Great video with useful advice for anybody new to visiting China. Would love this to be expanded with information on SIM cards, taking local transport and even guides to eating out. I've visited China many times and it gets easier each visit.
Hi Blondie, this is an EXTREMELY useful video. More please (this could really become another series of vlog in addition to the food adventure). Thanks!! 🤗
Thank you for your content sweetheart. As a chinese dude living abroad，often click in every video of yours to relieve some of my homesick. Such tremendous also wondering feeling lol!!! Please keep up!
Very very good news with online purchase of tickets for the bullet trains now available for foreigners. Standing in line at the train station was nerve racking, crowded and slooow!
@@fungfung4229 Its not just the online purchase. Foreigners then had to *line up* at the station to get the actual physical *paper ticket* to board the train. That defeated a lot of the benefit of the online purchase! Because you have to get to the station extra early and you better know Mandarin Chinese to speak with the agent or even find the line in the first place. What Blondie is saying now is that foreigners can purchase tickets online and then show up directly at the train's boarding gate with just their passport as ID thus bypassing the ticket line. The ticket line was a horrible place. Its another place you have to find through massive crowds, then the line was long and the agents only spoke Chinese. The process made me not want to use the bullet trains if it weren't for my travelling party that spoke Mandarin Chinese.
so nice to see a fellow aussie that understand the real china. Your videos will reveal to many australians that china is not what 60 minutes, channel 9, 7 and 10 portray it to be. well done Blondie 💖💖
First time going back since 2015, April of next year, and it’s so different… thank you for the walkthroughs! Literally answered the top questions I had in mind!
Watching this video for the second time before my travels to China for a quick refresher! This is super helpful and would love to see more videos about this topic. Thank you Amy!!
This is so helpful! You’re the first person i’ve come across who finally answered my question of using digital payments. Most blogs and other videos recommended just using cash everyone cuz they thought setting up the e-wallet is too much of a hassle. Going through the Alipay app was so helpful!! Thanks so much!!
Thank you... very useful video... explanation of linking VISA to ALIPAy sounds fantastic.. booking rail ticket and just showing passport also sounds very foreign traveller friendly... You are a gem.... More tips please...👋👋👋
I don't think I've seen any foreign youtubers talk about this: can you speak to the experience/process of getting healthcare in China, especially as a foreigner? Do you just go to private hospitals? Do you have/need insurance?
Well bro, I watched some China expats videos on TH-cam, some of them did some videos about China healthcare, did you get a chance to search it on TH-cam?
I went to a public hospital in SZ a few years ago. Triage at the desk and take a number. Very efficient. Other people had their medical history in notebooks, which I didn't have so they sold me a blank one for a few yuan. When your number comes up on the digital screen you go to the corresponding examination room. The doctors seemed competent. It was inexpensive, fast and they dispensed the drugs I needed on another floor. Drug prices were also fairly reasonable by North American standards. I've also had dental work done at a private clinic, which was very state of the art and similar prices to Canada. If you're in a tier 2 or below city or a rural area things won't be nearly as modern, I would assume. As you may know, in Asia for things like antibiotics you often don't even need to see a doctor, any pharmacist will directly make a diagnosis and supply appropriate products.
One video had cancer treatment etc. In general very affordable, the bill could be just as the premium for US medical insurance, which is yearly... Normal clinic consultant could be negligible
Search for Barrett, he went operation and treatment for Breast/Chest cancer. Search Middle Kingdom, he went for Dental and General Practitioner. I think Sabrina in China also went to some local and private hospital for common illness.
I have been to China for a few times, sometimes it is for vacation or study trip. And now it’s been six to eight years I haven’t been there, since I only rid the bullet train once during a study trip on fifth grade of elementary school.
But be aware that you can book the train 4 times with your passport information after that you need to go to the counter so they verify the passport and then you can book as often as you want. Just happened to me last week 👍
Hi there, thank you so much for this super useful video! I'm thinking about traveling to China this summer :) it would be super cool if you would make a video in the future recommending your top places in China! currently sooo overwhelmed by all the too many great options there are to choose from :p but can imagine making such a video would be hard for you as well haha, anyways I'm super curious to know which places you'd come up with as you've been one of my favorite vloggers to watch over the last years :D
most cities have a Chinese visa application and travel agency that can help you get the visa and guide you through and do the paperwork for you. worth the fee i think, but is not too difficult doing the application yourself as well.
