bobbyk0312 1mo

Which ones?

nthnjns 1mo

Trip or Booking and the reviews are fake on half of them 😂 it is a gamble for sure. I'd say about half the apartments I booked were fine and half had issues. No different than Vietnam...

nthnjns 1mo

Oftentimes it is better to stay at a hotel or serviced apartment by a reputable company (Ascott, Somerset, Fraser etc) bc if the unit they give you sucks they can move you to another unit.

romancores 1mo

the short turm visa avaliable for selected passports, not sure if you have US passport it works, anyway 3h is not enogh for you to go out and come back so better just stay inside the international zone

oskars 1mo

There can be no international zones, search about this specific airport

regiani 1mo

ah I mean, I wouldn't go out, I just want to stay in the airport for the connection

ccooper 1mo

I've done it staying overnight in xiamen (they put you in a hotel). UK passport, transit visa sorted at the airport (very straightforward). I've also just changed in xmn and stayed airside, which was fine too, they have a lounge for this.

nthnjns 1mo

I don't see why it would be an issue. Plenty of time to make the next flight

nthnjns 1mo

I'm in Xiamen now, nice little town

nthnjns 1mo

I'm in China now with a 3HK esim (which also gives you a HK number which is useful). No need for a VPN so far. Google apps all work fine. Alipay and WeChat work fine to pay. I also have Ubigi on another phone and so far no need to use a VPN. I tried letsvpn on my computer on the hotel wifi and it was useless so easier just to hotspot through my phone....no need for VPNs so far....

bobbyk0312 1mo

great info, I'll look into it. I didn't know any eSIMs provided a local number as well. I've only had a local number with a physical SIM card, but I recently upgraded my iPhone and it's eSIM only. Thanks

nthnjns 1mo

The HK phone number doesn't always work for all the Chinese apps but many will if you need to do 2FA to sign up for something...it's hit or miss but better than nothing

tomjamesdj 1mo

My Revolut eSIM for example

tomjamesdj 1mo

You don’t need visa. You stay in the airport during connection

majariusz 1mo

Revolut esims for China don't require VPNs?

tomjamesdj 1mo

Nope. It’s routed through HK. When I land in China with this SIM, I have WhatsApp, Facebook etc. access. Love it

majariusz 1mo

This is gold. Thanks Tom. I've been a Revolutionary for years 😎✌️

tomjamesdj 1mo

Haha yes! Love it. The only problem is that you can’t use ChatGPT because that is blocked in Hong Kong.

majariusz 1mo

You can't use their website, but you could probably get an automation working integrated with telegram where you ping openAI or other ai providers API endpoints. Or via hugging face API's

There are examples with make.com or n8n on yt

tomjamesdj 1mo

Yeah or just turn on my VPN haha

tomjamesdj 1mo

LetsVPN is amazing for my needs in China. So cheap as well

majariusz 1mo

Or that 🤣

tomjamesdj 1mo

Slightly off topic, but I’m using Perplexity now and you can choose from different models for it to use, such as ChatGPT. Not sure if that is blocked but I’ll find out soon.

majariusz 1mo

anyone here has China as home base? I have employment related questions 😎

majariusz 1mo

is someone willing to scan my wechat qr code?

bobbyk0312 1mo

sure

bobbyk0312 1mo

I just figured out something about some sites still being blocked on VPN, I turned off ipv6 and let it revert back to ipv4 and now sites that were previously blocked on VPN are working again. ChatGPT command line is being a bit weird, but idk if that's related

tomjamesdj 1mo

I’m in Chengdu next week! Anyone wanna explore / hike?

athousandcups 1mo

anyone going to edc in sūzhōu in march?

tomjamesdj 1mo

I might do. I did EDC Thailand and I’m doing EDC Korea. But China is a bit more limited line up so not sure… you are going?

majariusz 1mo

flying into Shenzhen tomorrow with wife and baby daughter until the 9th, drop me a dm if you wanna meet up 🤭👌🔥

athousandcups 1mo

yup :) got the tix already

athousandcups 1mo

oh man paul van dyk in korea

athousandcups 1mo

I remember my mom listening to him

tomjamesdj 1mo

Same!

tomjamesdj 1mo

(Not your mom, my mum)

severi 1mo

You got pretty cool modern mothers then! 😎 🎵

ccooper 26d

yes it's real, the catch is you can't leave the region and need a flight booked to a 3rd country

ccooper 26d

(I've done it several times back when it was 6 days not 10)

oskars 26d

They increased a number of cities and allowed leaving a region now, by the way.

tomjamesdj 26d

Yes, you can travel to any of the regions you want now, super cool

oskars 26d

The main catch is you need to transit, can't fly from A to China and back to A. Although, HK and Macao are excluded, they can be your next destination.

