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 China Megathread 1 2 - China LAN Thread - Chinese Language Thread - China Debate & Discussion - Taiwan Province Goons - Chinese Cooking  Keep all local discussion and general China Goon chat in the LAN thread. This thread is for T&T discussion only!Laowais! Welcome to the most recent incarnation of the China Megathread!  This FAQ (not the thread, just the first few posts) is for Tourism & Travel generally aimed at people coming to China on holiday or who are thinking about moving here and want to know about daily life. It's not all-encompassing, that's what a good guide book or even WikiTravel is for. Hopefully the FAQ will give you a good overview and answer the most common questions. Please give it a read through first, but feel welcome to ask our resident goons for further information. Don't hesitate to post a question at anytime. Note: Being an American, a lot of this FAQ is written from an American perspective, if you can't find the info you need based on your home country please ask, I'm sure some goon can help you out. Lurkers: if you're new in town or just a traveler SAY HELLO! we've got a lot of people in here that are more than willing to answer your questions or show you a good time if you just ask.  Goons in China & Contact Info (post in the thread if you want me to add/remove your name here)
Goon Contact Info: The Big List of China Goons contact info China Goon WeChat Group If the chatting in the LAN thread isn't enough for you, you love playing games on Steam or you need to goon it up in real-time, join us. click for big, then scan the QR code  A few General Questions
If you didn't already know China has more than 5000 YEARS OF HISTORY! There are some pretty awesome things to see and do and it's certainly a great experience. As far as coming to live here, this country is off to the races as far as development is concerned and becoming a booming market for investment and new sales opportunities. There are of course English teachers here as well, but if teaching English is what you want to do then you better be interested in China because the money in Korea, Japan, or Taiwan is much better. Many students also come here to learn Chinese as the tuition is pretty cheap as well as the cost of living in general. If you're interested in studying Chinese, check out the language thread posted at the top. Sheep-Goats posted:The first thing I tend to compare China to for people who ask me "What was it like?!?!?" is a goblin camp from Lord of the Rings. Once you get past the spitting, babies peeing anywhere they like, staring, inability to create and maintain a queue, sub-standard hygiene, moronic drivers, and apparent lack of logic you'll do alright. The culture shock, can be a little extreme in China just because outside the handful of major cities there isn't a lot that westerners can relate to here, unless you really like McDonald's or KFC. It's tough to generalize really, some people have the time of their lives for a few years and move on. Some find a significant other, put down roots and stay for a long time. Then again there are always the people that can't handle it and pull a midnight runner after being here for a month or two. Expect 30-60 days before you feel comfortable, but don't worry, there are still many surprises in store for you after that. If you're traveling through, and hitting up the touristy areas for a week or two, you'll probably be alright. Especially in cities like Beijing or Shanghai. But in the smaller cities and out in the countryside that's a definite no. You can point and make hand gestures, hostels and hotels will often have someone that speaks a little, and street stalls and merchants can communicate via hand signals or calculators, but once you want to do something slightly more complicated, you're in trouble. If you're staying for awhile, goddammit learn some Chinese! Learning Chinese will help you immensely and everyone will say "oh your Chinese is so good!" (it still sucks though, don't kid yourself). As far as taxis are concerned, until you know where you live or are staying, have a card with the address on it in Chinese (the hotel will usually give you one, or get one from a restaurant near your home) so you can show a taxi driver and get back to where you need to be. Short answer, yes. Especially if you're only here for a short while, be open and willing to try new things, you might find something you really like. Chances are the first couple weeks you may have to put up with a bout of diarrhea, if you encounter this a quick trip to the drugstore and some Norfloxacin should have you shittin' like normal in no time! The best point of advice I can give you is to eat in busy restaurants, if locals like it and it's busy, it must be okay for you too. The first time you try it, you'll have the same fear everyone else had of making GBS threads or pissing all over their pants and shoes. Don't worry, it rarely happens. Big fancy restaurants and hotels will typically have both squat and western toilets and possibly even have toilet paper (usually a dispenser outside the stall, take some before you go in). Public toilets however, may range from very nice and clean, to dirty and smelly, to a literal hole in the ground with slats of wood over it. Important: Good practice is to take a small pack of tissue with you at all times and maybe even hand sanitizer because chances are when that diarrhea creeps up on you there will be no toilet paper to be found. For the most part, yes! It's like 1950s America here; smoking is good for you and you can do it wherever you feel like. Just about everyone here smokes, it's just so ridiculously cheap and part of the culture, it's hard to avoid. Confused by all the colorful boxes at the cigarette shop? Check out this article for a few recommendations. There are of course places you can't smoke, but despite new "regulations" they are still few and far between. Note: this does not apply to Hong Kong, they actually take regulations seriously. Are you Chinese? No? Then for the mainland, yes you need one. Hong Kong, maybe not. See the section below for details as these are rumored to be changing soon. It's a matter of losing face, no one wants to be held responsible if they make a mistake and so they give