Domestic transportation in China is very convenient. Because of its large population, major cities have airports and train stations. You only need to check the transportation methods from your departure place to your destination.
Just note that at the time of this comment, the railway app will only let you order 4 tickets before you need to go to the physical counter to log your passport details and local phone number so just make sure you have one arranged beforehand if you are going to take more than 4 train trips. Some stations have a separate window for non-ticket purchase services such as logging your details, so it's a lot faster than lining up for a ticket as it was needed in the past. Once you have the verification sorted then no need to line up again, you can just book the ticket straight from the app again.
@@joyjoyoo Yeah, I was there Oct-Nov and I went to order the fifth ticket and it wouldn't budge without further identification checks. Station staff told me I needed to go to the manual ticketing area to sort it out. For this, I had to present my passport and make sure I could send an SMS from a Chinese mobile number. Once done, it worked fine for ordering future tickets.
@@tamarakrafft4429 I don't think a Chinese phone matters, but much like travelling to any country, I feel like it's a much better experience when you buy a local SIM and with China this is quite important. I took the subway from the airport in Pudong and after checking in to the hotel, the first thing I did was go to China mobile to buy a SIM. Not worth buying in the airport unless you're desperate.
@@tamarakrafft4429 there is no need for a China mobile number, you only need an email if you create your account on the English page on 12306, verification only requires your passport
Thank you dear, always fun watching your videos. If you can share the following it would be fantastic : from your POV - can please share where to (1) visit to outskirts area but within Beijing to experience and see local daily life (2); shop and eat (not a tourist trap) (3) any underground shopping eg unbranded cloths, bags (4) a spa for massage & facial. Thank you for your time 😍🤗
Hi Amy, I will be travelling to Beijing end of this year, for my very first Winter experience. Can you do a sharing on what to prepare for winter trip? Stuff to prepare, layering to wear etc. Thanks!
Moisturizer and down jacket would be my most recommendations for people to come visiting Beijing during the winter, it would be cold and dry, the lowest temperature in 2022 was -22 degrees celcius.
Nice Video, was in China 8 years ago. Brought cash last time, heard cash may not be good anymore now. May visit China next year . Thanks for information about the app for payment. 👍🏻🙏🏻
In china, if some places don't accept cash, it is illegal！ Especially in tourist attractions or public areas. Because there are so many old people can not use the online pay. But some places they don't have enough changes rightnow...😅 So Alipay is necessary.
The only problem is that even though many places accept cash payment but these places do not have enough change (small notes and coins) whenever you use 100 yuan notes for your payment.
By the way, I just came back from China and was there for 2 weeks in Shanghai and Suzhou. Even though I can pay cash in shopping malls but they didn't have small change of notes and coins whenever I paid with 100 yuan notes. I reckoned these businesses don't have so much cash in the first place because most of their payments are from mobile payments
Not my first time in China. Far from it. Stil this is a very timely vlog for me. Lived here from 95 to 03 then back often. But because of Covid I hadn't been back in over 5 years. Just returned a week and a half ago for an extended stay and the biggest hurdle for me is all the 'pay by phone' stuff. Yea, I'm old. There's no question China has modernized incredibly over the past 30 years but in some (many) ways I miss the old China. No going back though I guess.
Know that feeling. While we're living the convenience and fancy modern lifestyles, we can't help but occasionally miss the good old days when things just seemed to nice and simple, but yea, no going back.
Yes, how could Westerners not miss which weak and impoverished China? When China had nothing, Westerners instilled in us the idea that the system was inadequate. In 1989, you almost successfully launched the Color Revolution in China. 10 years ago, you also faced the same risk, but today it's all over, and you miss the past🤣🤣🤣
Oh and make sure to down load all the apps prior landing!!! Once i got my chinese sim card, I can't access google store anymore (my nordvpn was not working, but i know express vpn works), luckily i had a huawei phone so i downloaded some apps from Huawei store 😅
A local Chinese sim card requires vpn to access to Facebook, WhatsApp, youtube etc. Fortunately my Singapore mobile sim card has 25Gb of free data roaming in China every month without using VPN to access to the above apps. But still, I need to buy chinese sim card for their local call whether outgoing or incoming calls. Using Singapore sim card to receive a lot of calls in China will be expensive
Gotta say ctrip is cheaper than expedia if you're booking for hotels in China and Korea. The only thing I wanna know is when booking hotels, I used the filter for foreigners, but I'm not sure if that works all the time or not, don't wanna get rejected at the hotel.