oskars 26d

I don't want to sound boring but try to not stick chopsticks into the bowl, they remind Chinese of incenses and death. Put them across the bowl, it's an etiquette.

bobbyk0312 26d

haha, yes, I did correct that as soon as I noticed

oskars 26d

I tried to not point at anyone! :-)

majariusz 25d

yup true, get your outbound tickets documented coz they (airline staff) will need to build a case for this entry at the visa/passport check

majariusz 25d

I have 30 days because European, but my wife and daughter are Canadian so we all had to get someone to assist us in getting the documents together
day 9 tomorrow, moving on to HK

majariusz 22d

can I just say that China was epic for many reasons, but an interesting highlight was the fact that their air and water quality are unparalleled
some 4 star hotel in Shekou Shenzhen - tap water quality 55
another 5 star hotel in Futian Shenzhen - tap water 63
bottled purified water quality 1

for comparison
in Brighton UK we have tap water 220-250 and bottled around 110
in Marrakech Morocco, tap 380 undrinkable, bottled around 200

majariusz 22d

not that many people care, I travel with a 9 month old daughter so I do
plus I've been testing water since my van living days lol

majariusz 22d

I take it back, just tested in Kuala Lumpur in a serviced apartments building and tap water quality is 30
new pipes 😎

ccooper 22d

is lower better? Doesn't KL tap water taste awful?

majariusz 22d

yes, distilled water is 0

majariusz 22d

just had a sip, its good
nothing to write home about lol

majariusz 22d

coffee culture in China is mint, I miss VortexCoffee in Shenzhen, a japanese style cafe in Shekou district

https://surl.amap.com/6Zj8F49H6tJ

bobbyk0312 22d

what index are you using? I admit I didn't dig too deeply, but a quick google search shows a Water Quality Index of 100 is best and zero is worst

guido 22d

Also curious. I’m familiar with air quality, but not with water quality. After all, I never drink tap water, just to be on safe side. Is there a website that crowdsources global water quality same as there is for air quality (eg iqair dot com)?

bobbyk0312 22d

this would be super useful, hoping there's a app for that lol

guido 22d

I just asked chatGpT. Apparently no. But in any case, I don’t really care too much as I don’t drink tap water. Am I missing something?! I

bobbyk0312 22d

I'm from the U.S. where the tap water is okay everywhere, but like you, I only drink bottled when traveling, except for western EU where it's generally safe. I always check though

majariusz 22d

I use 0-500 water tester

majariusz 22d

you cook with bottled water?

majariusz 22d

Water Quality Test Digital Water Tester Meter 3 in 1 TDS EC Temperature Meter for Drinking Water Aquariums Pool Spa | Shopee Malaysia
https://shopee.com.my/product/298602003/29670192541?gads_t_sig=VTJGc2RHVmtYMTlxTFVSVVRrdENkVHQ3ZkZSUTMrR3pBWmZZNzdrcnRBM2hGd0R6bjdkZTZzUTNiQjNzVVF4NENCZlBkb2pQU054Z1hKb0FOd25pWnVPdEhZVlZ4NkpxenAza3ZCOE1oVlY4bktySUFVSUxmRDYzYVdkQjVBZ091bmNnQ2xZNVdhME5pTjNTWTB5ZGpRPT0&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxbL39pSBjAMV2M08Ah0rMg78EAQYAiABEgJzzfD_BwE

majariusz 22d

I use one of these (link may get deleted, if so just google water quality tester)

majariusz 22d

massive tangent though

majariusz 22d

obv go by the scale of your tester to judge quality

nthnjns 22d

This is pretty cool! Never thought to test the water. I just get 5L bottles of Nongfu delivered to the apartment when I'm in China 😂

guido 21d

Basically it answers the question: Which cities in China are interesting to visit as a tourist in February and March without having to bring winter clothing.

majariusz 21d

agree with Shenzhen, bit cloudy but we got away not owning winter clothing lol

nthnjns 21d

I've spent the past month in Xiamen, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Yangshuo, Guiyang, HK, Chongqing, and now Chengdu

nthnjns 21d

Weather has been perfect in all of them (for me at least). No jacket needed, but not super warm. Around 18 to 20 high everywhere. Very little rain too. I'm definitely going to work this into my Feb/March rotation from here on out...

nthnjns 21d

If you came earlier you could start in Hainan island and move North. Or if you came later start in Xiamen and move towards Hangzhou

majariusz 21d

Is Hainan island different in terms of access? you have a month entry?

nthnjns 21d

There may be a visa free thing but you might need to be part of a group? You'll have to check. I have a 10 year visa for China so I'm not sure about all of the new rules they have created...

majariusz 21d

Wow a 10 year visa? How?

