Life in the Middle Kingdom

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彥::Charles
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Life in the Middle Kingdom

Postby 彥::Charles » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:26 pm

I’ve recently moved back to China and would like to share some of my experiences -- both language and non-language related -- with those who may consider studying, working or living here in the future.

VPNs

After stepping into this side of the border from Hong Kong, neither Google search nor Google Map works anymore. I can’t access Dropbox, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube. Receiving emails via Gmail seems OK but sending one out is rather sluggish. Así es la vida:(

Luckily my friends have recommended a few VPNs to me to by pass you-know-what. After trying out a few, I’ve found one that works relatively well.

So, if someone plans to live/work in China for an extended period of time, I recommend that he/she should get a reliable VPN prior to coming here.

IM apps

Two popular communication tools that people use in China, including expats, are WeChat (pinyin: weixin) and QQ. Users can exchange text messages, make voice/video calls and use other features similar to Skype.

Obviously expats use these apps as well. I went to my first Meetup a few weeks ago. It was organized by an U.S. teacher from Minnesota. She uses WeChat not only to organize and coordinate the gatherings but also to pass along information like apartment-for-rent to those who might need.

Also, after searching on WeChat and QQ, I found a Spanish learners’ group that I like. I’ve been to the meetings twice. So nice to be surrounded by other language learners again — I absolutely love it:)

In other words, utilizing these apps is a great way to meet new friends:)

--Links--
WeChat: wechat.com (English)  weixin.qq.com (Chinese)
QQ: im.qq.com
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cathrynm
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Re: Life in the Middle Kingdom

Postby cathrynm » Tue Feb 09, 2016 6:18 am

Yeah, I was just in China myself, and everyone told me I have to install Wechat. I put in the program, and one guy from work contacted me, and that the end of it. Maybe I'm missing something here. Yeah, the Facebook is a hassle in China, I couldn't get to my Memrise flash cards over there because I had it set to Facebook login. Oops. Our company's office did have VPN to the USA, so I could do some stuff that way. I wonder if tunnelbear works for going out of China?

Did you get the crazy Text Messages on your phone? We all kept geting weird messages for people selling receipts, other nefarious goods in China. I would never use the Cell network there for anything private, ever. I don't know how these spammers get my number, but I don't trust the phone there.
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彥::Charles
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Re: Life in the Middle Kingdom

Postby 彥::Charles » Fri Feb 12, 2016 11:24 am

cathrynm wrote:
Did you get the crazy Text Messages on your phone? We all kept geting weird messages for people selling receipts, other nefarious goods in China. I would never use the Cell network there for anything private, ever. I don't know how these spammers get my number, but I don't trust the phone there.

Luckily, I haven't received any spam text messages on my phone… (probably because I've only set up the service recently). I do get some calls from unknown numbers but it's not significantly more than those random 888 or 866 numbers that I used to get in the states.

Were you trying to install WeChat on your work computer? Maybe your firm has set policies to prevent downloading social apps? People usually use WeChat's mobile phone version and it's widely used in here. E.g. at Meetups, networking or social events, people just take out mobile phones and scan each other's QR codes on WeChat to exchange the contact info:)
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aabram
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Re: Life in the Middle Kingdom

Postby aabram » Fri Mar 11, 2016 8:07 am

cathrynm wrote:Yeah, I was just in China myself, and everyone told me I have to install Wechat. I put in the program, and one guy from work contacted me, and that the end of it. Maybe I'm missing something here.


I used Telegram with my wife when travelling in China, worked well enough. I did use Wechat couple of times to log in some WiFi networks. Didn't know that using it this way was a thing in China but apparently it is. But honestly, it beats me how a country can operate without Google services. I had to use VPN basically for everything work related and for anything even remotely interesting. If I was offered job in China right now then GFW would be serious argument for me against moving there. I'd better get huge compensation for cutting myself off from half of the internet.

As for the Google Maps alteratives situation, I recommend Maps.me which has offline maps. It had impressively detailed maps for many places.
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