Traveling to China

T-U-P

The Punisher
Staff member
Super Moderator
Registered Member
Moved thread to Members Club Room since the original Feedback & Suggestions section is for forum features and issues.

You should be fine if you try to take a picture of the shipyard in your plane if it happens to pass by it while landing or takeoff, as long as you don't take out a camera with a big ass lens. Of course this would highly depended on which approach/runway the plane uses at Pudong Airport. I personally would not try to take pictures of the shipyard on the ground as theres more room for suspicions. I'm sure the MSS is well aware of all the typical locations for such pictures.

Alipay is easy to set up these days with foreign Visa/MasterCard once you validate your personal information with your passport. I would also try to get WeChat payment set up as well but I think that's a bit more convoluted. There might be some places that only accepts one or the other. You can always bring cash, although many places no longer have change for you, so use at your own discretion.
 

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
A VPN is a software that encrypts your internet connection. You can choose to connect to various servers around the world. For example if you are in Canada and you connect to a USA server, then websites will see your connection as coming from the US. You can access USA exclusive content meant only for USA people. Using a VPN allows you to bypass the Great China Firewall and allows you to access websites blocked by the firewall. Most VPN cost 12 USD per month. ProtonVPN has a free plan, you just can't pick the servers, it picks one for you everytime you connect. You download the software from their website, in the app store on your phone too. Check out ExpressVPN too, but this one is premium only.

Thanks yes I need to be on Whats app and Facebook in China so I can uploaded my live updates as I travel around and stay in touch with family back home

my friend told me she will install the VPN when I arrive in China not sure which ones but I am Sure it will be ok

and I cant live without X/Twitter its my only source of news now almost 100% since Elon Musk took over that would be great access too
 

yungho

Junior Member
Registered Member
Regarding payments I was able to link my foreign credit card (AMEX) with Wechat and use it without issue. This was through a foreign phone number as well. Not sure about Alipay.
 
I have a follow up question. HSBC has ATM and branches in China. Can anyone confirm if I can withdraw RMB cash using HSBC ATM from my us based HSBC account? I think yes but wanted to confirm.
 

vincent

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Moderator - World Affairs
I have a follow up question. HSBC has ATM and branches in China. Can anyone confirm if I can withdraw RMB cash using HSBC ATM from my us based HSBC account? I think yes but wanted to confirm.
i don’t think ATMs are bank dependent. I think they depend on the payment network they are on.
 
i don’t think ATMs are bank dependent. I think they depend on the payment network they are on.
Thanks. I guess the answer is nothing can prevent me from withdrawing RMB cash as long as the ATM payment network is aligned with the bank ATM. It is likely safe then to assume that an HSBC China ATM payment network is aligned with the HSBC US ATM payment network. There are no regulation preventing me from withdrawing RMB cash from foreign currency accounts on ATM as long as the technical requirements are met.

Feel better now that I have the cash situation resolved.
 

vincent

Grumpy Old Man
Staff member
Moderator - World Affairs
You can always bring a stack of USD or other major currencies and exchange them for RMB at any Chinese bank. I was able to do that more 15 years ago.

Another backup is to ask a Chinese friend to transfer RMB to your Alipay account. When i visited China in 2019, my wife transfer RMB to my Alipay account for me to use.
 
Regarding payments I was able to link my foreign credit card (AMEX) with Wechat and use it without issue. This was through a foreign phone number as well. Not sure about Alipay.

I setup my visa credit card to wechat pay and tested locally outside China. It is telling me that I cannot use wechat pay for a vendor outside of China since I do not have a China residence status. apparently I have to be either use it in China if I do not have China residency status.

So I am unable to confirm if this works until after I arrive in China. LOL.
 

enroger

Junior Member
Registered Member
I have a follow up question. HSBC has ATM and branches in China. Can anyone confirm if I can withdraw RMB cash using HSBC ATM from my us based HSBC account? I think yes but wanted to confirm.

I'm iffy about that because China is very strict about oversea RMB transfer. I've learnt I can't directly transfer RMB from foreign account into China account, I can only transfer any foreign currency into China and convert them into RMB.

I suggest you call HSBC China hotline and ask them about it
 
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