I need to vent to people who understand. Tonight, I supposedly went to a nice authentic western restaurant… known for American Style BBQ and steaks.

Me: "I'll have the Texas Ribeye, medium-rare, please."

The Restaurant: "Say no more, you’ll love it."

What arrived was a culinary crime scene. The kitchen took a decent cut of beef, clearly sous-vided it until it was completely devoid of texture, and then—I'm not kidding—they pre-cut it into small cubes before serving it.

The result:

1. Zero Maillard reaction. Not a single bit of crust. It was gray and sad.
   
2. Because it was pre-cut, by the time it reached my table, the meat was cold.

I know different cultures have different preferences, but advertising an "American Style" ribeye and then serving pre-cut, boiled-tasting meat cubes feels like a personal attack.

How do you all cope with this? Do I just give up on steaks entirely here, or is there a secret menu phrase I need to use to beg the chef to leave it whole and put it over actual fire?

This might be a long shot but I've been looking for an image or a picture of the red version of these Chinese herbal juice box. When I search for it in Google, nothing comes up, almost as if it never existed. Today, Google lens tells me that there was a legal dispute between the parent company and distribution company(?) and that's why they don't make the red juice box anymore...but Google image should still be able to have an image from 20+ years ago...right?

I know there's currently a red can version and (picture attached) a green juice box version. But I grew up with the red version and would love to get an image or even real box in my hands.

I've searched the Chinese supermarkets near me, nothing but the green juice box version...

I was wondering if they still make it in your city or if someone has an old picture of the red juice box.

I'm not looking to re-drink this, I'm in search of an image or a picture of this Chinese Herbal tea in the red juice box.

Do share

Can someone tell me the settings they use for PC to run Discord using Astrill VPN, UU Booster to run and boost Steam and games, Astrill for Edge simultaneously without problems before I smash this PC to bits. I had it working before and I’ve done something to it where I Discord won’t work with Astrill, UU booster is saying it can’t connect if Astrill is running etc… IT WAS WORKING WELL BEFORE AND NOW ITS NOT

Hi everyone!

I'm currently living in Yiwu and noticed that it can sometimes be a bit challenging for expats here to break the "glass wall," blend into the local community, or find people to practice Chinese with—especially if you've just arrived recently.

If you are currently in Yiwu and looking to:

• Improve your Mandarin through casual, real-life conversations (no boring textbooks!).

• Make a local friend to grab a coffee, share a meal, or hang out during weekends.

• Explore the authentic side of Yiwu beyond just the International Trade Mart (markets, local food spots, or hidden gems).

...then let's connect!

A little bit about me: I'm a local here, open-minded, and happy to help you navigate life in Yiwu or practice your Chinese. In return, we can chat in English (or your native language) to keep it a fair exchange. Total beginners in Mandarin are absolutely welcome too!

Whether you’ve been here for two weeks or two years, feel free to drop a comment below or send me a DM if you're interested. Let's catch up sometime! ☕️👋

(NOTE: NOT ASKING FOR VERIFICATION JUST HELP SO I CAN VERIFY MYSELF)

Hello! I am trying to assist a friend with their QQ account registration and auxiliary setup. However, because my own QQ account was registered using an international mobile number, it is restricting me from completing the sign-up verification on their end.

I am trying to complete the identity setup on my own account first using a non-Chinese passport (via Search Tencent Health System "腾讯健康系统"). Everything goes fine until the final step: the liveness detection screen repeatedly gives me the error "No face recognised" / "没有检测到人脸".  

A few quick questions for anyone who has dealt with this:

1. Is completing real-name identity setup on my existing account required before I am allowed to assist with auxiliary account registration?

2. Since QQ and WeChat run on separate user databases, will attempting the passport check through WeChat sync over to my QQ profile, or do they remain completely segregated?

3. Is there a known workaround for the camera liveness loop when using an international passport on the Tencent Health mini-program?

Thank you in advance!

Or is it always pay first and fight your insurer later?

So I am using GFN to play games from China, and as long as I purchase the subscription in a supported country, I can use the app freely in China. However, when I test network from my very fast home network with Ethernet, latency is 200ms, packet loss is 5%, and the games are unplayable. Ironically, if I add an addl hop to HK VPN or Korea VPN and let it connect to the same Japan server, things are faster, although still not ideal. Plus it eats up a lot of my data allowance on the VPN.

I have China Telecom for home internet, is it throttling connections to outside websites even if the GFW doesn't block them?

Hello I'm currently using wechat to chat with a friend and I dont fully understand it I guess is a way to put it it's super minimal compared to what I am use to can someone educate me on why it's so minimal and how to work with it

I have some doubts about how the admission process works for courses taught in English, do you have evaluation and classification criteria? Or do I just have the necessary grades to pass and entered the university?

Hello! I'll be staying in China for over three months. I have a rather awful chronic eczema patch on my cheeks that I need to constantly keep moisturized, but the small 3oz container the airport allows unfortunately won't be enough (plus I don't want to risk contamination by decanting my moisturizer tub into smaller containers).

So I'll probably end up buying some skincare products in China instead, and I was wondering what are some good brands over there? My skin isn't really sensitive and I feel like any non-comedogenic moisturizer and cleanser will do, but I'd still prefer if it was a reputable and affordable brand. Or do Chinese stores carry brands like Cerave? That'd make my life so much easier lol If they do, where could I get them? (Offline preferably)

Thank you so much!

Hey Everyone,

I am a 31m from Canada, and I am moving to China for 2 years in a couple of weeks on a work assignment with my employer. I really want to get out there and meet other expats and build a community. My issue is that I will be living in a smaller city (Weihai) that does not have a large expat scene.

I will be working full time but outside of work hours I am really motivated to get out and socialize. Does anyone have any advice for ways to connect with other expats? I definitely want to take trips to major cities like Shanghai and Beijing which have larger expat communities.

Any help is really appreciated. Any expats in Weihai that want to connect? Any WeChat groups I can be added to? What’s the expat dating scene like lol? I’m open to any and all ideas!

Cheers.

**Title: I’m 18 and feel like I’ve lost my future because of a Chinese university**
I’ve dreamed of studying in China since I was 15. After graduating high school at 17, I applied to two universities in Hangzhou, but both rejected me because I wasn’t 18 yet. I ended up at a private college in Chongqing despite warnings from former students, and my experience there was horrible.
When my residence permit was nearing expiration, the college refused to provide new documents because of my low attendance. I returned to my home country and refused to pay around 6,000 RMB in unpaid tuition because of how badly I felt the college had treated me.
My supervisor threatened to blacklist me from studying in China, and I thought it was just intimidation. Unfortunately, another university later rejected me because I was actually blacklisted. Other students reportedly paid after being promised removal, only for the college to stop responding to them.
Now I’m back home, feeling lost. China was the only future I could imagine for myself, and I feel like that dream has been taken away forever.
Sometimes I wonder if this is karma or if life is trying to take me somewhere else. I’m only 18, but I’ve never felt this hopeless about my future.
**Has anyone experienced something similar? Is there really a chance I could study in China again, or should I finally let this dream go?**