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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. You don't need Alipay, you just need to set up online banking with your bank. Do that and they'll either give you a USB dongle or a token you then use when checking out. Making an account on Taobao is 100% independent from Alipay, and just requires your email. I'd also suggest inputting your cell number and verifying it it when they ask for it after you sign up.  Click there to make a new account.  For non-moon rune readers. The page after that asks for an email address, after which you're done. It'll probably ask you to fill out some personal information like name and address after you finish making the account. When you want to checkout, you'll see some option with a lot of bank logos and the characters 网络银行, click on your bank logo and go through their checkout system. The check-out process will differ based on what bank you use, but a few things a relatively constant throughout: 1. You need to use an old-rear end browser like IE6 or Safari 2. Input 200 passwords 3. The dongle will screw up somehow Luckily, most banks are switching to tokens which are way better and easier. They look like little calculators and the way it works is while checking out you need to log in to your online bank account and use the password from the token. To confirm the purchase you need to input some code in to the token and then put what the token spits back out to the website, and you're done. ASAIK, most banks have switched to tokens instead of USB things. You do need to go to your bank and ask for 网络银行, though. This usually requires filling out one form that they will largely fill out for you (A lot of it is just choosing how many levels of security you want and what accounts can access it) and doesn't really take that long. When I used CCB they charged me 20rmb for the USB thing, but ICBC didn't charge anything for their token. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 07:35 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 07:26
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Spotify also works fine in China without a VPN or anything, so if you want music there's always that.
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Jun 20, 2013 11:21
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Ah, I use it on my Mac fine, but I did make my account while living in the states. I've never had any issues logging in or using it on any computer while in China, though.
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Jun 20, 2013 17:50
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I dunno if this is the right thread for this anymore, but it's basic China-stuff so, The Color Run is coming to Beijing for August. https://www.facebook.com/TheColorRunChina?hc_location=stream Facebook is the only English language resource I can find (I originally found them via weibo which is predominantly in Chinese). Anyone going to take part in this? Will the CCP turn on the weather machines to make it clear that day? Will the admission fee include a gasmask?! I kind of wish it was anywhere but Beijing cause it's a silly thing I'd want to do.
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Jun 21, 2013 05:26
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Cloud services get blocked randomly in China. Dropbox was blocked for like two years but it's been working fine since January or so. Wesendit and a few other file transfer sites are hosed up at the moment as well. I'd give it a week, or just get a vpn.
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Jun 23, 2013 10:20
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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 you use? You should have had 300-500MB for that much money. That's not a HUGE amount, but using that much in one day is a bit crazy.
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Jun 25, 2013 02:16
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systran posted:I'm going to bring back the "x" to represent a word repeating: Woo shi.huan gwoyeu romatzyh…. bii pinin hao .de duo
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Jun 25, 2013 17:23
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Busy Bee posted:As a Japanese citizen, I'm able to fly into China with no visa and an upwards of a 15 day stay. Once I'm in China and want to extend my two week stay, am I able to do that if I go to a local embassy and apply for an extended visa? I'll admit I have no real idea given your situation, but all the visa stuff I know if is done at the local PSB when actually in China, including visa extensions. You probably just have to go there and not any sort of embassy. Unless you're going way out to the boonies you'll be able to get to one easily as every major city has one. They'll probably charge you some money for the extension, though, and you won't have your passport for up to a week while it processes. Also keep in mind you need a passport to get train tickets, board planes and check in to any sort of hotel or hostel; so it's best you arrange all that before you go ahead with the extension.
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Jun 25, 2013 18:22
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I'm getting an extension of my RP on July 1 and haven't heard anything about this, I was just told to hand over my passport. I hope nothing goes wrong cause I'm supposed to leave the country on the 15th 
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Jun 26, 2013 05:57
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I've also never had it done outside of China, thankfully. I think my gp eyeballed the form once and said even with insurance it would probably be well over $500.
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Jun 26, 2013 08:17
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How long does it normally take to renew an RP, given it is a giant university doing it and my RP is sponsored by the government itself? I'm handing over my documents Monday (July 1) and they've told me it should be done in a week, and I should have it by the end of the week of the 12th at the absolute latest. My cousin is getting married in the states on the 20th so I was hoping to be back a few days before that, but I'm just paranoid something will go wrong and I won't have my passport by the 16th or so when I expect to be flying out. Tickets to the US during the summer are stupidly expensive so I'd rather not blow all this money then not have my passport when the time comes.