you very vague answers until they know for sure for sure, and even then, it's best to keep mum in case some head-honcho decides to change it on a whim. Also, planning more than a day in advance is almost unheard of! This will continue to happen for your workplace events, but the table below will at least tell you the official national holidays. Working Days. For some reason the government looks at holidays as a wasted working day, so you'll often find that your weekend days and working days get shifted around so that the holiday and the weekend all fall in line. It's kinda nice, but at the same time, leaves you with strange 6 day weeks or Saturday = Monday bullshit. Don't worry though, someone will tell you about it (a day before  )  The visa rules have changed recently but there's a good chance it doesn't matter for you See this FAQ for a breakdown of new visa rules here Pretty much everyone will need a visa to go to mainland China, that's just the way China rolls. And if you're an American, there's an extra "gently caress-you" tax included! There are 3 different kinds of visas most of you reading this will fall under, if you for some reason don't, take a look at the links below and ask away. Note: Visas are not my forte so if you see any glaring errors or have any corrections, feel free to let me know China Visas Explained Applying for China visas List of countries that receive free visas for Hong Kong First and foremost, unless you live near the Chinese Embassy (Washington DC) or a Consulate (Houston, Chicago, San Francisco) you'll probably need to employ the help of a visa service. USA: USChinaVisa.com <-- proven cheap and reliable despite the lovely website, office near Chicago consulate MyChinaVisa.com <-- Reliable, and a bit faster, slightly more expensive, offices near all consulates Beginning July 1, 2013 some cities (Beijing/Shanghai) started requiring certified background checks for Z visas, to be 100% certain it is recommended you get a Criminal History Summary from the FBI. FBI Criminal Background Check - $18 - Fingerprints - 2~3 week turnaround If you must obtain an Embassy Legalization, I feel bad for you. You then have 4 more steps. At this point, it's probably easiest to pay a service (~$100) to help you jump through the hoops. A suggested provider is Authxperts The document must be:
Other countries should have services as well, Google or ask in the thread.
This visa is pretty easy to get. Americans can apply for Single, Double or Multiple (6 or 12 months) Entry visas. The standard right now is apparently a 12 month / multi-entry visa. Fill out your paperwork (Visa Application Form) and send it to your visa service along with a passport photo, your passport, a letter of invitation, and a money order or check. A week or two later you'll have your passport with a shiny new visa in it. The number of entries is the number of times you can cross the border into China. Hong Kong does not count, for most countries, Hong Kong does not require a visa. However, going from Shenzhen over to Hong Kong is technically leaving China, so if you only have a single entry make Hong Kong first or last on your trip. Recently split into X1 (long-term) & X2 (short-term). Fill out your paperwork (Visa Application Form Q1), along with a Foreign Student Visa Application Form (JW201 or JW202) issued to you from your school, as well as the admission notice from your Chinese school. Send all of the required documents to your visa service along with your passport and a week or two later you'll have a shiny new visa. Recently split into Z1 (over 90 days) & Z2 (less than 90 days). This visa isn't tougher to get, just requires a few more steps. Your employer will send you a letter of invitation to come and work for them. You will then send your letter of invitation along with your application, passport, etc. to the visa service which will return a Z-Visa to you. This visa is only good for one entry, upon arrival you (your company) will need to take you to the PSB within 30 days to have your Z-Visa exchanged for a residency permit. This residency permit is good for 1 year and will allow you to come and go from China as you please. If this is your first time applying for a Foreign Expert Certificate or Work Permit you may need a background check as well, but it depends on the city. Visa-free sightseeing in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu & Guangzhou. Starting January 1, 2013, limited to 45 countries currently. See here for more details. All foreigners are supposed to carry their passports at all times. You'll need it for checking into hotels, riding trains, etc. Always keep a photocopy of your passport safely in your luggage as well in case something happens to yours. You may be asked to present your passport by police on the streets, which may result in a several hour detention while someone goes to get it for you. It really sucks, but you should keep it with you. Penalties have increased recently for immigration law Forget to register at Police Station - Up to 2000 RMB Overstay your visa - 500 RMB/day, up to 10,000 RMB. Worst case is deportation and blacklisting for 5 years Illegal employment - 20,000 RMB (max). Worst case is deportation and blacklisting for 5 years  What should I bring? Clothing1, shoes1, a big bag of nice thick socks, deodorant/antiperspirant, hard-bristled toothbrush, condoms2, sunblock, a laptop, camera, English books3, prescription drugs4, spices5
There is one caveat: anything Western you buy here, from clothes, to electronics to cereal will generally be up to 50% more expensive than it is in the US, even on things made in China. So buy it before you get here or when you're home on holiday. Can't find something in China? EVERY GOON IN CHINA posted:Have you checked Taobao? Want to buy stuff on Taobao but don't know how? Check out the Taobao getting started guide (in English) 
Your options are many; buses, trains, planes. High speed trains are quickly expanding and are very competitive with domestic flights for speed and convenience. You now you can book high-speed tickets online with your passport here. Depends which city you're in, but you've got a few options If you're staying for awhile... You can, but I can just punch you in the face for free; it'll be about the same amount of enjoyment. 