Thanks Amy so much for the content. Me and my partner will travel back to China late this year! This is so helpful for us, even for me - a Chinese who hasn’t been back for 3 years 😂 Would you please me able to share more information about how to get a local SIM card? It would be super helpful for my partner with foreign passport travel in China.❤
Hard to register to enter museum, attractions etc where they require phone registration with local phone number (for otp,one-time-pin, verification) and china citizen id number. Very problematic. Also alipay or wechat does not allow me to use money stored in their respective accounts (had put money into their wallets prior to the trip to avoid complicated card fees). Instead goes straight to bank account debit or credit card. Is it better to get a sim card in China or before coming to China? Sim in China will give you a china number for sms otp confirmation if needed for reservation. Problem with single sim slot phone is a data only sim will not receive any otp because there’s no number with the sim. Hard to make any call to hotels, restaurants or certain reservations.
Dude I'm also an Aussie visiting China end of 2024. This is so freaking useful. I have a question. How to go around renting a car and driving to the wild west/ desert in China with a QLD license
Thanks Amy for this helpful video! I was wondering if you can elaborate a bit more on how you would get a phone number in China? I heard you will need a Chinese phone number to link to wifi, log on to certain apps and stuff and was wondering how convenient/how to get one if you are a foreigner visiting for a short stay? Thank you!!!!!!!
Hey thanks for the nice video. I am planning to go to China in September. Which app would you recommend to book hotels etc? Thanks and lovely greetings
My experience with hotel robots in China was mixed. When I was in 5 star hotels in Nanjing and Suzhou, they had these robots deliver stuff to you, however, if you order during peak times, they is usually a wait because they only usually have one robot onsite. When I was in Shanghai, despite having the robot, they never used it, why I don't know, go figure.
Food delivery robots are mostly used in mid-range hotels, but are less frequently used in high-end hotels such as the Marriott Hilton because hotel policies require guests to go get takeout by themselves.
Hi Amy, thanks for the video! I haven’t been back home for 5+ years and never ordered food delivery on a bullet train. Decide to give it a try. Quick question: where in China would you be able to buy decent yet not crazy expensive western food? Like fresh and aged cheese, prosciutto, pate, etc.
I believe it’s ok if you go to the independent imported goods shop (e.g. Laura’s in Shanghai). However, it’s still not gonna be that cheap. The way I found out to buy western foods e.g. authentic Greek yogurt or prosciutto, in a better price is through online shopping. I believe it’s gonna take you some time to figure out the independent imported distributor淘宝店铺 fits ur need, but it’s barely hard to find what you can’t get through Taobao( lmao).
Woo-hoo! Don't have to queue up in the railway station? Great news. Going to China in May (2nd half of May). Should I expect outrageous queues and crowds at attractions? I saw a video about the queues for thr Panda Research Base in Chengdu which looked frightening...
maximum allowance is 20kg. But actually you can bring as much baggage as you can, no one check the weight. Baggage check in service also provided, max is 50kg.
My partner just came back from a work trip to China. I kinda wish we had found your video before he went, but then he wouldn't have had the hilarious surprise of being chased into lifts by robot waiters at almost every hotel! 😂
This is great, thank you! I lived in Wuhan 2014-2015 and we used cash only. Foreign bank cards were not accepted and mobile pay was not that common, at least in Wuhan, so I've been wondering how to do it if I ever go back in the near future.
I know the feeling, I left China in 2014 to go to college in the U.S. I graduated in 2018 and came back to China and everything around me was different. People around me no longer use cash, bullet train penetration has covered the whole country, my hometown city subway station is fully built out, and even 5G base stations will start to be available near my house in 2019. It doesn't feel like much if you live in China, but after 4 years abroad I realized that China is changing so fast.
Bullet trains really wasn't on the top of my list ahah. But Alipay definitely was up there. Ridesharing apps is probably next important one I'd want to know.
How easy is it for someone who only speaks English to get around, order food and hotels? I'm planning to visit either before my trip to Japan or after but I'll be alone because my Son just won't come with me for myriad stupid reasons that actually don't affect him personally. It's been my dream for over 40 years but even trying to refresh my memory speaking Cantonese was a bust. I'm just too old now I guess and I think I probably have early onset Alzheimer's (runs in the family) so visiting as soon as possible is very important to me.