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Jun 28, 2013 06:07
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GuestBob posted:Depends on who you are handing the documents over to. If the FAO is going sit on them for [x] days then I can't tell you how long it will take, but if they take them straight to the PSB then it will take 4-5 working days. They told me I need to get them this poo poo by Monday at noon so they can get this done for everyone, so I'm gonna assume they're bringing it down immediately after nap time. Aight, I'll bite the bullet and buy these tickets now then.
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Jun 28, 2013 06:22
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Man, Visa agents may be going by the wayside. Between that and actually having liability now, what will happen!?
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Jul 1, 2013 06:27
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The PSB called and I have to go down in person again for something about my visa 
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Jul 1, 2013 14:33
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AfroNinja 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:  Oh China!
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Jul 2, 2013 12:55
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In Chengdu visas are the same as they ever were. After heading down there and waiting over an hour, they told me they solved the issue with my visa and I didn't have to do anything. They also said renewing residence permits will take 12-15 business days now.
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Jul 3, 2013 11:31
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VideoTapir posted:Where'd that come from? Mine was 800, same as it ever was.
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Jul 5, 2013 15:18
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GuestBob posted:Yeah, Guizhou is pretty warm in Winter (compared to other places). Yangshuo is awful though I would second the idea that you need to get out of there pretty swiftly if you decide to go to that area. Seconding not going to Guizhou for any time longer than a week or so. Yunnan, Guangzhou and even Chongqing and Chengdu don't get near what I would consider cold in the winter. You could travel around Sichuan which is legitimately pretty beautiful and unpolluted once you get away from the cities. Unfortunately you start getting up to like 3,500m above sea level or higher and then it's probably gonna get cold. It doesn't rain (or snow) for pretty much the entire winter, though.
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Jul 9, 2013 03:56
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MeramJert posted:The ideal option is to shed yourself of ugly mandarin and adopt a nice southern accent. In Yunnan they speak pretty good Mandarin. No where else south of Tianjin, though. And Tianjin is like barely passable.
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Jul 9, 2013 17:56
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ReindeerF posted:Eh, I shouldn't have pointed it out. I mean in Asia no one would blink twice at it, and of course he's just concern trolling, but I should've remembered that for Americans everything is either RAHOWA or SJW. I don't know what any of these acronyms mean. e:   Did it look like these? This is a Taiwanese style "Dan Bing" 蛋饼. It's usually wrapped around meat and served with a dipping sauce. Mainland 蛋饼 is totally different. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 11:31 on Jul 10, 2013 |
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Jul 10, 2013 11:20
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Barto posted:Did you perhaps eat the perennial Taiwanese favorite...the GUA BAO?! This poo poo is all over Sichuan. NEXT
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Jul 10, 2013 16:54
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Pro-PRC Laowai posted:牛肉卷饼? http://dezhou.xinxiyi.com/4133408.html Looks tasty.
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Jul 11, 2013 02:32
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Jeoh posted:Looks like Chinese to me. Arglebargle ain't guai enough to sichuanhua like a pro. He don't qio things like true chengdu mo'fos, just another meiguizi in town.
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Jul 12, 2013 15:49
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Jeoh posted:Mongolia has always been a part of China, and anyone suggesting anything else is a revisionist lapdog of capitalism. Wrong. China has always been part of Mongolia. Get it right or pay the price.
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Jul 17, 2013 14:34
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Smeef posted:Plus once you get to Vietnam, it's about the cheapest place in the world to travel if that's a factor. I went all over Mongolia on a horse trek thing. We got really drunk on that horse milk stuff and a swedish girl told us all about her vampire fetish. I'd give the trip 3 AAAAA ratings out of 5.
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Jul 19, 2013 07:01
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BadAstronaut posted:Hey guys, I might have an absolutely amazing opportunity to take a job in China, working for a big games developer in Shanghai. They'd organise the visa and pay for the relocation - sorting all the lovely admin out on my behalf. I'm very excited about the idea, and a little nervous, and a little bewildered by how much I would have to learn. Note: I am an American so even 15 days seems a ridiculous amount of vacation time to me. As far as the normal state holidays, Here's a site with a list of where they fall for the next couple of years. Most holidays are 3 days, but a couple are longer. Spring Festival/Chinese New Year is the longest, lasting well over a week usually. The one issue with these holidays, and this is up to your company, is that most Chinese companies will work extra time on weekends to make up for the days off during the holiday. I work for a western-runcompany in China (Also a game studio, coincidentally) and we generally aren't made to come in during those days. Someone else can answer on audible, but since you'll be living here long-term I'd suggest bucking up the change for a solid VPN. Gmail and Dropbox occasionally don't work (google search rarely ever works) so it's worth it for those two for me, facebook and youtube make it a little sweeter. I do know Spotify works fine in China without a VPN as long as you made your account outside of the country for some bizarre reason.
