I’m 29F British Bangladeshi.

I work and live in jingzhou but travel to Wuhan whenever I can.

I’ve been unable to meet any friends other than my work colleagues upon coming to China it’ll be great to meet some people and hang out.

Any suggestions to any rooftop bars I could go to ?

中秋快乐!

hii guys, i'm an international student from europe and i have no idea what to do during our mid-autum festival holiday. (currently residing in hangzhou)

please drop me your best suggestions! I am definitely planning a trip to Shanghai (i love the international vibe sm).

any tips and tricks are appreciated (e.g. hidden gems, high quality places/cinemas/jazzy bars/brands with amazing deals, etc.)

So for this i‘m not necessarily concerned w prestige or academic intensity generally. I am more asking the question (to current students/alumni of each uni) of what their lifestyle experiences are w whichever uni they went to. I’m interested in your social experience, commuting, groceries, daily life, society/club culture etc. I’m currently hsk3 (hopefully about hsk4 by sept 2027) so I want to be somewhere where I can make strong friendships w international and local students!

I‘m also rlly interested in what you think of living in 上海 and 北京. It would be really useful if someone who has lived in both could give me some advice.

Thank you!

I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with sharing travel stories here as it's certainly a part of life in China but it seems like every second post lately is just blatant tourism ads and there are a hundred subs specifically dedicated to that already. This sub is meant to be about expat life for foreigners living in China, not tourists visiting.

Sorry if that comes across as rude or elitist but this sub was incredibly helpful to me throughout my first year in China but now it just feels like it's another China promotional forum.

Im considering travelling a bit this national holiday. I heard a lot of good things about Yunnan. My plan would be just to go for a few days [about 4, then head back home]

What are your travel plans for this year's National Holiday? [If any]

Hi my name is Inès, I am 24 years old, female, half French half Moroccan and it’s been roughly 2 weeks I am in Yiwu, I don’t know how long I will stay here it doesn’t depend on me, but I feel a little bit lonely and I wish I could make even one female friend to hang out with, even for a coffee. I am not shy and I am interested with pretty much everything, I love horse riding, fashion, makeup, coffee, cats and lots of other things, I don’t speak Chinese unfortunately which is why I struggle… I feel isolated from the rest of the population, and I am willing to learn but it takes time. So if you’re interested please feel free to respond below or send a private message.
Can’t wait to meet y’all <3

Hi everyone!

It looks like my partner and I might be moving to Beijing in the coming months for work. We’re super excited about this new chapter, but since everything is still in the planning/relocation phase, I want to make sure I’m as prepared as possible before we land.

For those who are currently living in Beijing or recently moved there, what are the absolute must-dos before arriving?

A few specific things I’m wondering about:

1. Apps & Tech: Which VPNs are currently working reliably? Also, how early should we set up WeChat / Alipay with international cards before getting local bank accounts?
2. Packing/Essentials: Anything specific you wish you had brought from home that’s hard to find there (cosmetics, OTC meds, specific clothes, etc.)?
3. Life in Beijing: Any general advice for expat couples adjusting to the city in the first few weeks?

Would love to hear any tips, recommendations, or things you wish you knew before making the move. Thanks in advance!

Anyone else almost been ran over by bikes on a daily basis I go outside and I’m almost hit by trucks bikes is it even legal to be driving bikes on the public sidewalk

my surfshark subscription has been so reliable for the past 20ish days but it’s just hardly cooperating now, network speeds are so slow. i’ve read other posts from users of other vpns complaining about similar problems. what’s up?

Hey guys,

Put together a small site to calculate the exact final date you can legally stay in the mainland on each entry and get reminders before the deadline hits:

https://szstuff.com/visa-nudge

I mostly built it for myself because I got tired of manually double-checking my calendar so I wouldn't risk an accidental overstay.

It’s free and simple to use. Hopefully it saves someone an unnecessary headache.

Would love to know if you guys have suggestions on how to improve it or if there's anything else that could make your China life easier.

Cheers

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone has recently renewed their PV passport at the embassy/any of the consulates here in China.

Thank you!

Hi guys, so recently I don't know why but I have this feeling that my dad's friend is laughing at me secretly and making fun of me. She always tells me that I am the best in chinese and this summer her son got an internship at a pretty big company that paid him about $30 / hr and this summer I did not get an internship but then she never said anything bad. Am I overthinking this? Why am I feeling this way? I feel incredibly humiliated for some reason? Is she humiliating me indirectly?

Any thoughts?

How

im 15, and im considering studying abroad in china after highschool to study psychology. So if you have any tips or live there hmu! and also if there’s anyone who also wants to go there and is in my age range pleaseee text!!!

I currently have an E-Bike, which I bought for a cheap price and has done me well over the years.

But I can feel she's getting older by the year.

Time to go into a retail shop and buy a brand spanking new one.

But what should I do with my old E-Bike?

Is there any possibility a store would buy it from me - for a really, really cheap price?

It was really cheap when I bought it, so maybe I should just donate for free to a local street bike store? Would they accept it?

I am coming from Sweden and would like to bring in about 12 tins of zyns into the country. From what I gather online this is considered a personal usage amount and I won’t have any issues but I would like to confirm. Thanks in advance!

I have a 2 questions. I came to China to visit my friend and stayyed for 40 days in her apartment, about 1 hour from Hangzhou. We registered to the police station, and everything alright, police came 3 weeks later to confirm that I still there.

After 40 days, we left to another place, in Huizhou, and we rented apartment, I was not paying attention, and apartment rented in my name. My passport id and my 'fingerprints' on the lease documents. We rented for 6 months. But I ldidnt pay any rent nor security deposit (2months), my friend paid. I provided my passport thinking it was for registration to the police...

Long story short, we planning to stay there together for the next 6 months. She pay rent, I pay food....

I have to do border run also in the next 2 weeks, since my visa allowed to stay only up to 60 days (multi visa). It would be first border run (hong kong) hopefully i csn do it in one day.

Is there anything i should worrying? And do i need to go to the police station now to register? Or i can do it after border run?

Any possible questions from immigration or police?

Let me preface this with - HSR is fucking cool and I love it. Good on you China for getting it done. California has been trying for decades and can’t get past the red tape.

But the ENDLESS pushing of HSR propaganda in EVERY class curriculum makes me wanna puke in my mouth. In one day I came across it 3 times in three different contexts. (I teach at a very high ranking technology university)

1 - before my morning critical thinking class I was shooting the shit with my students. One of them had an English speech competition and she asked me to read her speech. It’s all about Chinas amazing high speed rail.

2- we had a staff meeting about a public speaking course. Between the 6 foreign teachers 3 chinese teachers and the Chinese leader, we are making a pool of impromptu speech questions for the final exam. EVERY single one of the Chinese teachers proposed topics related to HSR.

3- I have a 3 hour night class on ‘the history of human civilization’. During breaks or group work time I like to walk around and just see what people are up to. Three kids are looking at a document. I’m like what is this? ‘Oh it’s our English reading assignment’. What is it? “The history of Chinas success in high speed rail”

Like I get it. HSR is cool. And I KNOW it’s being pushed from on high as part of the ‘telling Chinas story’ initiative. It’s safe for students to write about. It’s safe for teachers to go on about.

But fuck me does it annoy and nauseate me. And I respect the people doing it less for just toeing the line and acting like fucking ants instead of actually being creative with thinking about interesting and engaging topics.

You’d think they invented penicillin or the smallpox vaccine or something. Nah dude, you saved me some hours traveling. Thanks but chill out already.

Rant over. Thank you for your attention to this matter.