China is still mostly a cash-based society. It's not uncommon for people to be carrying around wads of notes in their wallets. Department stores, other major stores, chain supermarkets and major clothing stores accept credit cards, but not everybody. Do NOT come to China with no cash, and expect to charge everything. Travelers' cheques can be tricky outside major centers. Not all banks can handle them. If you must use travelers' cheques, make sure you know where they can be converted before you come. But really, just don't.  If your card has one of the logos above you should be free to use most ATMs. Definitely get some money in the airport where there are many international ATMs. Once in the city, places like Bank of China, ICBC, HSBC, and China Merchants bank typically have 24 hour ATMs connected to the International ATM network. Nearly all ATMs also have the option to select English as your language of choice for the transaction. If your card is declined, don't panic, the international network connection may be down. Simply try another ATM down the street or come back a bit later, you'll probably have better luck. Do keep watch for yourself though, as pickpockets like to hangout around busy ATMs for easy targets. It's probably easiest to exchange money at an airport exchange booth for an okay rate just to make sure you actually have some cash on you. Otherwise you'll get pretty good rates out of an ATM machine, and the ATM fees aren't that bad. Don't bother with buying or selling RMB or HKD outside of China/HK, you will get screwed with terrible conversion rates. Need to exchange RMB for USD? Ask a trusted Chinese friend to help exchange the money for you. Those of us with foreign passports can only exchange up to $500 USD worth of RMB, whereas a Chinese can exchange up to $10,000 USD worth of RMB. Something to keep in mind. There are a few ways of getting your money out of China that have been discussed before, however the two easiest ways are: If you have a Chinese bank account with an ATM card, many world-wide banks support UnionPay networks, so going back to your home country and taking your money out through an ATM should result in a pretty good exchange rate and minimal fees. In the US, Western Union is known for scams and has a bad stigma surrounding it. However I've found that as long as you have someone you trust at home to send the money to, Western Union works pretty well. The fee is $25(USD) for any amount sent. There are two caveats: you must change your money to USD first (including the $25 fee), and you should expect at least 30 minutes at the bank waiting for the teller to figure out what the gently caress to do. You'll need to know your foreign banks transfer information. usually a SWIFT code or ABA code, your bank's main address, and of course your account number. Your bank probably has all this stuff posted online if you just do a quick Google search. Bank of China is good for wire transfers, but be prepared to pay about 200 RMB to send, and then get hit with a $15 fee for your foreign bank to receive. However, if you're sending a whole slug of money, this fee might be just a drop in the bucket. 
 Eating in China Rule of Thumb posted:If the restaurant is busy, it's probably good. If there are many other people eating it, it's probably safe for you to eat too.
SB35 fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Feb 20, 2015 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:31
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I can't read it!
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 "Where to stay" by caberham Bloodnose posted:Never judge anything by star rating in China. There is horrible star inflation. Never stay lower than four stars and you probably won't get a soft bed for less than seven. This this and this. The official tourism board have a ridiculous "A" grading system. Some places like the ORIGINAL HANG ZHOU West Lake are AAAAA, while the horrible knock off (but still acredited) GUANDONG West Lake are AAA. I don't even want to know what's A grade. Or a B grade  Finding a Place to Stay in China With it's high population density and cheap transportation networks, everyone is always moving around and going on some sort of trip in the country. Which means everyone trying to find a place to eat and ultimately a place to sleep at the end of the night. You have migrants looking for a job, rural students taking a toefl test, travelling business men, Teachers on a visa run, tourists, mistresses and adulterers, temporary relocation, etc etc etc. If you want to be a ~~**free spirited back packer**~~ and not get tied down with reservations then this part doesn't affect you. If you are looking for a place to stay in a city for a few days, read ahead. But during the major holidays, rooms can fill up in no time in China. It's not like Bangkok where there are a string of places for you to pick in Khao San. Hostels - Stay away from Green Tree Inn in Wudaokao That place scammed a goon. Western style hostels are great for first timers in China. The staff speaks decent English, you can meet like minded tourists and mingle around the common room. And the mattresses are soft. Prices are hit and miss. Book through hostelworld or other hostel portals. Pro
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Couchsurfing Are you non Chinese? Land in China is spacious unlike Hong Kong so maybe you can try couch surfing and meet some interesting people. But it's couch surfing so you don't want to be that guy who just uses a persons place for a free hotel room (some hosts are ok with that) - depends if you want to meet Chinese folks and do a cultural sharing experience. You don't spend money on lodging but you would probably be hanging out with a host and all. Pro
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Goon couch It's worse than staying at a couch surfer's home, it's encrusted in cheeto dust! Actually you are lucky if there is an extra couch, most of the time it's just sleeping on a unsweeped floor. They will make forum references, show you their hentai collection, or wake you up after a long night of goon drinking and watch a stuttering football match with their lovely VPN. Then they make you cheer for the hurricanes when you just want to sleep a bit more  Serious talk, all goons in person I have met are cool and I appreciate their hospitality. Afroninja has a swank Bachelor pad that just oozes with cool.Air BnB I don't have experience with this. From what I have heard from my friends and the people I have hosted, it's basically just renting a room from someone. Great for large families on a budget or people who just want to try to stay in different places. Can't tell you much on this. Hotels - Chain - geared towards the China goon, or people living in China One important note for all places. Rabelais D posted:Pick a newly opened one (2011 or newer), any hotel more than two years old in China tends to get hosed up with mold, weird stains on the furniture, etc. During the day time there are 4-6 hour specials that ranges from 40~80 rmb. The noise is never bad though, I'm the one who is always noisier These are no non-sense chain hotels for you to sleep. Really plain and boring with hard mattresses but are plentiful and all over China in different locations. They all have a hot water kettle for you to cook your instant noodles and some of the rooms allow smoking. The rooms them selves may be renovated old housing blocks or new buildings. What's cool about them is that the rates are pretty much locked in year round and can get much cheaper than your average hotel or small time fake 3 star hotel. What's not cool is that some of them are just fronts for people to bring prostitutes, or places for people to meet up and gently caress. But I suppose that's what people do in hotels anyway. And if you want to book online, it's only available in Chinese. So that's a bit of inconvenience. If you don't want to pay a deposit, check in lasts until 6pm, but you can call the hotel ahead to hold onto your room. So which one to pick? It's really a personal preference. They all have hard mattresses.
