Academic visit in China (2/3)

Created in February 10, 2025

2025   ·   china   travel   visit   ·   chinalife

On the importance of being prepared before the trip

Apart from cultural and language differences, mainland Chinese society uses and relies on tools that are critically different from what you may be used to. From paying to ordering at the restaurant, including taking public transport and browsing the internet, you are here for quite an adventure. Being aware and prepared for these differences is all the more important because you are coming for work. Hence, I imagine you’d prefer being efficient on day one rather than troubleshooting your internet access for hours and hours to come.

Fortunately, after reading part two of the “Academic visit in China” guide, you’ll be fully ready and equipped to carry out your work in this new environment and navigate Chinese cities (almost) as a Chinese. If you are already a veteran of the Chinese life-style and can blend like a chameleon into Chinese cities, you can go check out the other parts of the guide listed in Continue the Guide and print your TODO list.

Internet in China

You might or might not know that many overseas services and websites are banned and blocked on mainland China. This includes many tools that may be critical for your research workflow or daily life:

  • Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, or Signal.
  • Every Google service, notably Gmail, Google Scholar, Google Play Store, YouTube, or Google Maps.
  • Cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, PCloud, or Proton Drive.
  • Social media like Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, or Mastodon.
  • Other honorable mentions include Discord, Wikipedia, most Western news journals (e.g., BBC, The Guardian, etc.), and ChatGPT.

This blocking system is called the Great Firewall of China. It is the best system of its kind and can detect and block even encrypted and obfuscated internet traffic. Most common and widely-used VPN protocols and services cannot escape the blocking. This includes the most well-known VPN commercial services: ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, CyberGhost, etc. I emphasize that all the aforementioned services do not work reliably in China, regardless of deceptive advertisements you can read online.

Unfortunately, it is also to be noted that while most international scientific journal websites can be accessed in China, I often experienced the ones I read being sluggish and inconvenient to use. The same can be said for Github, StackOverflow, and Zoom meetings, for which access is unreliable.

Of course, if you stay in China long-term, limiting your dependence on some of these tools would facilitate your work and life. Specifically, for most of these banned services, you can find a Chinese equivalent that works well and, in the case of Cloud storage for instance, can be far cheaper. It is, however, inconceivable to drastically change your whole workflow just for the sake of a few days short visit.

✅ Apple products: a safe haven

Note that the ban on Google services will disrupt the proper functioning of Google-based Android phones. On the other hand, most Apple services and products are allowed in mainland China and offer a smoother transition.

The good news is there are solutions! Some of them are in a gray area regarding the local laws, such as VPNs or Proxies. Some others are fully legal! It is critical to anticipate this problem before your departure! Your range of solutions will be more limited once you are in mainland China.

Let's now develop on a few of these solutions!

An option you might consider is to subscribe to an international data plan with your current mobile phone operator if they offer such a service. Carefully check if mainland China is included in the coverage, and don’t hesitate to contact your operator for more details. In particular, confirm with them that you will be able to access the Western internet. You can then use your phone (or any other device carrying the SIM) as a hotspot.

If your phone is eSIM compatible, you can also buy data plans covering mainland China from various eSIM service providers. You can consider buying from Airalo or Nomad which, at the time of writing this post, are reported to work well in China to access Western services. You have plenty of other options outside of the two services mentioned. Beware that these plans are generally data-only and do not provide a local number.

In my opinion, international data plans and eSIM are the most reliable solutions for an academic visitor, but they provide you with a limited amount of data. For a short stay, you’ll be fine with light internet usage (i.e., emails, internet browsing, checking Google Scholar and GMail, watching videos, etc.). However, if your work absolutely requires more usage-heavy access to blocked Western services (e.g., download and sync big files on Dropbox), reach out for advice from the scholars working in mainland China who invited you. They are likely to provide you with better advices and solutions than what you can find online.

⚠️ Resilience is key!

Internet access to Western services is evolving quickly and unpredictably. What works today might not work tomorrow. What works in one Chinese region might not work in another. Hence, it is important to prepare yourself for the eventuality that the services you are using will be disrupted. Inform your family and colleagues beforehand that you might not be easily reachable, don’t schedule important Zoom meetings during the time of your visit, etc.

Prepare your apps!

In mainland China, many daily life services are only accessible or substantially facilitated through mobile apps. As a short-term visitor, your primarily needs in that regard will be to:

  • Pay for things
  • Chat with your local Chinese colleagues.
  • Use public transportation.
  • Hail for a taxi.
  • Order at the restaurant.
  • Know where you are on a map.
  • And translate things.

I might have missed some, but it is definitely a good start. The good thing is you can achieve all of this by installing only three phone apps: Alipay, WeChat, and Amap. Ultimately, you can complete this list with any app you may feel the need to use.

I strongly recommend installing and setting up every phone app you need BEFORE your departure. Many problems that are hard to anticipate can occur due to the blocking of many of your favorite internet services and other various reasons when you are in China. Moreover, if you find yourself having an issue installing an app, you might not be able to rely on Google, YouTube, Reddit, etc., to troubleshoot and find a solution.

✅ Don’t worry too much: you can survive without the apps

Setting up WeChat, Alipay, and Amap can greatly facilitate your stay, but you will be just fine without them. So, if you forgot to install them or did not manage to set them up before your departure, don’t worry too much. I am sure your trip will be pleasant.

Alipay

During your stay, you’ll likely need to pay for goods and services on mainland China. It is important to know that the Chinese do not use a bank card as a general means of payment; many shops do not accept it. Cash payment in RMB currency can be used and is reliable, but it is not practical and can sometimes be a bit restrictive. For instance, taxi drivers, small restaurants, or small businesses can accept cash but might not be able to give you the change. Instead, the Chinese use digital payment methods through phone apps like Alipay.

