Guides
Money and payments
Alipay and WeChat Pay, cash, currency exchange and a bank account.
First arrival
Your first day in China
Connectivity, Alipay, the hotel address and your first journeys — step by step.
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Connectivity
How to set up WeChat
Registration with a vouch, and why it is better done in advance.
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Money
How a foreigner opens a bank account
Which documents they ask for, why you need a Chinese number and what to do if you are refused.
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Money
Alipay for a foreigner, from scratch
Registration, passport, card, paying by QR, transport, Didi and declined cards.
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Money
Alipay and WeChat Pay
Setting it up, topping up and paying safely without needless risk.
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Money
Cash, cards and changing money
Where to change money, whether foreign cards work and how much to keep in your pocket.
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Housing
How to pay the rent
How often, by what means, and what to do about the utilities.
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Documents
Other administrative procedures
A bank account, a tax number, a driving licence and other visits to official counters.
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Work
Tax and social insurance for foreigners
The 183-day threshold, who withholds the tax and where social insurance stands.
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