"Survival" questions for China

"Survival" questions for China
Dec 7, 2015 20:40
DONS Points: Join Date: Jun 21, 2015 Status: offline	My wife and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Our Chinese friends in those cities were invaluable to us not only because of the joy of finally getting to meet them but because they spoke Chinese. :-) Getting a taxi using any of the phone apps requires that you speak some Chinese (I'm still taking lessons). Paying by phone is so common, I was often beat to the punch when it came time to pay for dinner. It seems that, to survive with ease, one needs to use phone apps, have a Chinese phone number and a Chinese bank account all of which can be linked to Wechat so Wallet will work. My questions: How can a person living in the US obtain a Chinese bank account and fund it as the need arises? If I open an account at a US branch of a Chinese bank, will that work? Can a phone bill be paid via Wallet to any phone company once the bank is linked? Does a 10 year visa (after the first visit) mean you can enter China (for up to 30 days) without prior approval by the Chinese Embassy? I do realize I have to register my housing if I am not in a hotel (which does that for me). In other words, can I just buy an airline ticket, make reservations and go? Thanks for those who tolerated my lengthy post.

Dec 7, 2015 20:40

DONS
Points:
Join Date: Jun 21, 2015
Status: offline

My wife and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Our Chinese friends in those cities were invaluable to us not only because of the joy of finally getting to meet them but because they spoke Chinese. :-)

Getting a taxi using any of the phone apps requires that you speak some Chinese (I'm still taking lessons). Paying by phone is so common, I was often beat to the punch when it came time to pay for dinner.

It seems that, to survive with ease, one needs to use phone apps, have a Chinese phone number and a Chinese bank account all of which can be linked to Wechat so Wallet will work.

My questions:

How can a person living in the US obtain a Chinese bank account and fund it as the need arises? If I open an account at a US branch of a Chinese bank, will that work?

Can a phone bill be paid via Wallet to any phone company once the bank is linked?

Does a 10 year visa (after the first visit) mean you can enter China (for up to 30 days) without prior approval by the Chinese Embassy? I do realize I have to register my housing if I am not in a hotel (which does that for me).

In other words, can I just buy an airline ticket, make reservations and go?

Thanks for those who tolerated my lengthy post.

Dec 7, 2015 21:56

GUEST56890

1. To prevent any potential troubles, you'd better open a Chinese bank account when you are in China. It requires your passport and valid visa. The process isn't complicated.

2. I used wallet to pay phone bills for China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. It worked very well. But I didn't pay any bill for foreign telecom operators.

3. According to what I know, a 10 years visa should allow you to stay 60 days at most every time. But it depends on how long duration of stay the consular officer gives you. If you hold valid 10 years visa, you needn't get any approval from the embassy again. Also there is no need to book a hotel in advance if you have a place to stay.

As for the temporary accommodation registration, you need to go to local police station within 24 hours if you stay a friend's home. If you stay at a hotel, you needn't do this because the hotel staff does it when you check in.

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