Under the huazhu group, they even have bare basic single rooms with shared bathrooms for an even cheaper cost. But do note that the older/seedier places might be badly kept, cigarette burn holes, moldy floors, CRT tv's - Pro
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But wait goons, there's the best option to staying Caberham's pick : Hanting All seasonsThis specific chain is an upscale version of hanting. It's super comfortable with wifi inside the rooms, rain type showers, soft mattresses, individual packaged soaps and shampoos, flat screen TV's, and just rocks. I stayed there so many times to gain Platinum status and have reduced discounts, 2pm late check out, free breakfast (  ). If any goons need a place to book and have trouble, PM me and I will see how I can assist. But that means giving an internet stranger your personal details and passport number. Since I know and met half of you guys in person it should be ok Only problem with all seasons is the number of branches. You can't choose as many spots as the regular chains.Caberham's pick : Hanting All seasons"Nicer international chain hotels" I'm super jealous if you have a corporate rate.  It's priced internationally but you better expect top dollar service. Some of the Branches like the Jing An Hilton or the hotels in the older buildings are not as good and to me are a bit pricier but I think this hotel talk is more along the likes of trip advisor/booking.com or whatever real hotel talk. Internet
You may have heard of the "Great Firewall of China", well it does indeed exist. Typically internet access isn't too bad, social websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are blocked along with many porn sites. You'll know you've hit the wall when you receive an "ERROR_CONNECTION_RESET" error. For the most part, you can "scale the wall" by using a VPN service. It's recommended you purchase VPN service before arrival because you won't be able to access the site once you've arrived. If you're traveling, your best bet to deal with the internet problems is to take physical copies of things if you're traveling, flight itineraries, passport copies, travel guides, etc. and don't rely too heavily on the internet because it may not work for you when you need it. Google is pretty much blocked in China right nowBefore it was "sometimes Gmail/search works, sometimes not", but for the last couple months it's been "nothing works ever". This includes Google Maps (which was poo poo for China anyway) and Google Play. My Android phone can literally not update or even search the store without connecting to a VPN now. Mobile Phones If you're staying for awhile in China, especially studying, a smartphone is very highly recommended. Easy to type and receive messages in Chinese, easy to look up that address on a map, built-in Chinese/English dictionary, easier to meet with other goons, and so on. caberham posted:Just get a Xiaomi, half the cost of flagship phones, RMB 2000! You can use your foreign phone here actually, but it must be "unlocked". Your best bet is an unlocked, quad-band phone. If you're here for only a short time, you can often find people selling SIM cards outside in large shopping areas, in front of phone stores, or at the train station. Otherwise you can buy a SIM card the official way with your passport at a phone shop. As far as buying a phone, China has something like 1 phone store to every 100 people, so you can probably find something. Check out GSM Arena to see what your phone supports. Check your country's frequency here.
          Electronics China uses 220V with practically "universal" outlets that generally look like the pics below. Do you really need that voltage converter? Probably not; your laptop, iPod, phone chargers all say 110V~240V on them, so you can plug them in without an issue. The only thing you might need would be a plug adapter.    Awesome places to visit or live Post a quick write-up of your city, some cool place in the city, or a great place you've traveled to complete with some nifty pics and we'll bookmark it here.
What's Going on in... How do you find out what's happening in your city? Check here and let us know to add it here.
SB35 fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Jul 16, 2014 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:31
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English website has a listings of Chinese hotels.
