Travel Q&A's about China

Discuss culture, living, traveling, relocating, dating or anything related to the Asian countries - China, The Philippines, Thailand, etc.
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

Question:

What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?

Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
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Post by Taco »

Winston wrote:Question:

What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?

Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
You might not be able to get a cell phone in China if you don't have a work visa, I'm not sure however. If your going to be in China for a short period of time it might be easier to just bring a laptop and use Date In Asia, skype, yahoo messenger or e-mail, starbucks has free wi-fi.
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Post by sushiman »

Coffee Bean wifi! Starbucks always seemed to need a Chinese phone or some BS every time I was there.
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Post by momopi »

Winston wrote:Question:
What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?
Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
Winston, you're in TW right? Taiwanese made over 5 million trips to China in 2010, and over 1 million Mainland Chinese visited TW in 2010.

All you have to do is call and ask a local travel agency in TW. They can also help you apply (or at least point you in the right direction) for a 5-year Taiwan Compatriot Permit, which is far superior to the 1 year VISA for US passports.
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

momopi wrote:
Winston wrote:Question:
What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?
Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
Winston, you're in TW right? Taiwanese made over 5 million trips to China in 2010, and over 1 million Mainland Chinese visited TW in 2010.

All you have to do is call and ask a local travel agency in TW. They can also help you apply (or at least point you in the right direction) for a 5-year Taiwan Compatriot Permit, which is far superior to the 1 year VISA for US passports.
How do I say "5 year Taiwan Compatriot Permit" in Mandarin? Can you write it in Chinese?

Is this more expensive than just getting a 1 year multi-entry visa for a Taiwan passport?
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Post by Rock »

Winston wrote:
momopi wrote:
Winston wrote:Question:
What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?
Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
Winston, you're in TW right? Taiwanese made over 5 million trips to China in 2010, and over 1 million Mainland Chinese visited TW in 2010.

All you have to do is call and ask a local travel agency in TW. They can also help you apply (or at least point you in the right direction) for a 5-year Taiwan Compatriot Permit, which is far superior to the 1 year VISA for US passports.
How do I say "5 year Taiwan Compatriot Permit" in Mandarin? Can you write it in Chinese?

Is this more expensive than just getting a 1 year multi-entry visa for a Taiwan passport?


Hey Winston. This forum is like your own personal Google. Anyway, to answer your question:

5年台胞證 (wu nian tai bao zheng) or 5年台灣居民來往大陸通行證 (wu nian tai wan ju min lai wang da lu tong xing zheng)

Check with travel agencies about cost. But even China visa for US citizen is pretty pricey now.
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Re: Travel Questions about China

Post by DCX_10 »

(1) China is the size of continental Europe. If you are going from Guangzhou to Shanghai or Beijing, you have to book plane. You should also book ahead of time. Use one of the Chinese websites. It is easier and cheaper.

(2) You have to realize that Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou/Shenzhen are all first tier cities. There are many rich people (like drive Mercedes S600 rich), and of course there are lots of poor people as well. Each city has its own culture/tradition. I find it hard to land girls in Shanghai, where girls are famously materialistic. Some of the girls in Shenzhen (1 hour from Guangzhou) often look for one night stand, because of the pressure of the fast-paced city. And the girls can be very very attractive. Girls in Beijing can be less materialistic and more cultured/interesting. But you have to have what they are looking for: some culture/something to keep them interested. If you have what it takes, girls will come to see you. Also Chinese girls rarely go for the bad-boy type. So be very nice to them. Do something to touch them deeply, and you will be rewarded. Chengdu is a second tier city. I have only been there once in the 1990s so I can't comment much on Chengdu. By the way, you can be assured that all the girls can be very attractive, no matter where you go.

(3) I would say Shanghai is NOT the best city to meet girls; because the culture is highly materialistic. It is a great city though; I would go visit the city. Oh it is very possible to land girls who are migrants to Shanghai, and there are tons of them. But don't expect to land a native Shanghai woman. For culture/history I would visit Beijing and Xi'an.