Question please On the Alipay and foreign cards. I read a while back they would work for a few months (only) for tourist and tourism reasons. Long ago they had a lot of issues working with foreign cards (wechat also). They would let us enter the card info but would not allow them for pay, saying we had to verify yada yada. But even when contacting their customer support they were not about to get them to work for most people. Again, this was before covid A big issue was how you enter the verifying address back in the home nation and the order to do it, as it can be different than how the verifying back-end wants it to appear versus how the Alipay asked you to enter. It seemed hit or miss for many. Has that changed to working properly across the board with foreign cars such as Visa and Master Card, debit versus Credit Card? Thanks
Thanks for the vids,will be going to china at the end of the year for a long long trip,can you please tell us the best upto date VPN to use for youtube and firefox surf please..ta
Another popular question is of course the VPN. What VPN that works in China? I realize that not many people are willing to answer this question because it needs a lot of "trial and errors" to find a VPN that works in China. Most of the VPN apps don't work in China. I had one that worked few years ago, but it does not work now.. So, need to find another one through trial and errors.
Just went to Hainan for a week, used three different VPN’s but none could get through the great firewall. I’m heading back in January, so need help. As a non speaker/reader it is incredibly challenging to translate, get news or get TH-cam etc. Do you @BlondieinChina have any suggestions?
this is so timely! currently planning a trip to china and this is definitely useful. gotta try the train food delivery 😂
That train food ordering system is quite GENIOUS!!
Wish it was available here in Italy too lol!
Great video with useful advice for anybody new to visiting China. Would love this to be expanded with information on SIM cards, taking local transport and even guides to eating out. I've visited China many times and it gets easier each visit.
I was hoping for SIM card info as well.
Hi Blondie, this is an EXTREMELY useful video. More please (this could really become another series of vlog in addition to the food adventure). Thanks!! 🤗
Thank you for your content sweetheart. As a chinese dude living abroad，often click in every video of yours to relieve some of my homesick. Such tremendous also wondering feeling lol!!! Please keep up!
Very very good news with online purchase of tickets for the bullet trains now available for foreigners. Standing in line at the train station was nerve racking, crowded and slooow!
agreed!!
Foreigners can always buy tickets online
@@fungfung4229 Its not just the online purchase. Foreigners then had to *line up* at the station to get the actual physical *paper ticket* to board the train.
That defeated a lot of the benefit of the online purchase! Because you have to get to the station extra early and you better know Mandarin Chinese to speak with the agent or even find the line in the first place.
What Blondie is saying now is that foreigners can purchase tickets online and then show up directly at the train's boarding gate with just their passport as ID thus bypassing the ticket line.
The ticket line was a horrible place. Its another place you have to find through massive crowds, then the line was long and the agents only spoke Chinese. The process made me not want to use the bullet trains if it weren't for my travelling party that spoke Mandarin Chinese.
@fossil I can imagine that people who can't buy tickets online must be very slow to buy tickets offline.
so nice to see a fellow aussie that understand the real china. Your videos will reveal to many australians that china is not what 60 minutes, channel 9, 7 and 10 portray it to be. well done Blondie 💖💖
First time going back since 2015, April of next year, and it’s so different… thank you for the walkthroughs! Literally answered the top questions I had in mind!
Haven't visited China in 15 years, your Alipay guide was incredibly helpful!
Perfect timing....going to China in late January! THANK YOU!!!!!
thank you Amy for enriching our travel knowledge immensely ❤
Watching this video for the second time before my travels to China for a quick refresher! This is super helpful and would love to see more videos about this topic. Thank you Amy!!
This is so helpful! You’re the first person i’ve come across who finally answered my question of using digital payments. Most blogs and other videos recommended just using cash everyone cuz they thought setting up the e-wallet is too much of a hassle. Going through the Alipay app was so helpful!! Thanks so much!!
WOW, what A pro on China tips, definitely a charming lady. Good job, Blondie Amy❤
Thank you... very useful video... explanation of linking VISA to ALIPAy sounds fantastic.. booking rail ticket and just showing passport also sounds very foreign traveller friendly... You are a gem.... More tips please...👋👋👋
I don't think I've seen any foreign youtubers talk about this: can you speak to the experience/process of getting healthcare in China, especially as a foreigner? Do you just go to private hospitals? Do you have/need insurance?
Well bro, I watched some China expats videos on TH-cam, some of them did some videos about China healthcare, did you get a chance to search it on TH-cam?