- 900 MHz & 1800 MHz
- 900 MHz & 1800 MHz
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SB35 fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:32
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Now that we've got a new thread, make sure to update your information on the Google Docs contact list. I've been updating the goon list in the OP from this list as well. If there's goons you know aren't in China anymore, or any I've missed in your city let me know. Time to update your goon city post... or at the very least move it over to this thread. SB35 fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:41
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao. Man, I don't know. I think B-rad or Magna or gbm has done it. Obviously Pro-PRC has, but he's pretty much Chinese anyway so I don't think he counts. I'm almost positive it's doable. I always just had MY GIRLFRIEND order the stuff for me and use my bank card to pay. Some goon will enlighten us.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:46
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william567 posted:I've arrived here and am set up with China Unicom. Is it just my luck or is prepaid data here just terrible? I signed up with a prepaid card that was like 96 yuan (with 30 for the sim) and I went through the data allowance in an afternoon. How much data did that get you? If you just started your account you probably had to pay the monthly fee too, so maybe 20 RMB. Right off the bat. At the very least pay as you go is pretty common in China, just head down to the nearest phone shop and put another 50 RMB on your phone. Honestly, I treated China as mostly offline. My phone data was good enough for email, maps, and reading SA. Pretty much everything else, including RSS feeds I just downloaded over wifi and read offline. Granted I had China Mobile 2G data so it was balls slow and I'm cheap. edit: where are you located? SB35 fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Jun 25, 2013 |
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Jun 25, 2013 01:33
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waloo posted:I should probably get removed fom the OP. Wife got her visa and we are in USA now, likely staying for a while. Congrats man. I'll remove you. Wanna tell us how you did it? Couldn't hurt to have an updated account of the process.
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Jun 25, 2013 23:06
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william567 posted:I'm on Gubei Road, keen to hang out ! With regard to the sim card, I still don't know whats going on. I think they just recharged it initially with a crappy recharge plan. Gubei Road... Shanghai? Tianjin? Nantong? Ningbo? Arakan posted:So uhh what am I supposed to do with an old Chinese entry visa that has fallen out of my passport? Glue that poo poo back in? Is it gonna cause problems if it's not in there when I apply for future visas? This happened to me too. Technically you're not supposed to make any alterations to your passport, that'd be illegal. But I never reglued it and eventually it got lost. Didn't seem to make a difference. Trammel posted:I'm applying for a z-visa in Xi'an, and the company I want to work for is asking for a police check. It's a software development job, so this isn't an Education related requirement, or similar. Maybe it's just because they're used to processing visa's in Beijing. I had to do that criminal check for my company in the software park too. I printed out a copy of my online viewable (state only, showing a couple driving infractions) criminal record, copy pasted a state seal on it and that was it. Never heard another thing about it.
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Jun 27, 2013 17:43
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Tom Smykowski posted:All of those people have awesome names. I feel like everyone on that list is using a fake name anyway. Whatevs I'm sure all the Americans at least have new passports with new numbers and now bear only a slight resemblance to that degenerate on the list. 
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Jul 1, 2013 13:41
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Magna Kaser posted:This made me look at the receipt I got from the PSB on Monday. My school told me I'd get it monday and I just assumed that was true... but on a second look: Haha, they probably just added that extra week on there because it's supposed to take 15 days. It'll probably be ready and waiting for you there in a few days, but you have to wait!
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Jul 2, 2013 14:27
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GuestBob posted:And you lived in which province? Shaanxi Despite being a nice "Tier 2" city, Xi'an is so far west that things are world's apart from the East coast. Now that I'm back in I won't have to deal with this... at least for awhile. I don't think I can stay away.MrCrowley posted:I rarely checked this thread before honestly, just thought I'd post to say that I'm outski from Luoyang and I ain't comin' back! Back home to the west again! peace out weiguo rens Noted. VVVVVVVVVVVV SB35 fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Jul 2, 2013 |
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Jul 2, 2013 15:09
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caberham posted:Oh and if someone can summarize the visa situation and send it to SB35 that would be great. I'm combing over the thread and will write a "booking plane tickets" travel guide. Hopefully PRo PRC can come back from being probated and write a train ticket guide I've been keeping an eye on it, just waiting until I can figure out the details for sure, for sure. So far it's all just kinda-maybe-reports about visa changes in some places and not others. 
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Jul 3, 2013 14:21
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VideoTapir posted:Where'd that come from? It came from here I have no idea about any real changes. Trying to keep an eye out until the changes are solidified as I dont' wanna lead anyone in the wrong direction.
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Jul 5, 2013 15:00
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao.
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Jul 9, 2013 03:56
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Kikuchiyo posted:
I went to the Ice Festival in Harbin a few years back, that was actually pretty awesome. Otherwise it's bitterly cold there in January/February. So maybe it's only worth a weekend trip.
