So you have decided to move to China. You have found the job of your dreams and are open to expanding your horizon. Unlike quite a few other countries, a move to China requires some pre-arrival preparation. Also, when you have arrived there are some things you need to take care of as quickly as possible. To prepare you the utmost for your upcoming move we provide you with a small checklist of things you need to do and others you simply need to know. Simply tick of each item and you are China-ready.

Visa

Probably the most important aspect you have to arrange before leaving is your visa. This process can be quite intricate and lengthy. The chance is that, since you are moving to China to work, your current or future job will assist you with the visa application. To register for the appropriate working visa you need quite a few official documents from your new employer, fill in quite a few forms and you will probably have to take an interview at the embassy as well. As you can see, this is not something you take care of in a matter of days. To make sure this is all arranged in time you should start this process a couple of weeks before your actual departure.

Take Chinese Classes in Advance

The Chinese are making great strides in improving their language knowledge. This does not mean however that they are all multilingual now. The largest group of Chinese people still only speak Mandarin. In order to make your life easy here you should learn Chinese. Your new job might even require you to have some knowledge of the Chinese language in order to function efficiently on the work floor.

There are a ton of opportunities to learn Chinese on the Chinese mainland. However, we would recommend you to start learning before your arrival. Chinese workdays are pretty long and the chances of you still being open to going to class after a long day at work are slim. Also, there is so much to do in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai that you probably will want to explore the town instead of heading to class. Therefore it’s better to get some practice with the language before you arrive. That way you can practice once you hit the ground and become quite fluent in no time.

VPN

Another thing you should definitely take care of before you leave is your VPN subscription. There are a bunch of great VPN providers available like ExpressVPN or Astrill. You will need a VPN connection in order to connect to the websites you’re used to visiting back at home since the Chinese government has implemented harsh censorship on foreign internet sources. A VPN connection is your way around this notorious firewall. Without a VPN you can only go on websites that are government approved. Believe me, these are not the websites you want to visit.

After subscribing to a VPN service, don’t forget to download the phone application of that service. In China, the mobile phone is used a lot more than your personal computer. Without the VPN connection on your phone you cannot use your favorite apps like Facebook, Instagram or even Google Maps. Let’s be honest, if you cannot post a picture every now and then, nobody will believe you’re actually here.

Healthcare

Medical insurance is not a bad investment before leaving to China. Healthcare in China can be extremely expensive and not all hospitals or medical institutions offer the same level of quality. When you get a good health insurance you know which hospitals are foreigner friendly and offer you the same level of quality you are used to back at home. Be sure to have a conversation with your health insurance provider to make sure you know in which hospitals you are welcome with your specific insurance.

Of course, this is also something you should bring up when you have your pre-arrival conversation with the representative of your new company. A lot of companies will offer their foreign employees insurance as part of the compensation. You’d do good to ask in order to avoid unnecessary costs.

Housing

It’s highly likely that if you move to China while you already have a job, your new employer will take care of the housing for you. This is a large burden taken off of your shoulders. Having to find housing upon arrival is a long and strenuous task that will give you a quick introduction into the Chinese way of doing business. If you are negotiating for a job definitely bring up the subject of housing. If your job doesn’t provide housing you should ask if they at least offer assistance in finding affordable housing that is also located suitably. It’s always nice to immediately go to your place of residence when you arrive and not stay in a hotel for a couple of days/weeks.

Weather

China is a country of pretty extreme weather conditions. Summer gets really hot and quite uncomfortable as the humidity makes the real feel even hotter. As these temperatures can stay the same for a couple of days on end, it’s no surprise that in summer people tend to be clustered to their AC.

Winter on the other hand can be terribly cold. Temperatures below 0°C and chilly winds really make the cold set in your bones. In between there is a raining season as well that can really flood streets, drench clothes and destroy shoes.

These conditions force you to pack accordingly. Whether you arrive in winter or summer will dictate what clothes you take with you. Anyway, as you will probably be staying for a while, you should make sure you pack clothes for the whole year round.

Pets

Do you have any pets at home that you want to take with you to China? This is possible but not easy. You have to be able to prove that the animal has received the necessary vaccinations, be able to provide an international health certificate and register your pet when you arrive in China. Keep in mind that one adult can only bring in one pet. Before you can actually register it, the animal will have to stay in quarantine for a set number of days. Here they put the animal through tests and keep it under supervision. This can be quite stressful for the animal as the owner cannot be around. After this period, you should be perfectly able to enjoy your pet’s presence in your new home. Make sure to give him/her some treats to recover from the stressful period.

Police Registration

When you arrive in China you have exactly 24 hours to register to a police office in your district. Be sure to ask your employer or housing agent where this office is located as not any police office is able to register your new address.

