There is nothing worse than arriving in China and realising you
can’t access your data or communicate easily, and these tips will hopefully
help you land on the ground fully up to speed
Check your mobile provider covers China and is cost
effective. (e.g. Vodafone Worldwide charges reasonable day rate for full access
to contract data and calls).
You
should set up your tech gear locally before
you depart for China, as you are
unlikely to be able to access your local language versions of Apps etc over
there.
Key Apps & services
You will need to set up and load a VPN App to phone
/ laptop. (Recommended VPNExpress or Astrill). Make sure it’s loaded and tested
before you leave. This is essential for enabling you to access (English) home
language websites / emails when abroad. It also provides good data protection
(and never use open public WIFI without this).
Language. Choose your language translation provider
and download full dictionaries for offline use - Google translate is good. (Within
China also use Baidu for good alternative translation).
Communication and contact – Load WeChat. Used
everywhere, it’s a good way of establishing communication, building your
contacts, and enables in App translation of messaging. You can also VOIP call and message, and if your payment
card has been loaded – enables payment nearly everywhere. It also provides
access to QR code scanner. (If you don’t preload WeChat, make sure you have a
good QR code scanner loaded, as it can provide quick access to good information
when travelling).
For shopping and market place analysis; load the T-Mall and or Taobao (Alibaba) Apps and set
up login to facilitate local product and price research, as well as buying supplies
where needed (Good for occasional access to imported products).
IFly – Chinese character keyboard. Enables you to
switch between English and Chinese on your mobile keyboard
For Travel
Download and set-up your airline Apps – obvious but extremely
useful.
For train travel (and hotels / airlines) load the CTrip App. (Trip.com).
This enables immediate access to live time train ticket reservations (with ability
to load passport details, cancel and credit). Very Efficient.
For Hotel booking – Booking.com works well particularly in cities
– good for convenience & predictability. (Local sites can generate better
value!).
Didi – the Chinese equivalent to Uber, good for getting taxis and
cabs, but remember that only taxis will accept cash payment, Didi cabs will
expect payment by WeChat, and everyone can score you (your profile) on payment
success etc!
Payments.
Visa & Mastercard are very rarely accepted anywhere in China
(though Visa debit will provide access to most main bank ATM’s for cash
withdrawal).
Recommend getting an American Express card, which is more widely
accepted; can also be interfaced with some of the Apps for in app payment.
If and where you want to set up payment cards within Apps, it is
easier to set these up when in home country before travelling.
For banking – main banking apps through VPN work well, but be
careful if changing VPN countries quickly, as bank might query / hold for
access from these quick country changes.
Laptops
Make sure all software updates and checks are run and up to date
before you travel – nothing worse than switching on and wasting hours when
travelling.
Make sure the laptop also has full VPN and software protection.
If you are downloading programmes or films for travelling, do this
before travelling (enabling access through VPN to download an episode can be
very time consuming).
Pre-set your WIFI hotspot with your Mobile – through VPN, and make
sure the PC version of your mobile Apps are also downloaded.
Set up and download the Microsoft Chinese character keyboard – essential.
NB: these tips and guidance are written based on
experience from the perspective of a UK based British Citizen visiting and
working in China. Other nationalities should and must check their own requirements.
If you have any other great tips, please let me know and
I will add and credit them here on next update.
If you are looking
to do business in China and would like assistance or guidance in developing
your business (sourcing, selling or advising) – please contact enquiries@Cygnusbusiness.com
www.cygnusbusiness.com