khizrs 21d

Americans have it on the basis of reciprocity

khizrs 21d

British get 2 years for the same reason

bobbyk0312 21d

I have a 10 year visa (U.S. citizen) too, but it expires next year, I'm not sure what I'll be able to get next time. It's a business visa, and when I entered on this trip they asked "business or pleasure" and as usual I said pleasure, and the guy gave me a hard time because it was a business visa. They pulled me out of the queue, then I had to talk with another guy, then another two people before they let me in. idk why

majariusz 21d

On a business visa you need to have a more detailed plan of visit perhaps?

nthnjns 21d

Yup. I use my EU passport for most other travel. This is the only good thing about a US passport

bobbyk0312 21d

idk, this is the first time this has happened and I've been saying vacation or whatever for at least 7 years now. at the time I got it, a business visa was a lot harder to get (I had a friend in the Chinese government who pushed it through) but more powerful.

guido 18d

gahqhoyjv what was your favourite city of the ones you visited? In which one could you have stayed for a month and said you feel comfortable? For me personally, I could say this about Xiamen. Very green, safe, modern, good connectivity, good air quality, relatively affordable, etc.

nthnjns 18d

Yeah I would def agree. Xiamen was very livable and green. Chengdu is super-walkable/bike-able and feels "hipper" than Xiamen but is probably miserable in the summer. Shenzhen was boring but convenient. Chongqing was really cool to walk around but the hills got old after a few days 😂. Guangzhou felt dirtier than all the other cities (which all felt quite clean and new).

majariusz 18d

Where did you go in Shenzeh? coz im pressions about it are exactly as you described Xiamen

nthnjns 17d

I got a nice apartment in Futian area then took Didis all over town. The city is only 30 years old so it's mostly just malls but there is some decent nature. The painting village is funny. I had been to Hong Kong for a full week previously and hiked almost every day so it was a little boring by comparison (but the food is actually much better).

majariusz 17d

I stayed in Nanshan/Shekou area and then near OCT/Futian and was mainly visiting parks, small restaurants (those canteen like), cafe shops. Great long alleys for running in Bay park. Been to a mall once to buy a phone, so my lived experience was not 'its mostly just malls' but its all subjective.
I was very impressed how green it was.

majariusz 17d

I loved the singing and dancing park Sihai. Never seen anything like this in the west.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3GrHCQkNdU32NAQ57

nthnjns 17d

Yeah if you have never been to China this is memorable! I love seeing how active the old people are. My advice is make your way up to Hangzhou/Suzhou when it gets warm for a similar vibe.

guido 4d

What are your favorite podcasts for Chinese beginner level? Any of these?

Coffee Break Chinese
ChinesePod
Slow Chinese
Talk Chineasy

tomjamesdj 17h

Hey guys! Any experts on the 240 visa-free entry to China? I have a specific question that I just need confirmation on.

I fly into China like this:

Hanoi 🇻🇳 - Shenzhen 🇨🇳 - Shanghai 🇨🇳 (one ticket)

I fly out of China like this:

Hangzhou 🇨🇳 - Qingdao 🇨🇳 - Taipei 🇹🇼 (one ticket)

—

I’m looking for confirmation that there can be no issues with the fact that I have a domestic part of the flight on both tickets.

Please let me know if you can help 🙏

ccooper 14h

Interested in this too. It wouldn't have been allowed before because you had to stay in the same area, but all your areas are valid and there's nothing as far as I can tell preventing indirect flights (and it wouldn't make loads of sense to prevent it as you'd be able to fly Hangzhou to Qingdao domestically then connect yourself anyway now).

tomjamesdj 14h

Yes, my thoughts exactly

tomjamesdj 14h

Well I’m flying there tomorrow so let’s see 🤣

majariusz 10h

as long as the domestic locations are allowed for you to visit andthe exit flight to Tipei is within 240h from the arrival in Shenzhen then you should be good. Enjoy taking printscreens for the airport staff in Shenzhen. Go directy to the seats on the left andby the round desk ask for staff that can do your 10 day visa expemption paperwork. No point queing up for passport check, they just going to send you to the green seats area (visa area, but don't need to speak to the visa staff since its not a visa situation haha this is such a mess)

tomjamesdj 10h

Haha thanks! Yeah I’ve done this visa type many times and the staff often send me the wrong way anyway 🤣 Thanks for helping me confirm these tickets should be good!

majariusz 10h

oh wait, you only transit through Shenzhen into Shanghai,that's where the 240 starts

majariusz 10h

its a layover in Shenzhen?

tomjamesdj 10h

Layover yeah, but I will enter China

tomjamesdj 10h

Day in Shenzhen

tomjamesdj 10h

So 240 hour starts in Shenzhen and the Shenzhen to Shanghai flight is like a domestic flight (despite being on the same ticket)

majariusz 10h

oh, I see, yeah then it starts there

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