I went to a public hospital in SZ a few years ago. Triage at the desk and take a number. Very efficient. Other people had their medical history in notebooks, which I didn't have so they sold me a blank one for a few yuan. When your number comes up on the digital screen you go to the corresponding examination room. The doctors seemed competent. It was inexpensive, fast and they dispensed the drugs I needed on another floor. Drug prices were also fairly reasonable by North American standards. I've also had dental work done at a private clinic, which was very state of the art and similar prices to Canada. If you're in a tier 2 or below city or a rural area things won't be nearly as modern, I would assume. As you may know, in Asia for things like antibiotics you often don't even need to see a doctor, any pharmacist will directly make a diagnosis and supply appropriate products.
One video had cancer treatment etc.
In general very affordable, the bill could be just as the premium for US medical insurance, which is yearly...
Normal clinic consultant could be negligible
@@yegeorge7832 the cost of Cancer treatment in china is skyrocket, not recommended for it
Search for Barrett, he went operation and treatment for Breast/Chest cancer.
Search Middle Kingdom, he went for Dental and General Practitioner.
I think Sabrina in China also went to some local and private hospital for common illness.
Show us more about Nanjing. I love very much to travel there! Thanks Amy.
Amy the China travel agony aunt giving out great advice! :D
BAHAHHAHAH love this for me
Thank you for your guide, Amy!
Thank You. Very useful.
Yes ! Wonderful content, more on this kind of thing please.
Great guidance video👍
I have been to China for a few times, sometimes it is for vacation or study trip.
And now it’s been six to eight years I haven’t been there, since I only rid the bullet train once during a study trip on fifth grade of elementary school.
Amy, many thanks for this short video and advice for APPS to download, and features to incorporate. *Cheers*.
Wow! I have to save this video.
It is very useful.
But be aware that you can book the train 4 times with your passport information after that you need to go to the counter so they verify the passport and then you can book as often as you want. Just happened to me last week 👍
支持amy！！！the most helpful China travel tips videos currently
That's so cool, thanks for sharing!
Thank you Blondie you are an angel ❤❤❤❤
Hi there, thank you so much for this super useful video! I'm thinking about traveling to China this summer :) it would be super cool if you would make a video in the future recommending your top places in China! currently sooo overwhelmed by all the too many great options there are to choose from :p but can imagine making such a video would be hard for you as well haha, anyways I'm super curious to know which places you'd come up with as you've been one of my favorite vloggers to watch over the last years :D
don't waste more than 2 days in Shanghai and spent 3 days in Suzhou and 4 in Nanjing.
You should know those places are hot as hell in summer😂 just a heads up
chengdu ！ welcomes you！
thanks ❤
Thanks! So useful!
Good idea!! Please make more vodeo about the Topic!
very helpful. Thanks!
My English listening has improved, and I can understand 70% of what you say😊
good job Blondie ^^ keep up the good work plz ^^
Good to know! I travelled there late October and my husband was convinced I cannot get train tickets online, and I had to line up for it😅
can you make a video on applying for a tourist visa? love the channel btw
most cities have a Chinese visa application and travel agency that can help you get the visa and guide you through and do the paperwork for you. worth the fee i think, but is not too difficult doing the application yourself as well.
👍👍 useful info , thank you for sharing
Thank you for sharing ❤
the video is so timely! i'm planning to visit guangxi! however, i;m very afraid of the inconvenient transportation since china is so big!
广西有点远，我感觉西安对外国人比较友好
Domestic transportation in China is very convenient. Because of its large population, major cities have airports and train stations. You only need to check the transportation methods from your departure place to your destination.
please do a part 2!
Great info
Good video mate
Just note that at the time of this comment, the railway app will only let you order 4 tickets before you need to go to the physical counter to log your passport details and local phone number so just make sure you have one arranged beforehand if you are going to take more than 4 train trips. Some stations have a separate window for non-ticket purchase services such as logging your details, so it's a lot faster than lining up for a ticket as it was needed in the past. Once you have the verification sorted then no need to line up again, you can just book the ticket straight from the app again.
Really now? I never experienced that
@@joyjoyoo Yeah, I was there Oct-Nov and I went to order the fifth ticket and it wouldn't budge without further identification checks. Station staff told me I needed to go to the manual ticketing area to sort it out. For this, I had to present my passport and make sure I could send an SMS from a Chinese mobile number. Once done, it worked fine for ordering future tickets.
@@kalinsapotatohey thanks for the info! i have one more question though: is it not possible to travel without a chinese phone no?