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Jul 24, 2013 12:13
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BadAstronaut posted:My interview is tomorrow morning - have you got any tips or advice or cultural insight into how I should behave if there is anything particular if my interviewer is Chinese? Crack jokes about how tiny Japanese people are.
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Jul 25, 2013 12:11
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Arglebargle III posted:I just did something genuinely stupid. I bought a grey market Samsung Galaxy S4 from "foreign" (from the plug looks like Korea) for Y3760 but the catch is it's GSM only. I promptly went down to the China Telecom place to get it set up and was told their 3G network is CDMA only and I can't get the broadband-3G package deal that I was planning to. So I laid down $600 on a brand new non-3G phone. Just use Unicom, they have way better 3G anyway.
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Jul 26, 2013 12:51
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The only consolation is the grey market Galaxy S4 and the Xiaomi phone together will end up costing the same amount as a full-price Galaxy S4.
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He's in HK, not in China! In China you're lucky if it'll ever be open!!!!! I'm back in China now! gently caress! I'm most amazed at how quickly I morphed back into 铁公鸡 mode. After a few weeks of buying 6 euro this and 8 dollar that I paid 4RMB for a water at the airport and was livid. But it was the only cold water! Also like 1 zillion complexes in China have pools, it's not weird even in boonie towns like Chengdu. Most of my friends live in relatively cheap complexes (renting 50-70m Shijiazhuang is hilarious for me because it's my roommate's hometown and right after spring festival she went back and showed me the AQI was 999 cause her app didn't go any higher. BEEN ON PLANES FOR LIKE 19 HOURS ONLY LIEK 4 MORE TO GO
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Jul 27, 2013 09:56
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Big Alf posted:In Beijing you are looking at 15k a month minimum for a complex with a pool, and there is still no guarantee it will be one you would want to use. Looked at an apartment that was 1.9k today in a complex right by the subway that has two pools, a tennis court and a fake beach today. Never leavin' tier 2.
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Jul 28, 2013 07:14
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Also the cost of living has no real bearing on the Tier system, which is actually decided by the Chinese government based on economic development. For instance, Sanya and Hangzhou are Tier 3 and 2 cities respectively, but pretty drat expensive. Hangzhou is right up there with Shanghai and Beijing in cost of living and well below Guangzhou which is considered Tier 1. Chengdu is one of the cheapest to live in cities in China and is supposedly almost a Tier 1 city since they got all these huge tech giants (Cisco, Microsofy, IBM, Sony, etc..) to set up offices here. 6500 in Shanghai is no issue. In Jingan itself it might be a tiny issue, especially if you want stuff like pools in your complex, but you should be able to live very well off that there.
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Jul 28, 2013 14:16
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VideoTapir posted:Is there an official Chinese-government tier list? 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. VideoTapir posted:Tier-1 is where most of the non-teaching job (if not business) opportunities for foreigners are, as you go down things generally get more specialized, harder to come by, or lower-paying. This is becoming less and less true. Chongqing, Chengdu and Xiamen especially are getting crazy amounts of development now. I actually know mainly non-ESL teachers in Chengdu. the PRC seems to have really grand designs for Chengdu especially though, and is giving foreign companies super lucrative tax deals to set up shop here and throwing tons of money in to the infrastructure. I'd reckon before 2020 Chengdu and Chongqing are right up there with BJ/SH/GZ. Chengdu is also going to be the hub for this massive germany->China freight railway which is doing plenty on it's own to get people to set up shop here.
