Moving to Chengdu pt 2 (mandarin)

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  • #34636
    Avatar photoMarius
    Participant

    Hello everyone,

    I’m Marius, a 29 year old Law School graduate from The Netherlands. In about two weeks I will be moving into Chengdu on September 1th for two months, doing an internship with a Chinese law firm. Regarding my stay in Chengdu, I have a few practical questions.

    1. Facebook ban:

    I would like to keep people at home posted. Can I use FB for this, or is it still blocked in mainland China? I guess the app on my android doesn’t work as well, right? I’m also looking for an alternative to Google Maps. Any suggestions?

    2. Mandarin Lessons

    I’m looking for a good place to pick up some basic Mandarin conversation skills (non-existent at this point) while being in Chengdu. I looked up mandarinclub.net, since they’re located less than five minutes walking from my appartment. Any experiences with this institute, or good alternatives?

    3. Location

    I will be living around Tongzillin Middle  Road (close to the metro station with the same name). Any suggestions regarding (reasonably priced Chinese) food, nightlife or any other things of interest in the area? I’m also looking for a conveniently located dry-cleaner, for my suits and shirts.

    I know that my questions can be to0 non-specific. I still hope that anyone here could come up with some proper advice on these topics, and anything else worth mentioning about Chengdu life.

    Thanks in advance,

    Marius

    #34638
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    Hey Marius,

    To answer your questions:

    1. Use a VPN. That’ll fix the Facebook problem, but you should have a VPN if you’re living in China anyway for all the hassle that living within the Great Firewall brings. The local for Google Maps is Baidu, which is a Chinese Google clone.

    2. I’ve been to Mandarin Club, it’s great. Recommended.

    3. That’s a good location to be in, I don’t think you’ll have any problems. There are plenty of Chinese restaurants and dry cleaners around!

    Good luck-

    #34691
    Avatar photoBellamy
    Participant

    I think it’s better to download a software called Freegate when you are still in Netherlands.  Freegate is quite convenient to use to get on facebook and other overseas websites.

    #34693
    Avatar photoMarius
    Participant

    Thank you guys for the advice. It’s appreciated

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