It’s necessary you take care of this within 24 hours. If not, you run the chance of being given a substantial monetary fine up to 3000 RMB (400 USD). They might also keep you in the police office for a few hours to both scare and annoy you. Don’t forget to do this immediately to avoid any kind of problems. 

Get a Sim Card

Whether you do it at the airport or in one of the many stores in the cities, you will need to get a new sim card. Without a phone you are nothing in China so get this taken care of quickly. The most famous operators are China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom. All three are reliable and offer a range of pretty cheap data plans. Once you have 4G, you are truly connected in China.

Download WeChat

WeChat is everything in China. It’s used for sending messages, calling, mobile payment, localization, sharing pictures with friends, networking and a lot more. If you meet new people, they will all ask for your WeChat account. A lot of professionals even have their personal QR code, which is linked to their WeChat account, printed on their business cards. Without WeChat you won’t have much of a social life in China, so make sure this is one of the apps you download straight away once you arrive.

Other Applications

As aforementioned, the phone is crucial in China. There is an application for as good as everything. Here are a few that will definitely help you with settling in. Alipay is another mobile payment application that is most popular together with WeChat pay. Mobike and Ofo are two services that offer public bicycle services you can use to move throughout the city. Metroman is a great app to find your way in the intricate subway system of Chinese cities. Simply type in your start and arrival station and you’ll see a detailed description of how to get there. Bon App! is another useful app to find the perfect dining location close to where you are. You can also use the service to book a table or order food online. You’ll definitely discover a lot more while you are here, these are just a few early suggestions.

Chinese Bank Account

The other thing you should take care of straight away is your Chinese bank account. You need this bank account to link it to your WeChat and Alipay account you will have to create. Both applications are used for mobile payment. Almost nobody in China still pays with cash notes or coins. Everything is done through the phone.
You will also need this account to receive your monthly wage from your new employer. There is a high chance you will have someone from your new company helping you to take care of this issue when you have arrived.

Driver’s License

Your foreign driver’s license is useless when you arrive in China. You cannot buy or rent a car with it so if you love driving, this is something you’ll have to say goodbye to. There is of course still a way to get a Chinese driver’s license. You can apply for it at the appropriate department and it shouldn’t be that hard to obtain one. You simple need to prove that you can drive a car during a very short driving test and you need to take a theoretical test which shows you know the traffic rules and regulations. After this you will receive your Chinese driver’s license with which you can buy and rent a motorized vehicle. The big question is if you will still want to do this once you discover the hectic traffic in China’s large cities.

The Culture

Once you start working in China you’ll quickly discover that the business culture in China is different than the one you know back at home. There will be a learning curve and some things you’ll need to get used to. One important notion for example is guanxi, which loosely translates to networking. In China it’s very important that you know the right people. If you don’t have any connections at the right government institutions you will not be able to let your business flourish. Networking is therefore a vital part of doing business. Make sure you have a stack of business cards ready and learn how to hand them over in the right way. You can read our guide on how to network in China right here.

Another thing you should know is that losing face is one of the worst things that can happen to a Chinese professional. Chinese employees will therefore rather say nothing than say something that makes them sound like they don’t know what they are talking about. Many foreign managers who came to China to work where frustrated by the lack of input by individual Chinese members during a meeting. They noted that they only really started to speak their mind when you talked to them one-to-one. This is because during such a personal talk they have a lot less chance of embarrassing themselves. Keep this in mind and don’t let your frustrations get the best of you during meetings.

Last but not least, get ready to eat and drink a lot if you want to do business in China. Chinese businessmen see the restaurant as their second office. A good dinner with a potential business partner is a great way to get to know each other in an informal way and gain some trust. Remember that “a good dinner” in Chinese terms involves a lot of alcohol. Your participation in their drinking is required if you want to establish a connection so don’t say no to that fifth beer.

The Food

You probably ate Chinese food once before in your life. If you did, forget everything you know about it. Authentic Chinese food is not at all like what you eat back at home. The food is a lot better and fresher, with a lot more variation than back at home. A lot of people are still taken aback by the small restaurants that sometimes seem less hygienic. Don’t be afraid to enter as they offer the best Chinese food you’ll ever have eaten in your life. The key is to try as many different things as possible, there is definitely one dish you’ll fall in love with. Don’t believe all the stories you hear about people getting sick by street food or when they eat in small eating places. Go out and expand your culinary horizon!

The Pollution

Large Chinese cities are pretty polluted. There are of course periods where the level of pollution is lower than on others. Especially during and right after winter especially it can get really bad. That’s why you see a lot of people wearing masks on the streets, in shops or even behind the wheel of their car. If you have asthma or simply want to avoid inhaling too much polluted air you might want to buy a mask yourself. Don’t just buy any mask you see though. Make sure it has an actual filter inside to filter out the bad particles you want to keep out of your lungs. Look for a 3M mask as theirs have an actual filter system inside and will offer you ultimate protection.

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