When in Rome, pay as the Romans pay!

Setting up Alipay with one of your bank cards will substantially improve your payment experience in China. However, as evoked previously, this matter should require your attention early because the app will proceed to an identity check. This process simply consists of filling in some basic information and sending a photo of your passport. Upon sending the required information, it may take up to a few hours or days to receive the clearance and finally be able to pay with the app. Alipay may also need phone verifications to register and link a bank card. Hence, if you are uncertain whether you can receive SMS in China, it is important to have your bank card linked before your trip.

✅ Talk to your bank

Your bank card will be used through Alipay, or you might use it to withdraw more cash at a Chinese ATM. Contact your bank and ensure that you can use your credit card in China. Even if you are confident your card can be used, it is generally a good practice to let your bank know that transactions will be made in China. Otherwise, they may block your card thinking the transaction is fraudulent.

Recent efforts to improve tourist experiences in mainland China have transformed Alipay into an incredible Swiss Army Knife for the ease of your travel. In addition to payment, it offers a convenient way to take the subway and buses, hail a taxi, order at the restaurant, book trains, planes, and hotels, or translate. Alipay can be set in English for your convenience and features besides that various guides and tutorials. A must-have in my opinion.

To set up Alipay with one of your bank cards, I recommend following the helpful video: Setup Alipay. In addition, I encourage you to watch the following tutorials to see how to use the app in real-life situations: Payment and Menu, Translate, Public transport, bikes, and taxi, and Plane, train, and hotel.

⚠️ Payment with Alipay needs internet!

Mobile payments require an internet connection, so make sure you have data or access to Wi-Fi.

Usually, as long as your card is a Visa or a MasterCard, you should be able to link it to Alipay. However, in practice, depending on your bank and options, you may face bad surprises. Try to link your card beforehand and give yourself a comfortable amount of time to troubleshoot problems, if any.

The multi-currency card of Wise has been reported to work well with Alipay and offers good conversion rates. Setting up a Wise account and getting a Wise card is easy and accessible to many. In particular, if you don’t like the idea of putting your credit card credentials into Alipay, Wise offers the possibility of generating digital cards that you can link and use instead. You can delete the digital card right after your trip. Revolut also offers the same digital card system and is reported to work with Alipay. I emphasize that Alipay is a behemoth in China, and you can be reassured that you are not giving your card credentials to some unknown shady company; hundreds of millions have done it before you.

WeChat

Alipay embeds almost every essential you need for your travel. There is, however, one exception: you cannot call and chat with your peers in China. This is what WeChat is used for. Basically, it is a sort of WhatsApp on steroids where, in addition to chatting with your friends, you can do almost everything Alipay does and more. However, unless you feel strongly about using WeChat, Alipay has a friendlier interface for foreigners for the same functionalities.

In my opinion, installing WeChat is optional, and whether you should install it or not depends on the nature of your visit. An example of a use case is if you need to send messages or call your academic hosts or other peers you might meet during your visit. If you choose not to get a Chinese SIM card, you may not be able to call them and send them SMS. Hence, in this case, you should have WeChat installed and set up. On the other hand, if communicating by email is enough, you might as well not clutter up your phone with another app. The best thing to do is to ask your hosts in China if they think you should have it installed.

Because WeChat requires phone number verification, it is better to have it set up and running before your departure if you do not plan to get a Chinese phone number. To set up WeChat, I recommend following the video tutorial Setup WeChat. In addition, I encourage you to watch the following tutorial to see how to use the basic chat functionalities of WeChat: Add friend, chat, and translate.

⚠️ WeChat can be a pain to set up…

Contrary to Alipay, you can encounter various difficulties in setting up WeChat. A common problem, explained in the Youtube video linked above, is the security check requiring an existing WeChat user to verify you by scanning a QR code. If it pops up, simply ask your hosts in China to scan the code to unblock your account. Note that there might be a time limit for the validity of the QR code after which you will need to regenerate the code.

Amap

Your last fundamental for traveling in China is a good map app. Of course, Google Maps, as a Google product, is blocked. You may still use it if you can access the unblocked Western internet on your phone; see Internet in China. However, even in this case, Google Maps won’t provide you with updated information and routes. If you have an iPhone, the built-in iOS map app offers a decent service but does not provide the same level of detail as Chinese map apps.

Until very recently, it was actually tricky to have a map app that is both in English and works well in China. Chinese map apps are feature-rich and efficient, but they were ultimately in Chinese… Thankfully, recent efforts to boost tourism have led to an English version of one of the leading map apps in China: Amap. I strongly recommend installing it. The app should be available on both the Google Play store and the iOS appstore.

✅ My Amap is in Chinese :scream:

After the installation, if your Amap is in Chinese, don’t panic. You can change the language. Click on “我的” in the bottom right corner, click on the parameter icon in the top right corner, click on “通用”, scroll down, and click on “语言设置”. Select “English”, close the app, and relaunch it.

Health insurance

It is always good to remember that, even though academic research exchanges rarely put yourself at physical risk, you are never 100% safe from an accident requiring urgent and local medical attention. As for any trip to a foreign country, it is highly recommended (and sometimes mandatory) to be covered by a travel medical insurance.

If you are traveling in the most developed cities in China, you can rest assured that you will receive urgent care from competent staff, if necessary, at a reasonable price. You are not going to empty your bank account over a broken arm :wink:

I would also strongly recommend talking to your general practitioner about potential vaccines you must get before your travel. If you are not travelling in remote poorer rural areas, you might not be advised to get anything other than what is already recommended in your own country.

List of useful material

Continue the Guide



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