@@tamarakrafft4429 I don't think a Chinese phone matters, but much like travelling to any country, I feel like it's a much better experience when you buy a local SIM and with China this is quite important. I took the subway from the airport in Pudong and after checking in to the hotel, the first thing I did was go to China mobile to buy a SIM. Not worth buying in the airport unless you're desperate.
@@tamarakrafft4429 there is no need for a China mobile number, you only need an email if you create your account on the English page on 12306, verification only requires your passport
Thank you dear, always fun watching your videos. If you can share the following it would be fantastic :
from your POV - can please share where to (1) visit to outskirts area but within Beijing to experience and see local daily life (2); shop and eat (not a tourist trap) (3) any underground shopping eg unbranded cloths, bags (4) a spa for massage & facial. Thank you for your time 😍🤗
This video should be shared with every foreigner who planning to travel to China.
I love all your content, I just wish your TH-cam videos were a little bit longer to enjoy them further. XO
Hi Amy, I will be travelling to Beijing end of this year, for my very first Winter experience. Can you do a sharing on what to prepare for winter trip? Stuff to prepare, layering to wear etc. Thanks!
Moisturizer and down jacket would be my most recommendations for people to come visiting Beijing during the winter, it would be cold and dry, the lowest temperature in 2022 was -22 degrees celcius.
Very great video
Nice Video, was in China 8 years ago. Brought cash last time, heard cash may not be good anymore now. May visit China next year . Thanks for information about the app for payment. 👍🏻🙏🏻
In china, if some places don't accept cash, it is illegal！ Especially in tourist attractions or public areas. Because there are so many old people can not use the online pay. But some places they don't have enough changes rightnow...😅 So Alipay is necessary.
The only problem is that even though many places accept cash payment but these places do not have enough change (small notes and coins) whenever you use 100 yuan notes for your payment.
By the way, I just came back from China and was there for 2 weeks in Shanghai and Suzhou. Even though I can pay cash in shopping malls but they didn't have small change of notes and coins whenever I paid with 100 yuan notes. I reckoned these businesses don't have so much cash in the first place because most of their payments are from mobile payments
@@johnnytang5192 Thanks for the information, will definitely install the app for payment.
Their train so high Tech..
Melbourne Australia train sucks!!😂😂
More info re navigating China on maps, SIM cards + VPN please!
Not my first time in China. Far from it. Stil this is a very timely vlog for me. Lived here from 95 to 03 then back often. But because of Covid I hadn't been back in over 5 years. Just returned a week and a half ago for an extended stay and the biggest hurdle for me is all the 'pay by phone' stuff. Yea, I'm old. There's no question China has modernized incredibly over the past 30 years but in some (many) ways I miss the old China. No going back though I guess.
Know that feeling. While we're living the convenience and fancy modern lifestyles, we can't help but occasionally miss the good old days when things just seemed to nice and simple, but yea, no going back.
Wasn't all that hard once I got Wechat and Alipay working, and having metro tickets and Didi available in English is .. wonderful.
我怀念旧时光，我很想回到那个新年收到礼物就会激动不已的年代。现在，即便是节日里可以买很多东西，包括玩的和吃的。但是我怎么也没有那种激动的感觉了。
@@lovelife5783是老了吧😂😂
Yes, how could Westerners not miss which weak and impoverished China? When China had nothing, Westerners instilled in us the idea that the system was inadequate. In 1989, you almost successfully launched the Color Revolution in China. 10 years ago, you also faced the same risk, but today it's all over, and you miss the past🤣🤣🤣
Oh and make sure to down load all the apps prior landing!!! Once i got my chinese sim card, I can't access google store anymore (my nordvpn was not working, but i know express vpn works), luckily i had a huawei phone so i downloaded some apps from Huawei store 😅
you can use vpn
A local Chinese sim card requires vpn to access to Facebook, WhatsApp, youtube etc. Fortunately my Singapore mobile sim card has 25Gb of free data roaming in China every month without using VPN to access to the above apps. But still, I need to buy chinese sim card for their local call whether outgoing or incoming calls. Using Singapore sim card to receive a lot of calls in China will be expensive
Gotta say ctrip is cheaper than expedia if you're booking for hotels in China and Korea. The only thing I wanna know is when booking hotels, I used the filter for foreigners, but I'm not sure if that works all the time or not, don't wanna get rejected at the hotel.