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Jul 9, 2013 18:08
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VideoTapir posted:WTF is that? Someone speaking really poor putonghua apparently
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Jul 12, 2013 13:25
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Post My Goon City: Xi'an - There's more than the Terracotta Warriors, I swear! Terracotta Warriors If you've ever been on one of those whirl-wind tours of China, chances are you hung out in Beijing for a few days, then on to Shanghai with a 24 hour layover in Xi'an. Well, I'm here to tell you that there's more to Xi'an than the warriors. Sights to see: Here's a good tourist map: http://imgur.com/2vtHT The City Wall - it's pretty old, and was rebuilt again in the 14th Century, and is maintained pretty well even now. Go on the wall for 40元 and rent a bike for 25元 for a nice afternoon of riding and a great view of the city. Bell Tower - The central point of Xi'an. Not that exciting but on a clear day you can see down South Street all the way to the Qinling Mountains. Probably the most beautiful roundabout in China. Muslim Quarter - home to the Great Mosque of Xi'an and all the Chinese trinkets you can shake a stick at. The only real night market in the city. Go here at night. Shaanxi History Museum - Apparently pretty awesome if you're into that sorta thing, for me it was just a lot of really old bowls. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda - large 1,000+ year old tower that has withstood the test of time; in front of it is the largest fountain show in Asia. Great night time place. Mount Hua - One of the 5 Sacred Taoist Mountains and a great climb, also has the crazy dangerous-looking wooden plank trail you maybe have seen before.  Bell Tower  Xi'an City Wall  Mount Hua - Plank Trail Pros:
Cons:
Great Foods To Try Shaanxi is known for some of it's foods, and Xi'an is a great place to get them. The first of these famous foods is actually 3-in-1, it's commonly referred to as the "Shaanxi Meal", It's cold rice noodles (凉皮), Chinese burger (肉夹馍), and Ice Peak orange soda (冰峰汽水). The three are almost always served together and can be found all over the city. If you're looking for "the best", see the April 2011 issue of Xianease Magazine page 16 for locations.   The second, and also well-known of these foods is Yangrou paomo (羊肉泡馍), which is like a mutton and rice noodle stew filled with small bread chunks (see picture, it's a little tough to explain). Typically you'll be served a piece of bread first, which you should rip up into tiny little chunks and put in the bowl, then the waitress will take your bowl back and add the rest. It's also available with beef if you aren't a mutton fan. This is available in many places, but is a popular dish to get in the Muslim Quarter, it can be a little spendy though, expect 20元 for a bowl. But don't worry, you'll be stuffed.  I forgot all about the biangbiang noodles! They're certainly famous around here, though not as much so as the previously mentioned items. They are tasty, but I really think it's just famous for the ridiculously complex character that represents them.  biang biang noodles For those who are unfamiliar, the word character for biang has 57 strokes and cannot be entered on a computer (as it has no unicode) so I'll post a picture of it. Click on the picture for the wiki page.  Count Choculitis's first hand account of her trip to Huashan and walking on side of the mountain planks. Count Choculitis posted:I went on it myself, and it's a lot sturdier than it looks, and you're harnessed on to the mountain (though it is China and everything is old and falling apart, so obviously it's not the safest thing in the world). Here's a couple pics I took:  Huashan Panorama Hope this helps anyone curious about Xi'an! I'm not living there right now, but I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have or help you find the answer!
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Jul 13, 2013 16:49
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Xi'an is a super cool city, SB35 helped me out with suggestions on what to do when I went last summer and I had a great time!
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pyr0maniac posted:I've got to get a new 6 month F visa for study (Mandarin at a government owned university) as I am doing another semester of study. You'll be fine. Talk to the person who manages your visa at school and it should be easily doable. For legit students who are already in China getting your visa renewed for further study shouldn't be a problem at all. Besides, most of the recent visa changes only apply to New working visas
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Jul 21, 2013 15:44
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Trammel posted:More visa chat - The Law and Border blog has a good writeup on the enacted regulations for the new visa rules, which vary quite a bit from the draft regulations published earlier. Here's the real oh, oh dear... partLaw and Border posted:7. Who needs to go for an interview at the Chinese Embassy or other visa issuing agency abroad?
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Jul 23, 2013 14:08
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BadAstronaut posted:I'd have to land the job first, buddy Plug adapters will probably be needed. But all 220V devices should work fine. Also I don't know how the PS3 is about region encoding, but I think a few guys in here have one. 360s are pretty common to find modded that way you can play all the copied 5-10 RMB games
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Jul 24, 2013 21:45
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tacoman165 posted:I'm guessing EA or Ubisoft. Tell American "Traitor" McGee I say whatup Yep had to buy a 220V power supply for my Wii. Like 20rmb on taobao. But he's from the UK, they're 220v aren't they? Nearly everything else should have a 110-220v switching power supply. I did find a couple of my power supplies get pretty hot running on 220v though... SB35 fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Jul 25, 2013 |
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Jul 25, 2013 00:32
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BadAstronaut posted:This makes me wish I was going to Hong Kong. Thankfully there are some goons in shanghai... Hello potential future friends. Check the Chinese language thread. Then lessons and a tutor, finally a gf.
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Jul 25, 2013 02:14
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Magna Kaser posted:I thought there was, a Chinese professor mentioned the tiers in my development economics class here and said they were based on economic development. I searched for a bit and couldn't find one. I've seen this presentation, divides Chinese cities into Tiers based on economics and development. But they somehow think that China has 18 Tier 1 cities... so take it for what it's worth I guess.
