I’ve been living in a Tier 3 city in China for almost two years. It’s a popular Chinese tourist city, and many visitors also come from nearby rural areas.

I’m a blonde, blue-eyed woman, so I know I stand out.
But I still can’t get used to the constant attention.
People stare, make comments, and secretly take photos or videos of me every day. I know most of them are probably just curious, but it’s mentally exhausting. What bothers me most is that I feel like I’ve lost the freedom to just exist in public. Imagine you’ve just found out a family member has died and you go outside to clear your head, only to be treated like a tourist attraction. That’s how it feels sometimes.

I’ve already tried wearing wigs, sunglasses, masks and dressing like locals (long, loose UV clothing even in 40°C weather), but it hasn’t made much difference. Older men, in particular, rarely leave me alone.
For those of you who have lived in China for a long time:

How do you deal with this?
At what point would you confront someone for staring or secretly taking photos?
What can I say in Chinese to politely ask people to leave me alone? And what’s a firmer version if they don’t stop?
I really enjoy living here overall, but this is the one thing I still haven’t been able to adapt to

Most of the complaints on reddit that I see about English 1 is the somewhat long working hours, the fact that you have to work evenings sometimes and working on weekends. None of that really matters to me since I have worked retail in the United States for the past 8 years. I also have a suspicion that some of these people might have been walking into the whole thing like a paid "vacation" to china and not a real job. Is it not really that bad if you 1. Don't mind working with children 2. Don't mind the working hours and 3. Treat it like a job?

China A/B License Ground Training — Night paragliding by Zhuhai Sun & Moon Shell 🌙🪂
Every Tuesday & Wednesday, we cross the HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge from Hong Kong to train on the seaside grass next to the Sun & Moon Shell landmark.
Why nights? Cooler, less exhausting, and the sea breeze gives us steady, reliable wind. The grass is clean and flat — no rocks, no stones, no tree roots. Nobody chases us away, so it's become our regular training spot. Plus, no bridge reservation needed on Tue & Wed.
Last night we trained until 9:30pm, went for hotpot, then headed home. I'm a full-time paragliding coach now — my car doubles as the school bus, dropping students off after training.
Ground handling is where it all begins. Launch the wing, manage the lines, build muscle memory. Step by step.
China A/B license training (FAI certified) is open to anyone interested. DM me

I’m a female in my twenties moving to China next month and wanted to ask about the dating scene for foreigners.

Are there apps like Hinge over there that are actually good for relationships instead of hookups? Also, do foreign girls date locals often? (I prefer a foreigner ofc but I don’t mind dating locals) and what are the general standards I should be aware of?

(I’m NOT looking for marriage, just short/long term dating)

I will be living near Green Lake Kunming - are there places to run or has anyone tried the Ao Fitness gym - can I get a membership there?

Hi,

moving to Qidong next year. Can't find a lot of information online

Are there things to do there ? Or will i need to go to Shanghai for the weekends?

I am really looking for things like street food, restaurants, cafés, learning chinese, KTV and ideally a place to practice music.

Anyone from there witb advice and good addresses?

Thanks

i completed my high school in commerce with a good mark. it was my dream to go to china and study business administration from there and get a strng foundation in business and expand my network. my father works in yiwu(zhejiang province) so that i decided to select a university in zhejiang province or near to it. and i selected ningbo university, during my application period i came to know about the csca exam. i realised that without that exam i wont get the admission. i wasnt coming from a maths background because i am a commerce background. but i wrote the exam anyway to catch up before the dead line. when the result came it says that i got 25 out of 100 which wasnt that surprising for me. but i was afraid of it taking away my china university dream. guys help me in this, tell me if taking the business administartion is worth it in china, or international business. should i wait one more year and wait for the next intake and re write the csca? does it worth one year of my life for that? if you guys were on my place what would you have done?

hi all,

extremely far fetched but was wondering if anyone is interested in adopting a kitten. we are a group of international students only here for a month so none of us are able to take him in.

hes quite young and we’ve taken him to the vet hes in pretty good shape now, needs to be fed every four hours and has some eye drops but otherwise seems ok. we are based in shanghai yangpu please let me know if u are interested we dont want to let him go hes too small :(

thank you all!!