(4) Fujian. That's where lots of Taiwanese come from.

Hope this helps. But Winston, the key is that Chinese women look for different set of things and you need to be very nice to them. Oh also, many are very smart, hard working, motivated, and educated. So treat them well; they will treat you well.
Winston wrote:I was looking at a map of China below. Wow it is huge. The cities I am interested in, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou, are all really far from each other. See below.


Image


So I have some questions.

1. Is it better to travel between cities by plane or train? Which is cheaper? Are trains comfortable like in Russia?

2. Which city is best to go first? Guangdou looks closer, and many Chinese girls I've corresponded seem to be from there for some reason. Why? Are people poorer there?

3. Which are the best cities for girls? What about for culture and tourist attractions?

4. Which part of China do people speak Taiwanese, or a language similar to it? Was it Hokkian or something? Where is that? What city exactly?

5. How should I find hotels? The ones advertised online are expensive. Is there a way to get more affordable ones? Or should I use hostels and couchsurfing? Should I ask taxi drivers? Or use Lonely Planet?
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

Thanks.

Rock,
What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?
Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
Rock
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Post by Rock »

Winston wrote:Thanks.

Rock,
What about cell phone service in China? Can I just get a prepaid SIM card and load credits on it? If so, which brand should I get?
Are the GSM bands there on the same frequency as Taiwan?
Never had a problem in China with my iPhone but I believe its quatro band (4 frequencies).

Taiwan's GSM frequencies are 900 or 1,800 so most cellphones there support these two. I believe the most common GSM frequency in China is 900 so you should be fine with any typical dual, triple, or quad Taiwan cellphone. Single band phones are pretty rare in Taiwan now so I"m sre your cellphone will work with at least some of the SIM cards there. Just be sure to confirm it with vendor when you buy your card there. China Mobile is pretty popular.
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Post by publicduende »

I have been to Zhuhai, and it's a weird place that it's been marketing itself as a "garden suburb" of Guangzhou. There is lots of high quality estate, actual green parks (almost unbelievable, for China), a nice seafront and promenade. I was actually based in Macao at that time, but as far as I remember some of the girls I saw in the Zhuhai bar streets were quite nice and approachable. Lots of average-looking prostitutes though patrolling the few expat-laden streets though.

Macao is a much better place, although it's not officially China. More variety of girls, classier at least, and those of them who have some Portuguese ancestry are slightly taller and a lot curvier. Why has nobody ever talked about Macao here? :)
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Post by Rock »

publicduende wrote:I have been to Zhuhai, and it's a weird place that it's been marketing itself as a "garden suburb" of Guangzhou. There is lots of high quality estate, actual green parks (almost unbelievable, for China), a nice seafront and promenade. I was actually based in Macao at that time, but as far as I remember some of the girls I saw in the Zhuhai bar streets were quite nice and approachable. Lots of average-looking prostitutes though patrolling the few expat-laden streets though.

Macao is a much better place, although it's not officially China. More variety of girls, classier at least, and those of them who have some Portuguese ancestry are slightly taller and a lot curvier. Why has nobody ever talked about Macao here? :)
As far as women are concerned, Macau is a mecca for prostitution, full-stop. If you just visit, and that's what most people do, its pretty tough to go beyond P4P. And it is formally part China, just as HK is.

Zhuhai is nice. Again, a lot of P4P but not as many options or levels. When I was there, I met a Chinese girl who had grown-up in Australia though and she kept me well-distracted.
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Post by momopi »

Winston wrote: How do I say "5 year Taiwan Compatriot Permit" in Mandarin? Can you write it in Chinese?
Is this more expensive than just getting a 1 year multi-entry visa for a Taiwan passport?
You cannot apply for a 1 year multi-entry VISA tor China on your Taiwan/ROC passport. The Chinese government does not officially accept Taiwan/ROC as a sovereign country.