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Jul 29, 2013 02:32
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Busy Bee posted:A few questions I have about my second visit to China: Take some money, but you can grab the majority right out of an ATM without a problem. Thus avoiding the bad rates at the airport. The N4 is unlocked so you'd be fine getting a Chinese SIM card, just depends how long you are gonna stay if it's worth the hassle for you. China Unicom has reasonably fast 3G and decent coverage in the cities.
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Jul 30, 2013 23:19
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Busy Bee posted:Thank you! I'll be staying in China for two weeks so I would like to get a SIM card for mainly data. Email, social networking etc. What do you mean if its worth the hassle? Would I have to sign a contract or something along the lines of that? I hope you took a few min to read the OP. We tried to get all the important basics in there. As far as a hassle, yeah without any Chinese skillz it might take a little while but you can do it rather easily. In BJ/SH maybe someone at the Unicom shop speaks English.
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Jul 31, 2013 02:25
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Eat This Glob posted:I'll pick up some Djarum black's too. I haven't bought a clove cigarette since college like 10 years ago. If that will make me look I would think most Chinese wouldn't like the sweet taste of Djarums. As far as smokes are concerned, do you like (generalizing) British or Virginia tobacco? I'm a fan of these  they're relatively strong, but a nice aromatic virginia tobacco taste and 10 RMB a pack. My regular smoke in China. Whereas Zhongnanhai smokes are very popular, but are British tobacco which I don't like at all  These are also pretty decent, all less than 20 RMB a pack Yuxi  Hong Liqun  Huang he lou  Of course, all these are a virginia tobacco flavor which I prefer. Do not, under any circumstances buy these  You will probably die after smoking two. And totally bring some Marlboros (probably red packs) if you give those away as gifts or are generous with handing them out you will be everyone's new best friend. MeramJert posted:Baijiu's not bad though. I don't know why it gets such a bad reputation. Agreed. I enjoy drinking Baijiu most of the time, then again I'm kind of an alcoholic. If you like drinking, definitely get hosed up on some Baijiu. It's fun, and when else in your life will you get this opportunity? Street BBQ isn't nearly as cheap as it used to be, but normally, if you're eating a hole-in-the-wall restaurants a bowl of noodles is less than 10 RMB, dishes around 10 RMB each, and so on. You'll get a feel for it after a few days. SB35 fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Aug 2, 2013 |
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Aug 2, 2013 02:32
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to the Chinese businessmen, than I'll quietly hum some ska to myself and transport my brain back to 2001. Thanks for the smoking etiquette advice too! In general, do western brands carry more prestige? I don't want to look like a rich rear end in a top hat (I'm not even remotely wealthy - I'm a print journalist for a few tiny weeklies in BFE, Iowa), but if there's some novelty in a pack of Marlboros, I'd be happy to trade some smokes off for some of the local tobacco if they'll enjoy them.
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Eat This Glob posted:I'm a Virgina/North Carolina tobacco guy. Marlboro is my brand, by and large. I'll just talk the boss into expense accounting a couple cartons of Marbs then, and bring a pack of Djarums for shits and giggles. It's a trade mission, to a place that is basically like my home state in the U.S. A "bag 'o corn" won't impress, then, well, maybe a pack of reds will do the trick. With no Mandarin, is it easy to get a pack of smokes? Put 10 yuan on the counter and pantomime smoking a cigarette? This is babby's first trip overseas. It's kind of embarrassing, really. There are a million smoke shops around. You can find them by looking for a sign like this (this indicates smokes/booze)  They typically have all the packs on display. You can just point, then pay. Pro-PRC Laowai posted:Djarum blacks are a winner, not for the taste, but for the crackle, and the fact that they don't exist here. Marlboro... meh, personally I don't see em as anything special as they are at every duty free shop ever. Oh, be sure to enjoy some cubans while your here... just because. Marlboros around China all come from the Philippines, whereas his will come from 'murica! (they do taste pretty similar though). Can always bring a few bottles of Jonny Walker or something. Whip that out at your table and then you won't have to drink as much baijiu, and laugh when your Chinese table buddies get hosed up. SB35 fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Aug 2, 2013 |
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Aug 2, 2013 16:50
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Apparently this is all you need to breathe cleaner air. Article
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Aug 5, 2013 16:46
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VideoTapir posted:That's basically what any off-the-shelf model is, except with better sealing around the edges. And probably hundreds less!
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Aug 5, 2013 18:26
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Private Snowball posted:So after 2 years in China I returned home to the West for my summer holiday. This place is strange and everyone is fat. Girlfriend and I flew into Detroit, and holy poo poo, 9/10 people that work in that airport are enormous. She was simply amazed. Then we ate Taco Bell.
