my life is going very badly. I really don't know where I'm headed at the moment.

What are other non white Europeans or Americans ETC experiences living in China and teaching (if anyone actually offers you a job)

Do people understand you are American or British ETC?

I watched a YouTube video of a Chinese American man who left China for Vietnam. He said the Chinese cannot grasp that he is American but Vietnamese people have no difficulty understanding. This is probably white Chinese schools won't hire any non white people.

Hi, I will be starting university this September in Guangzhou and was planning to buy a laptop after coming there but there are a few things I wanted to ask, would be really grateful if anyone could help me out:

1. I am looking at the options online on JD, but I was wondering if buying it in an in person store would be a good idea as I'm hoping they would help me reinstall Windows so I can use the English version. Do most stores help you with all this if you go in-person? Also would the prices at the physical stores be higher than online( assuming no discounts on online platforms)? Also, should I only go to the brand's official store or is going to non official electronics shop also OK?

2. I found that the Chinese brands like Mechrevo are a lot cheaper compared to the well known brands. When I did a little bit of searching online, I found that the major complaint relating to these brands is their after sales services like repairs but since I will be living in Guangzhou, that shouldn't be a big issue right? Is there anything else I should be aware about while buying these laptops?

3. Regarding the national subsidy, as long as I have a residence permit I should be fine right? Or is it only available to people with Chinese ID card?

4. This is a bit subjective but I wanted to ask if anyone has any recommendations for a laptop around 6k-10k RMB, a gaming laptop that doesn't make too much noise, I know the two ends of the budget are widely apart and the requirements are too vague, I'm just trying to gauge if there is any laptop that is just a lot better and gives better value in it's price range compared to the rest.

My Chinese employer (training center) has already submitted the application to get my work offer letter, is it too late to quit and still be able to get a different offer letter from a different job?

I want to quit because the process of submitting said application was very rushed and had mistakes, it made me lose confidence in working with the school.

Will I be able to get another job that can submit another application for a different work offer letter, or will this previous submission impede me?

Planning to book a flight from Chengdu to Singapore for around 1 nov with a group of friends..but when I search, I can only find Sichuan Airlines and Air China for direct flights. Btw not looking for a connecting flight cause they take SO LONG. Looks like there are no other airlines operating that route on that date?

Is this normal? Would have expected more options.

Do airlines usually release their scheduled tickets later, so I should wait a bit? Or should I just book now?

Appreciate any advice! Thanks!

Hello, I may study at Zhengzhou University this fall.

What did you think about the city and its people ?

Is there places you advise me to visit ? markets ? or restaurants (hallal) to try ?

Are there some things I should be aware of ?

I just finished my first semester teaching in China. I have money in my foreign banks so that’s not an issue, but I do have a decent chunk in my Chinese bank account. I was trying to use my Chinese card to book a flight and this particular site wouldn’t accept a Chinese card. is my Chinese bank card essentially useless outside of China? This is not a how to get my money out of China Post (though I’m starting to understand why) but what are the limitations of its use?

Just browsing around and want to explore more

I have been in China for a few weeks now for school. I hadn't been having a good time and today was horrible because someone grabbed me inappropriately and then I had to talk to the police. But I actually feel better now but at the same time guilty. I was on the subway and had to wait 7 spots. A grandma was sitting down and recognized I was disabled. She was the only one who got up and told me to sit. I tried to refuse but she was insistent. I felt bad because she's an older person she should be sitting but I was also really grateful. I did tell her "谢谢奶奶“ because it's the only way I know how to show my gratitude. I hope she knew I was very grateful for what she did. She's the first person here who I have seen put someone else first and it was nice.

Hi everyone,

I'm a 25M from India, and I might be moving to Hainan soon for a job. I was originally supposed to move to Shanghai, but due to changes in my employer's foreign hiring quota, it looks like Hainan might be the destination instead.

I'd love to hear from people who live there or have lived there.

A few questions:

How is the overall lifestyle?

Is it a good place for expats?

Are there Indian restaurants or grocery stores?

How's the weather year-round?

What's there to do on weekends (shopping, movies, beaches, nightlife)?

How are the locals towards foreigners, especially Indians?

Is English commonly spoken?

What's the cost of living like?

I'd appreciate any advice or things I should know before making the move. Thanks!

Hi all, I've hit a bit of a crossroads career-wise and am looking for advise.

I'm from the UK, graduated in a humanities degree without much direction so came to China, Shanghai to teach with EF.

I've been here for 3 years. I heard all the horror stories, my experience hasn't been so bad, but I'm ready to move on.

I've been studying the HSK levels while I work, currently in the middle of level 5 (roughly fluency level in Chinese), hoping to pass the exam next March.

Any and all advice is welcome.

I'm not sure what I want, not sure what opportunities are out there, and scared of making a wrong choice.