中国的酒店分级，有些不是涉外酒店，是不具备接待外国人资质的酒店，是无法给外国人提供住宿服务，最好提前查询一下
u'd better call the hotel in advance , cuz sometimes the information about the foriegner policiies might be wrong
book quan ji hotel ,good price with good service
Very useful video! Wish I watched it before spending hours on googling about useful apps in China 😅
3:08 that why I like her, she's so energetic, she soothes energy! I wish to have someone like her near me, hahaha... I am bipolar:)
Alipay works thank you!
Thanks Amy so much for the content. Me and my partner will travel back to China late this year! This is so helpful for us, even for me - a Chinese who hasn’t been back for 3 years 😂 Would you please me able to share more information about how to get a local SIM card? It would be super helpful for my partner with foreign passport travel in China.❤
Just don't act suspicious or be friendly foreigner and you wont get reported and be okay.
画蛇添足。
BBlondie~ you did good view~ 🌟
Awesome
Hard to register to enter museum, attractions etc where they require phone registration with local phone number (for otp,one-time-pin, verification) and china citizen id number. Very problematic.
Also alipay or wechat does not allow me to use money stored in their respective accounts (had put money into their wallets prior to the trip to avoid complicated card fees). Instead goes straight to bank account debit or credit card.
Is it better to get a sim card in China or before coming to China? Sim in China will give you a china number for sms otp confirmation if needed for reservation.
Problem with single sim slot phone is a data only sim will not receive any otp because there’s no number with the sim. Hard to make any call to hotels, restaurants or certain reservations.
If you buy a sim card at airport, it provides both data + calls/text messages.
Dude I'm also an Aussie visiting China end of 2024. This is so freaking useful. I have a question. How to go around renting a car and driving to the wild west/ desert in China with a QLD license
that's a great question
Just hang around in the airport/train station and u can find the place to rent a car. Or just download some apps, typing zuche. Hope this helps
@@Pete9668 Renting a car is not a problem. The real key issue is how to get a driver's license recognized in China.
Thanks Amy for this helpful video! I was wondering if you can elaborate a bit more on how you would get a phone number in China? I heard you will need a Chinese phone number to link to wifi, log on to certain apps and stuff and was wondering how convenient/how to get one if you are a foreigner visiting for a short stay? Thank you!!!!!!!
get a chinese sim card when you arrive in china.
are data only sim cards expensive ?
@@alfredoxu7926
@@tamhuy10 one of our students recently shared that she paid CNY$50 for a month with 10GB ;)
Hey thanks for the nice video.
I am planning to go to China in September.
Which app would you recommend to book hotels etc?
Thanks and lovely greetings
My experience with hotel robots in China was mixed. When I was in 5 star hotels in Nanjing and Suzhou, they had these robots deliver stuff to you, however, if you order during peak times, they is usually a wait because they only usually have one robot onsite. When I was in Shanghai, despite having the robot, they never used it, why I don't know, go figure.
有的酒店很自私只让机器人送酒店内的预定
Food delivery robots are mostly used in mid-range hotels, but are less frequently used in high-end hotels such as the Marriott Hilton because hotel policies require guests to go get takeout by themselves.
well, I stayed in Marriott affiliated hotels and they had robots.@@woshisuo
MY HOMETOWN！！！
Hi Amy, thanks for the video! I haven’t been back home for 5+ years and never ordered food delivery on a bullet train. Decide to give it a try.
Quick question: where in China would you be able to buy decent yet not crazy expensive western food? Like fresh and aged cheese, prosciutto, pate, etc.
I believe it’s ok if you go to the independent imported goods shop (e.g. Laura’s in Shanghai). However, it’s still not gonna be that cheap. The way I found out to buy western foods e.g. authentic Greek yogurt or prosciutto, in a better price is through online shopping. I believe it’s gonna take you some time to figure out the independent imported distributor淘宝店铺 fits ur need, but it’s barely hard to find what you can’t get through Taobao( lmao).
maybe try some middle or high end supermarkets brands, say blt, depending on which city you will live in, they may have more foreign food.
sam or casco
If you are in nanjing, you should go visit 石头城，which is accessible from 国防园。
Woo-hoo! Don't have to queue up in the railway station? Great news. Going to China in May (2nd half of May). Should I expect outrageous queues and crowds at attractions? I saw a video about the queues for thr Panda Research Base in Chengdu which looked frightening...
Please share on how the SIM card process work. Thank you in advance!