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Aug 7, 2013 03:02
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BadAstronaut posted:I don't see myself downloading too much except You don't see yourself downloading much? This is China we're talking about here. You don't need to waste your time paying for netflix and waiting for the stream to maybe load. You can just torrent seasons and seasons of all those wonderful TV shows and movies that will never be released in China. No one in China cares. SB35 fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Aug 7, 2013 |
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Aug 7, 2013 16:18
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systran posted:Among other things. When I warned you about getting too excited about China, this is one of those things. You can't really expect to use the internet exactly like you do at home, even with a good VPN. It's not like when you go from the US to Germany or something and can open up your laptop without thinking and do whatever you want. Yes you definitely "learn the ways of the internet, China-style" after awhile. For instance basically making everything available offline. You never know when the internet is going to stop working or major crackdowns will occur on the internet in your area or your VPN will get blocked, etc, etc. Netflix probably isn't worth bothering with, all those shows/movies are available on torrents, just takes a little forethought. Google products are unreliable. Itunes store? Sloooow. Facebook? No. Youtube? No. Vimeo? No. Tinder? No. Anything cool and social that wasn't China-made? Probably not. The list goes on.
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Aug 7, 2013 18:47
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Eat This Glob posted:Finally got my itinerary to Hebei Province. I'll be flying in to Beijing, then visiting Chengde and staying there a night, two days in Qinhuangdao, a day in Tangshan, then Baoding, and a couple days in Shijiazhuang. Just looking at some pictures, Chengde and Qinhuangdao look pretty cool. Hopefully I get to tourist it up a bit and see the end of the Great Wall. Depends on the quality of the hotel. Hostels typically have free wifi. Hotels often have wired, but not necessarily wireless internet. Skype or something similar to call back home always worked well for me. BadAstronaut posted:More importantly than all of Eat This Glob's questions, http://www.gog.com is not blocked there, right? Don't see why it would be... Well, greatfirewallofchina.org says it timed-out on a couple servers and was okay on others. But some more anecdotal evidence might be needed vvvvv 
SB35 fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Aug 7, 2013 |
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Aug 7, 2013 21:20
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ally_1986 posted:So day 3 of flat hunting in Shenzhen was far better. 5500 a month? I don't know what your job is, but that seems a little high... is it just you in that place? And 50 RMB a swim? That must be a glorious pool because holy poo poo. Then again maybe I'm just out of touch with the cost of living in Shenzhen.
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Aug 8, 2013 15:08
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Busy Bee posted:I've been in Shanghai since Monday, the 5th, visiting friends and my stay has been very tame. They promised me to show me around and take me places but we haven't done much since they are busy with work. We are going on a one day trip to Nantong tonight but I will be in China until the 19th and I was hoping to do more touring around. Does anyone have any recommendations on any tour groups I could sign up with that does business out of Shanghai I could partake in for a few days next week? I'm hoping to tour Beijing, Guangzhou, etc. Thank you. What GBM said, Get a fast train or cheap flight to Beijing. Stay in s hostel, nearly all of them will have tours to most of the places you wanna go or you can make a new friend and go by foot to a lot of the places. Meet up with some cool BJ goons and have them show you around a bit. Seriously do it, a 3 day trip would satisfy your urge and your friends wouldn't have to worry too much. Nothing to really see in Guangzhou, but I'd highly recommend Xi'an.
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Aug 9, 2013 02:34
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BadAstronaut posted:What can you guys recommend as the best/cheapest way to fly from Shanghai to Taiwan, and Shanghai to Hong Kong? Spring Airlines or whatever is on sale on Qunar I'd guess.
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Aug 9, 2013 16:15
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BadAstronaut posted:Thanks - just kind of surprised that it seems more than three times more expensive to fly to Taiwan than it is to fly to Hainan... Taiwan is an "International Flight". You might be able to fly Shanghai > HK > Taipei cheaper than direct.
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Aug 9, 2013 16:33
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BadAstronaut posted:Anyone use a Pivos Xios or similar media centre/streaming device? What sort of streaming is available in China on these set to devices? Or is everything just done primarily with torrents? Not sure what you want to watch but there are several Chinese websites that have new TV shows available for streaming within about a day of airing. You just have to put up with an ad or two and Chinese subtitles. But hey, maybe that'll help you with your learning!
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Aug 10, 2013 13:39
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Magna Kaser posted:Anyone in Beijing taking part in the Color Run? Didn't that happen last week? Thought I saw pictures of it online... Aero737 posted:
Yeah I used to have China Mobile Edge data 150mb/month and that was usually enough for mail, maps and surfing SA and honestly not THAT slow. Synced my RSS feeds over wifi that way I had plenty to read while eating lunch or riding the bus. Cloud storage was always too iffy. Ocassionally gmail.com would be super slow, but gmail via IMAP on my iPhone always worked well. TheBuilder posted:I've got in laws visiting the US in one month. They don't speak a lick of English , and their Mandarin is spotty at best. Any ideas or hints for getting them to their connecting flight in ORD? I'm going to make them an English/Chinese phrase card. GF's mother is here now. She wouldn't opt for a $500 cheaper flight because she didn't trust her mother to be able to make a connection in Dubai. I really think that if they know how to navigate an airport at all it shouldn't be THAT bad. But a phrase card isn't a bad idea. SB35 fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Aug 14, 2013 |
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Aug 14, 2013 02:58
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