nostr:npub1yy3uc7y85faxy5cwq8f574yda3j9457p7r9h2ymlkwlx6lp8f4vsy4kawc or nostr:npub1xjsenwf98zypvyu039f7v767cm3j8sc0jf55qd38x94nn2zw5x9ska3rqt might be able to help! 🍀🫂💜
Discussion
thanks for the @ :)
你好！
do you have a visa already? thats the hardest part. so if you have that done thats most of the battle
** i highly reccomend getting a google Fi esim plan for your phone before you go as it will allow you to access the global internet from within china. **
it is also beneficial to have a sim card you buy in china, since a chinese phone number will make using services over there much easier. use an eSIM for Google Fi and buy a physical SIM upon arrival in china.
download alipay and wechat ahead of time. alipay is the easiest way for foreigners to pay for things in china and wechat is best for communication. link alipay to your bank account and try to set up a metro card before go.
having a vpn or preferably two (i used proton Stealth and Nord. Mulvad is good too i hear) is also a necessity if you want to access the global internet in china. having orbot or tor is also a nice thing.
shanghai is hot and humid in the summer so pack accordingly.
china is a surveilance state and i never whitnessed any crime while i was there. generally china is a very safe place to travel.
have fun and enjoy learning some chinese along the way.
加油！再见
This is some seriously sold advice on China travel. And especially the points on Alipay and Wechat. You can't pay for anything here without one of those two payment platforms.
nostr:npub1suwxj6qxnts2ls8jr0lpjy95386kr9y5ckn7qep5c95063wcj5eqh4rlxf you have zero to be concerned with traveling to China. Much like nostr:npub1xjsenwf98zypvyu039f7v767cm3j8sc0jf55qd38x94nn2zw5x9ska3rqt mentioned the place is as safe as you can possibly imagine. Shanghai also has a fantastic subway system and like everything really signage is all dual language. The city is also relatively small and is a great walking city.
Let me know when you are in town and we can grab a coffee.
I'd love to make it back there sometime
studied the language in highschool and college, fell in love with the culture during my first visit last May
Great to see someone these days studying Mandarin. Not as popular as it used to be for some obvious reasons.
And Shanghai is one of the best cities in all of Asia but then again I'm also biased. If you make it back at some point let me know. I'm not going anywhere.
I'd love to! I'll let you know when I'm there - expecting to be in Shanghai for about 7 days :)
Thank you so much for this!! I'm working on my visa as we speak. I'll have to get it from Japan unfortunately as I'm not in my home country, but I believe I have all the pieces I need and hopefully that's not too much of a complication. I was more worried about getting lost than anything, but your comment has put me more at ease!
Quick follow up question!!! Did you recommend google fi specifically for a reason or would any eSIM card do? I'm a frequent Airalo user and see they have eSIM cards for China. I have also heard Google fi can be a bit complicated for Canadians and I see the plans are for longer!
Google Fi specifically because it let me bypass the great firewall of China over my cell plan. not sure if other services allow this, but any sim card bought in China won't let you access the outside Internet. For me, Google Fi was the easiest option for using restricted services while in China
Ahh I see - maybe if I purchase an Airalo card while I'm still here in Mexico it might work? I'll look into it. Google Fi seems to be a bit more than I need for 7 days but one can't live without internet so if it's indeed the only way... so be it 🤷🏻♀️🤣
Thanks!