In China they do not refer the TW/ROC President as "President", instead they use "台湾地区领导人" (Taiwan Area leader person), "台湾当局领导人", "台湾领导人", etc. 台湾地区 (Taiwan Area) denotes areas under control by Taiwan/ROC government, including Taiwan, Penghu, Matsu, Kinmen, Taiping Island, etc. It's a more realpolitik name than "Taiwan province".

For questions relating to Taiwan Compatriot Permit costs and application process, contact your local travel agent. If your mother went to China as a tourist last year, she probably already has one.
Last edited by momopi on December 11th, 2011, 3:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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publicduende
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Post by publicduende »

Rock wrote:
publicduende wrote:I have been to Zhuhai, and it's a weird place that it's been marketing itself as a "garden suburb" of Guangzhou. There is lots of high quality estate, actual green parks (almost unbelievable, for China), a nice seafront and promenade. I was actually based in Macao at that time, but as far as I remember some of the girls I saw in the Zhuhai bar streets were quite nice and approachable. Lots of average-looking prostitutes though patrolling the few expat-laden streets though.

Macao is a much better place, although it's not officially China. More variety of girls, classier at least, and those of them who have some Portuguese ancestry are slightly taller and a lot curvier. Why has nobody ever talked about Macao here? :)
As far as women are concerned, Macau is a mecca for prostitution, full-stop. If you just visit, and that's what most people do, its pretty tough to go beyond P4P. And it is formally part China, just as HK is.

Zhuhai is nice. Again, a lot of P4P but not as many options or levels. When I was there, I met a Chinese girl who had grown-up in Australia though and she kept me well-distracted.
Well Macau is mainly a business district and classy entertainment (read gambling and expensive bars) city, no surprise you will find a lively bunch of prostitutes there. Even Dubai is like that. That surely wasn't my point though.

I honestly didn't spend much time meeting girls other than some of my work colleagues (a betting software company) in Macau as I pretty soon hooked up with a Filipino English teacher who was based in Zhuhai. We spent some interesting time together and that didn't leave me much room to observe the local girls other than on my visits to the bar streets with said Filipina.

From my limited point of view both destinations seem to be on the better side of quality of life and work opportunity in mainland China. I also visited Gunagzhou and Shenzhen and found the latter much more modern and expat-friendly. I have seen more expats roaming the Shenzhen nightlife and, if that is a proxy, I would say they are more abundant in Shenzhen. Perhaps it's because of the large number of high-tech firms HQed there.
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

Btw, I just found out that Hong Kong now has a direct train to mainland China that passes over a bridge across the water. Neat huh? So now it's very convenient to go between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

http://www.chinaticketonline.com/englis ... &Itemid=79
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

Rock wrote:
publicduende wrote:I have been to Zhuhai, and it's a weird place that it's been marketing itself as a "garden suburb" of Guangzhou. There is lots of high quality estate, actual green parks (almost unbelievable, for China), a nice seafront and promenade. I was actually based in Macao at that time, but as far as I remember some of the girls I saw in the Zhuhai bar streets were quite nice and approachable. Lots of average-looking prostitutes though patrolling the few expat-laden streets though.

Macao is a much better place, although it's not officially China. More variety of girls, classier at least, and those of them who have some Portuguese ancestry are slightly taller and a lot curvier. Why has nobody ever talked about Macao here? :)
As far as women are concerned, Macau is a mecca for prostitution, full-stop. If you just visit, and that's what most people do, its pretty tough to go beyond P4P. And it is formally part China, just as HK is.

Zhuhai is nice. Again, a lot of P4P but not as many options or levels. When I was there, I met a Chinese girl who had grown-up in Australia though and she kept me well-distracted.
How exactly do you find P4P in Macau or Zhuhai? How do you identify it? Isn't it illegal in China? If so, how do you avoid police prosecution? Is it one of those things where everyone does it but no one gets punished for it?

Also, I read that hotels offer P4P too, to single men staying in their rooms. Which kind of hotels do this? The big ones or small ones? Only those below 3 stars?

I heard of hotels offering P4P in Taiwan too. But which hotels in Taiwan offer that?
Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
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