💞💞💞
This is an amazing video! Thanks so much for the details. Just one question on riding trains, is there a max. baggage allowance? is it checked in?
maximum allowance is 20kg. But actually you can bring as much baggage as you can, no one check the weight. Baggage check in service also provided, max is 50kg.
My partner just came back from a work trip to China. I kinda wish we had found your video before he went, but then he wouldn't have had the hilarious surprise of being chased into lifts by robot waiters at almost every hotel! 😂
This is great, thank you! I lived in Wuhan 2014-2015 and we used cash only. Foreign bank cards were not accepted and mobile pay was not that common, at least in Wuhan, so I've been wondering how to do it if I ever go back in the near future.
I know the feeling, I left China in 2014 to go to college in the U.S. I graduated in 2018 and came back to China and everything around me was different. People around me no longer use cash, bullet train penetration has covered the whole country, my hometown city subway station is fully built out, and even 5G base stations will start to be available near my house in 2019.
It doesn't feel like much if you live in China, but after 4 years abroad I realized that China is changing so fast.
China now accepts foreign cards. Go to check the video at 2:33 , you can see the VISA, MASTERCARD, JCB,... Icons.
Bullet trains really wasn't on the top of my list ahah. But Alipay definitely was up there. Ridesharing apps is probably next important one I'd want to know.
Oi Blondie! U rock!
Thanks for the super duper useful information. What about the VPN?
she cant say it because she will be arrested
Oh, NanJing, hi from WuHu, England, song2.
i learn something new
How easy is it for someone who only speaks English to get around, order food and hotels?
I'm planning to visit either before my trip to Japan or after but I'll be alone because my Son just won't come with me for myriad stupid reasons that actually don't affect him personally. It's been my dream for over 40 years but even trying to refresh my memory speaking Cantonese was a bust. I'm just too old now I guess and I think I probably have early onset Alzheimer's (runs in the family) so visiting as soon as possible is very important to me.
Use any traslation app, not the google one of course since it was banned in China.
Its very easy🤣
Question please
On the Alipay and foreign cards.
I read a while back they would work for a few months (only) for tourist and tourism reasons.
Long ago they had a lot of issues working with foreign cards (wechat also).
They would let us enter the card info but would not allow them for pay, saying we had to verify yada yada.
But even when contacting their customer support they were not about to get them to work for most people.
Again, this was before covid
A big issue was how you enter the verifying address back in the home nation and the order to do it, as it can be different than how the verifying back-end wants it to appear versus how the Alipay asked you to enter. It seemed hit or miss for many.
Has that changed to working properly across the board with foreign cars such as Visa and Master Card, debit versus Credit Card?
Thanks
You live in the future:). We, in Canada, are still in the past:)
🙂
Thanks for the vids,will be going to china at the end of the year for a long long trip,can you please tell us the best upto date VPN to use for youtube and firefox surf please..ta
Esim, way more convenient way
Hi,thanks,but i will need more data than a esim can do,and for like over a year,so some kinda VPN would be good.@@kenyup7936
Sim card or esim bought before going to china does bot need vpn to go onto google or youtube. Sim cards in china or wifi in china requires vpn.
@@atamo4323 true
hammer vpn ，30rmb per month，i use it now
I was searching those answers today....
😀😀😀
This video was published 1 week after i came back to China after over 4 years!
Another popular question is of course the VPN. What VPN that works in China? I realize that not many people are willing to answer this question because it needs a lot of "trial and errors" to find a VPN that works in China. Most of the VPN apps don't work in China. I had one that worked few years ago, but it does not work now.. So, need to find another one through trial and errors.
I like the way you talk! Perth right?
😘😘😘
Amy，long time no see
恭喜amy恰饭～～～😂
nice video
u need jedi mind trick to help u when flight lol
Just went to Hainan for a week, used three different VPN’s but none could get through the great firewall. I’m heading back in January, so need help.
As a non speaker/reader it is incredibly challenging to translate, get news or get TH-cam etc.
Do you @BlondieinChina have any suggestions?
I have using one VPN called Veee+,,it is very nice and fast. But it’s not for free ..
Hi Blonde, may question is how to prebook or buy speed train tickets for my group of foreign friends in advance when in China.
One question on Alipay: can you transfer some money to the Alipay wallet first to avoid currency conversion for every transaction?
yes ,you can
I think for that you might need a Chinese bank account, linking a foreing bank card only works for direct payments to vendors 🤔
谢谢你 我爱你艾米饭😘