The China Helper
Your practical guide to studying, living and learning in China.
Nothing prepares a newcomer for the first Golden Week: the campus empties, train tickets vanish weeks in advance, and half the city closes for eight days while the other half doubles its hours. China’s holiday system is generous, predictable and…
Getting online in China: SIM data plans, campus and home Wi-Fi, what is actually blocked, lawful ways to stay connected, and local app replacements.
The single best argument for travelling while you study here is that the thing which usually ruins travel budgets elsewhere — the distance — is cheap here, while the things you actually want out of a trip are not. A…
If you entered China on an X1 visa, you are not finished with immigration paperwork — you have just started it. An X1 is a single-entry visa that only gets you through the border; it does not let you stay…
Staying active in China is easy once you know where people actually go, and confusing until you do. There are commercial gyms with monthly memberships, campus facilities that are free or nearly free, twenty-four-hour self-service gyms you enter with a…
Why the first months feel hard, how to make Chinese and international friends, unwritten social rules, and where to find your community.
Learning to read Chinese properly takes years. Learning to read the signs that actually matter — which way is out, what this shop sells, how much that costs, whether you are about to do something forbidden — takes a weekend…
Set up WeChat Pay with a passport: real-name verification, adding a Chinese or foreign card, limits, fees, and fixes for common errors.
Money is one of those topics nobody explains until it goes wrong. Can you bring cash in? How does your family pay your rent from abroad? What happens when you want to convert your leftover RMB at the end of…
What international students are legally allowed to do, where to find internships, how to build a Chinese-style CV, and how to convert to a work visa.