The guide
Everything we
had to learn
the hard way.
Written by members who have done the thing being described. Most of us got it wrong the first time, and the detail here comes from that.
Chapter one · First 72 hours
Thirteen things,
in the order they
have to happen.
Some carry a deadline and one of them is the law. Tick them off as you go. The marks stay on this phone and are never sent anywhere.
0/13
- At the airport
-
01
Clear immigration and keep the arrival card
Before you leave the terminal
You will give fingerprints at a machine before the desk. The officer then stamps your passport with the date you entered. Every deadline below counts from that stamp, so photograph it while you are still standing there.
-
02
Get a Chinese phone number
Do this first because everything else needs it
China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all have counters in the arrivals hall. Bank accounts, payment apps, food delivery, hospital registration and police appointments are all tied to a Chinese number, so you cannot put this off. Bring your passport, because the number is registered to it.
A number bought in someone else’s name will fail verification later. Register it to yourself.
-
03
Have a way to pay tonight
Foreign cards mostly will not work
Most taxis, shops and restaurants take only WeChat Pay or Alipay. Until those are working, carry a few hundred yuan in cash from an airport ATM. Do not count on a foreign card being accepted anywhere except the airport and large hotels.
- First 24 hours
-
04
Register where you are sleeping with the police
Within 24 hours of arrival, and it is the law
Every foreigner in China must have their address on file with the local police station. Hotels do this at check-in, so ask reception to confirm it and keep the slip they give you. When you are staying in a flat, a friend’s place or a dormitory that has not registered you, go to the police station that covers that address rather than whichever one is closest.
You will be asked for this registration slip when you apply for a residence permit and again when you open a bank account, and replacing a lost one can cost you weeks.
-
05
Set up WeChat and turn on WeChat Pay
Nothing else works properly until this does
WeChat is messaging, payment, ID, taxi, delivery and appointment booking in one app. Register with your new Chinese number, then open Me → Services → Wallet and add a card. Foreign Visa and Mastercard now work for most everyday payments.
Ask a friend already in China to help verify your account. New accounts sometimes need a scan from an existing user.
-
06
Tell people at home how to reach you
Before anyone starts worrying
WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Google services do not work on ordinary Chinese networks. Your family will not be able to reach you the way they did yesterday. Send them your WeChat ID and your new number today, and agree on a check-in time.
- Day two and three
-
07
Learn to move around the city
The metro is the cheapest thing here
Shenzhen Metro runs everywhere you are likely to need and costs a few yuan a trip. Open the Metro ride code inside WeChat or Alipay and scan at the gate. There is no physical card to buy. For anything the metro does not reach, use Didi rather than hailing on the street.
-
08
Install the six apps that make daily life work
Maps, food, shopping, translation
Amap or Baidu Maps for navigation, Meituan or Ele.me for food, Didi for rides, Taobao or JD for everything else, and Pleco for translating what is in front of you. Add Chinese handwriting input to your phone keyboard as well, so you can copy out characters you have no way of typing.
-
09
Open a Chinese bank account
Set aside a morning and take everything listed
Bank of China and ICBC are the most used to foreign customers. Go to a large branch, take a number, and expect it to take two hours. Once the account is live, bind it inside WeChat Pay and Alipay, and paying for things stops being a daily problem.
-
10
Report to your school or your employer
They start your residence permit
Your university international office or your company HR holds the paperwork that turns your entry visa into a residence permit. Go in person and go early. They will tell you which medical check you need and book it for you.
- Before day thirty
-
11
Do the medical check
Go early and do not eat beforehand
The health check for a residence permit is done at a designated centre rather than at an ordinary hospital. They take blood and do a chest X-ray and an ECG. Results take several working days, so the earlier you go the less it holds up the permit.
-
12
Convert your visa into a residence permit
Within 30 days of the entry stamp
You apply at the Exit-Entry Administration of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau. Your school or employer usually books the appointment and comes with you. If you miss the thirty days you are out of status, and sorting that out takes both time and money.
Count the thirty days from the stamp in your passport, not from the day you moved in.
-
13
Find the rest of us
Do this before you need it
NIS has members in every district and coordinators at most of the universities. Whatever you run into next, someone here has already dealt with it, so join and come to an event and ask.
-
The list ends here.
Everything after this is ordinary life, and the questions below cover it: where to live, what districts cost, how tax works, and where to eat like you are at home.
Chapter two · The questions
Asked and answered,
by people who live here.
10 questions, each one answered in full by a member who had to work it out first.
Start from where you are
Immigration
- How do I register with the police in Shenzhen? Every foreigner in China must register their address with the local police station within 24 hours of arriving. A hotel does it for you at check-in. If you are in a flat or a dormitory that has not registered you, go to the station covering that address with your passport and your lease.
- How do I turn my visa into a residence permit? You have 30 days from the entry stamp in your passport to convert a study or work visa into a residence permit. It is done at the Exit-Entry Administration of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, and your university or employer normally books the appointment and comes with you.
- I am visiting Shenzhen for a week on business. What do I need? Register your address within 24 hours, which the hotel does for you at check-in. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly, because your card will not work in most places. Carry your passport, and get a Chinese SIM if you can, since anything that sends a verification code will want one.
Money
- How do I pay for things in Shenzhen? Almost everything is paid by QR code through WeChat Pay or Alipay. Both now accept foreign Visa and Mastercard, so you can be paying within an hour of landing. Cash remains legal tender and still works, though many small shops will struggle to give you change for it.
- How do I open a Chinese bank account? Take your passport, residence permit, police registration slip, Chinese phone number and your school or employment letter to a large branch of Bank of China or ICBC, in the morning. Budget about two hours. Then bind the new card inside WeChat Pay and Alipay.
Getting around
Language
Living here
- Which apps do I need on my phone in China? WeChat, Alipay, Amap, Meituan, Didi and Pleco cover almost everything, and that is a sensible order to install them in. Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook do not work on ordinary Chinese networks, so send your family your WeChat ID before you fly.
- How do I find somewhere to live in Shenzhen? Most people find a flat through an agent, pay a fee of half to one month's rent, and put down one to three months of deposit plus the first month up front. Get copies of the landlord's ID and the property ownership certificate, because you need both to register with the police.
Work and tax
The end of the guide
If it is not written
down here yet, ask.
The guide holds what members have already been through. For everything else there are people to ask, and one page for the day it goes wrong.