8 Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving to China -

By Corey Pyke. Corey is our China program Coordinator, and she lived in China for 6 years.

Researching countries that you are going to, either for a holiday or longer term is always a good idea. China was no exception for me. However, no amount of research is going to tell you everything that you need to know. So here are 8 things I wish I knew before I moved.

Chinese food is not the same as at home

China is a huge country, and famous foods vary between provinces. Sichuan is known as being home to ridiculously spicy hot pot, whilst provinces like Fujian eat a lot of different types of seafood. Much to my disappointment, the salt and chilli chips that you get in the takeaways at home, are not a thing. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find some incredible food. My favourites were the Beijing breakfast pancake (Jianbing) and the Chinese hamburger – chopped seasoned meat in a light bready bun (Ro Jia Mo).

WeChat is the most important app

Obviously I knew that WeChat was important before I moved, but I don’t think I realized just how important it is. It’s not just a messaging app, it’s your bank account, it’s your taxi service, it’s your food delivery – ultimately, life in China is pretty much impossible without it. Cash is a thing of the past in China, even street sellers use WeChat QR codes to collect payments now. When I first moved, you couldn’t link foreign bank cards to WeChat, meaning my first salary was paid in cash. I’ll never forget the blank stares that I got from people in shops, struggling to understand why I’d asked for change from a RMB100 note.

Summers are HOT

When I first moved to China, I was living in a city close to Shanghai. I had seen that the winters get cold, with temperatures similar to England, so I assumed the same of summer. I was definitely in for a shock with the humidity that meets you from about May/June onwards. Not only can temperatures in some southern cities in China exceed 40 degrees, but some places also reach 100% humidity. It’s not the “lets lie on a beach all day” heat, but more of a “can’t be outside for more than 5 seconds” heat. Handheld fans are a must, even umbrellas if you really can’t cope! Luckily, air con is a thing, so indoor activities become the norm.

Hard mattresses are popular

For those of you who like your soft, luxury mattresses, get looking at TaoBao now! Most Chinese homes, including rentals, come with a mattress that may as well be a rock. Many Chinese people believe that sleeping on a hard surface is good for your health. It may well be, but for people not used to it, it can be incredibly uncomfortable. I lasted about 2 weeks with mine before I realized that a mattress topper would be a good investment. Luckily, they are very easy to find, and very cheap, so China isn’t the end of your good night’s sleep!

Don’t bring too much

When I left the UK, I took 2 big suitcases and a smaller one with me, thinking that I needed to pack up my whole life. Upon arrival, I found that everything I needed (or wanted!) was available, either at the same price or lower. Over my time there, I did accumulate a lot of stuff, having basically replaced my entire wardrobe and spending too much time on TaoBao picking up the latest tech. Obviously, bring the important things from home – memories of friends and family and clothes for a few weeks, but it’s very easy to sort everything else.

Banks are the most annoying thing to deal with

Most things in China are done on apps, or over the phone, making processes quite simple. Unfortunately, the banks are not one of them. I went with my school HR to open my first bank account, and we were there for close to 3 hours, with it still not being opened by the end. There are so many things that go wrong – your name being too long, your passport number not being the same length as a Chinese ID number, I could go on. You will have to go back every time your phone number changes, or your passport number changes, or the app just randomly stops working because it discovers you aren’t Chinese. With nothing really getting easier in the 6 years that I was there, it is definitely just something you will need to get used to!

Make up days are a thing

Whenever there is a public holiday that is longer than 2 days, you will have to “make up” the days that you lost over the holiday. For those of you not in a training center, this usually means working the weekend before and/or after the holiday. Whilst for training centers, it usually means having to work a day or two over the main holiday itself, whilst having the weekend off. Although it can be frustrating at first, you quickly get used to it as it’s what everyone else is doing. On the bright side, some local governments (Zhejiang) have decided that kids don’t get enough holiday, and so are lengthening some of the shorter holidays by 3 extra days.

You will want to stay longer than you thought

I, and a lot of people I met, came to China with the idea of staying for just one year, and using the money we made to travel after. I ended up staying for 6 years, with some of my friends for 10+ years. It’s a very easy country to live in – everything is convenient, you can do everything on your phone, you earn a good salary, the people are friendly, there’s easy access to other countries – what’s not to like. Of course, there will always be some frustration, as with any country. But as someone who never wanted to be a teacher, I think 6 years means something must be pretty good!