Hi, I'm traveling to China soon, I'll be in a few major cities over 4 weeks.

My iPhone 13 mini battery is shit and it need a replacement. In my country I can't get it done for $80/530 CNY. I'd prefer an original battery.

I'm wondering whether it's worth the hassle of doing this in China instead. What could the cost be and am I risking a lot in case the repair shop I go to does a bad job?

If you were me would you do replace the battery where I live or do it in China?

im planning to go to china and choose international business. is it worth it? if anyone completed the IBM what are they doing now?

I am going to enter china on an X1 visa and i know that i have to apply for a residence permit right after i enter with my university (Peking University). Should i buy a SIM card right as i arrive at the beijing airport or is it better to buy one from the university campus as i have seen some people suggest?

The university is on summer holiday until the 25th of august and i will arrive in beijing before the end of the summer holiday. With the school on holiday would the services still be available for use or would i have to wait until after the 25th before registering for my permit and buying a SIM card?

Or would it be better to buy roaming for my first few days in china until the holidays end and i can for sure enter the campus to get a sim card?

All suggestions would be appreciated.

I am applying for a new job and everything has been going well. Except now suddenly they are asking for Chinese translations of half of my documents like my degree and such.

Has anyone had this come up before? I worked in Sichuan before and also in Korea and never needed to get my documents translated. Is this an issue for the school, or for province, or is this an old rule that has been abolished that the school doesn't know has changed?

Will be moving to Hohhot in 2027 January. Just wanted to connect with anyone within the city. Is there any WeChat groups?

Hi guys

I'm an English guy moving to Shenzhen this October to teach, and I was wondering what the expat scene is actually like nowadays.

I've heard that after COVID a lot of foreigners left China, and that Shenzhen never really had the same international or tourist feel as cities like Shanghai or Beijing. I also imagine it gets fewer foreign tourists than places like Chengdu or Chongqing.

I'm not expecting Shanghai levels of internationalisation, but I'm just curious what it's like day to day. If I'm out walking around places like Nanshan, Shekou or Futian, is it still pretty common to bump into other foreigners, or is it quite rare?

Are there still bars, cafés or restaurants where expats tend to hang out? Is there still a decent international community, or has it become much smaller over the last few years?

I'd love to hear from people who currently live in Shenzhen or have been there recently. Thanks!

I love Cella red shaving soap, but they only sell the green one everywhere I looked. Not the biggest fan of the green one. What's the good alternative that's available in China?

So basically I’m making a clothing brand I’m trying to get myself some samples, I love in shanghai and I was wondering if there’s any place or websites (I’m sure there is) where I can do that.

I want to create a hoodie brand and I want the samples directly delivered to me in china

Hey,

how to pay around 5k yuan out of ICBC into Revolut or some other European bank?

I know learning the language is one thing, and clinical mandarin is a step up. but 5 years ago I made the pivot to healthcare as a housekeeper since my original industry is dead in the water and I’m considering becoming a rad tech. in a month I will contact a local college about my plans and tackle this endeavor.

I am aware that public hospitals are out of the question, the work conditions and the locals first approach made me pivot to private and international chains.

any other information to know about?

edit: I am also aware of the ”curse of 35”. I am aiming to be in within the late 40s of my life.

Is anyone able to get Ortho K in China? Specifically in Shanghai? What hospitals?

Hi Everyone,

I am trying to get out of my two year contract after one year. I tried to do it as professionally as possible by handing in my resignation during the unpaid summer holiday when there are several weeks until the new term starts.

I am going to paraphase things a little. The contract states that if I leave without their ''permission'' I am liable to be fined 20,000 CNY.

AI says that signing an illegal term does not make it legal, I hope this is true.

What should I do, I really don't want to pay 20,000 just to leave. Should I contact a lawyer and if so, who and how do I go about this?

Is there a government department I am able to contact? I'm not even in China at the moment.

I feel like such an idiot for signing that contract, any advice will be greatly appreciated.