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Jul 28, 2013 20:37
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Smeef posted:Just got notice that I got a Chinese Gov't Scholarship to Sichuan University, so I'll be joining the other Chengoons in September. Of course, the admissions package is just 2 pages and doesn't give me any useful information about when to arrive or how to apply for a visa. Go to the International Student Office (on the second floor of the 留学生公寓，NOT 留学生宿舍) on whatever date it gives you in that packet. Mine said I needed to register between X and X date last year, so just come sometime in that period. Language classes start about a week after that period, other classes later. I had a solid 3 weeks before my first class. Are you doing the language program or a degree/fellowship? As far as visa stuff, with all the new crap who knows. I was already in China on an L and just switched that to a 居留许可。
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Jul 29, 2013 03:46
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Smeef posted:Language program for a year. I will likely be the greenest student they've ever had. I don't speak a word of Chinese. You're by no means the greenest! Many can't speak any Chinese even after a year of classes  I would also highly recommended not living in the dorms even though they are free; unles you are under 21, your life revolves around drinking at 2pm, you love Kpop and cigarette smoke, and enjoyed sharing a squatter with 30 other dudes. Chengdu is cheap find an apartment.
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Jul 29, 2013 04:50
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Smeef posted:I planned on living off campus from the start since I'm past college age and have the money to do so. I'll probably just get a hotel for a week or two while I apartment hunt. Stay at the Mix or Lazybones hostels, they're really good for the money. A private room is only like 50-60RMB a night. As far as apartments you'll want to be in Jiuyanqiao, Niuwangmiao or Yulin. Tongzilin is OK and not too far from the uni itself, but it is really far from where your classes will be (All in one building right near the East Gate) and more expensive-r. You can start looking online before you go, it'll speed poo poo up a lot. Chengdu is very cheap, so depending on your budget you could live somewhere really nice. Waterfront is a luxury complex with tennis courts and pools which is popular with foreigners, like 10 minute walk from the university and only costs like 1.8-2.2k... which is pricy for Chengdu. You can find a place in Niuwangmiao or Jiuyanqiao for <1500 easily. Yulin is kind of the most hipstery area of town, it's cheap and popular with young people and foreigners. Has a lot of cool bars, cafes and restaurants and is where most of the underground Chinese rockabilly scene hangs out. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 12:19
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Dilber posted:They want 6.5, but no one is taking it. My landlandy said she wanted 6.5, but the agent said that average was around 5.5k when I left. 1.7 a month for 82m2, 100m from the subway. Chengdu 
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Jul 30, 2013 18:22
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Busy Bee posted:A few questions I have about my second visit to China: Just use ATMs to get money out. It's more or less the best rate you're going to get. Visa, MasterCard and any other major western cards are taken at pretty much any larger bank (Construction, Bank of China, ICBC, Agricultural...) so you can just get money out where ever you are. There's usually a small surcharge for using the machine and a 1% fee for the exchange. Since you have a Nexus, just go to any China Unicom and pick up a sim card. 300MB of data with a few hundred texts and a couple hours of talk is only 69RMB or so. I think they might charge like 50rmb for the sim card itself, but either way you're talking less than $30 combined. You will have to bring your passport to the place, but it's not a huge deal. You might also have to put down a few hundred RMB at first, but you can go back with your documents and get any unspent money back before you leave. I'd suggest going in the morning since after lunch those places get slightly more busy and slow as gently caress. 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. I hope you have a VPN for your phone cause cellular no longer bypasses the great firewall. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are all out. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 00:51 on Jul 31, 2013 |
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Jul 31, 2013 00:47
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When I taught English I had bosses that brought me to banquets to show off their new stock of laowai and did this crap, but now I don't teach English and I get treated like a real life human being so there's that.
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Aug 1, 2013 08:50
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Baijiu is terrible unless you're dropping some major Maos on it. You can get decent imported 15 year whiskeys for less. I just don't get it. I don't get clear alcohols at all though so it's just my problem.
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Aug 1, 2013 14:01
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Tomato Soup posted:I'm thinking about going to China in November to visit a friend who's teaching in Beijing and just see the country but I'm worried about not being able to get a visa as I'm currently traveling around SEA and won't be back home until December so I can't get one from my home country. If you can't get a multi-entry you can just make HK the first or last stop on your trip. You don't need a visa of any kind to just visit HK as an American. You only need a multi entry if you want to go to the mainland, then HK, then back to the mainland. As HK is a major hub, flying in or out of there is really easy (you could even do both!) As far as weather goes, China is a really big place so it varies. Beijing will probably have pollution as thick as pea soup and be miserable by November, though. Winters in Beijing are pretty much like a post apocalyptic wasteland.
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Aug 2, 2013 14:56
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I see that I need a LoI too, could my friend write one?