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Thanks! I guess I’ll start slowly by heading down to Tongzilin to see if I can’t find an agent that actually knows – those around Jiuyanqiao didn’t seem to be sure. I know the risks may end up outweighing the benefits, but after 7 years paying rent amounting to 1/4th of a cheap older apartment inside the 2nd ring it seemed worth considering.
You’ll likely need it legalized by both your own government and a Chinese embassy or consulate in your country, although there’s no reason why you would have to do it in person, get an agent and have it sent to Chengdu!
There’s another right next to the old Beer Nest, but I’m not sure why you’d want to go to a shop when Taobao has everything for a much better price… I buy HelloCig smoking liquids on Taobao, they’re excellent, made for export, and very reasonably priced. Customer service speaks English too.
For real, I think I still have that form somewhere, it’s more than 4 years ago. I moved into Waitan, and you had to go to a tiny, tiny police office at the corner of Hongji Xinlu and Xingui cun, not the same one that you actually registered at.
Oh, and save the receipts, it will make it easier if you plan on transferring money back out of China again.
At least you no longer need that annoying form saying your landlord is responsible for any crimes you commit while living in the apartment, I even had to pay what I assume what a 100 kuai bribe just to get it the first time I moved here…
I’d open a Chinese bank account as soon as I arrived, and get a Unionpay card. I don’t know about Dutch banks, but Norwegian banks seem to charge both a rather high fee for withdrawing cash in an ATM, and give a shit exchange rate on top of it. A transfer from your European account to your Chinese account usually takes about 4 days, then, depending on your bank, it’s anything from 15 minutes to an hour of paperwork to convert the fund into RMB. Merchants’ Bank seem to be the easiest, Bank of China has an absurd paper mill of forms and copies and signatures and stamps.
I’m pretty sure raw green Sichuan peppercorns are banned from import to the US, they can carry some diseases that also affects oranges. The oil and pickles should be fine, however. Carrefour and Walmart both have plenty of options.
Other than the excellent Chinese language options (1haodian/Taobao/Jingdong) Carrefour just put out an app for ordering food, and it’s in both Chinese and English. If I were you I’d find a different niche, it’s not diffcult anymore to buy Western foods here…
Thanks, that’s less than I imagined! The kitchen here is in horrible need of a renovation, so if I sign a lease for multiple years I’d be tempted to just pay it out of pocket – and get the landlady to cover new air-conditioners. I’ve been looking at kitchen cabinets on Taobao, and it seems the standard height is just 80 cm… Is Ikea the only option if you want a bench height of 95+ cm?
Where did you find the laborers to do tiling?
The alien registration for is from your local police station, not the PSB. You’ll also need a couple of passport photos, and if the residence permit is longer than a year and it’s the first time you get it you’ll need a medical certificate from a clinic down in Tongzilin. (More passport photos needed there, but the security guard outside can take them for you.)
Once you have everything the office is at Tianfu square, behind the Mao statue.
Sichuan Cuisine ranked Number 2 in the China Eight Major dishes
Google didn’t really have an answer, so what is number one? Guangdong food?
You can add Visa and Mastercard to Alipay, but I think you’re only able to use them to pay for goods bought on Taobao, not withdraw or transfer.
…or, if you’re lazy, the bakery around the corner from Waitan has nice European wholegrain bread that’s not too expensive.
The only problem with baking in toaster ovens is the size, but I somehow managed to squeeze a 6.5 kg turkey into my 38 L Midea… They’re cheaper on JD or Taobao anyway, but you can go look at models in a store, top floor of Ito Yokado has loads on display.
I don’t think I posted this one before… Short socks in “normal” sizes (43-46/9-12), good quality, seemingly made for Japan. 1.68 kuai/pair:
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.0.0.9PtpUn&id=40202669876&_u=cv81lh19d47
You cannot get Malarone and doxycycline here, but you may be able to get something else from a hospital. I’d buy them in the UK, Lariam might possibly be available here, but the side effects can be awful. Doxycycline is widely available in south-east Asia, so if you’re going to the regular tourist spots in Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam before heading into the jungle I’d just buy them there.
Ctrip sells train tickets? I’ve always used Qunar. The official page 12306 is a trainwreck with security warnings, time outs, errors, retarded Chinese captchas and it refuses to let you book tickets for foreigners and Chinense on the same order…
Came across the official bus ticket booking page the other day, very convenient: http://www.scqcp.com/
