TL;DR: the 30-second version Only two Chinese holidays shut the whole country down: Spring Festival (about eight days around mid-February 2026) and National Day (Oct 1–8). The mid-size ones — Qingming, Labor Day, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn — close banks and government offices but barely touch shops or delivery. Retail “holidays” like Double 11 close nothing….
Your Chinese company is registered, the license is framed on the wall, and you type “open corporate bank account” into a search bar, only to land in thirty forum threads that all finish the same way: just go to the bank. Fine. Here is what “just go to the bank” looks like in 2026, in…
TL;DR — the 30-second version Every Western interview skill you own still works here. What gets you hired is different, though, and it starts before you walk in: a phone screen on WeChat, printed resumes, and a self-introduction you have rehearsed until it is boring. Laws worth memorizing — your labor contract must be signed…
TL;DR: the 30-second version No referral, no family doctor, no month of waiting. Find a hospital with a physical examination center (tijian zhongxin), bring your passport, show up on a weekday morning with an empty stomach, and pick a package off the price list. Most land between roughly 300 and 800 RMB (about 40 to…
TL;DR: the 30-second version A day of typical Western roaming can cost more than a week of local Chinese data. Swap to a data-only SIM — no phone number, no calls, no SMS — and you keep maps, translation, video and the apps you already have, for a fraction of the price. Mid-2026 ballparks: 40-70…
TL;DR: the 30-second version “Qù nǎr?” (Where to?) — you hear that the second the car door closes. Most foreigners freeze right there. You do not need a course to answer it: six phrases, one phone screen, ten minutes of practice, and the whole ride runs itself. This is the script we hand every friend…
TL;DR (30-second version) Bring your own phone. Most phones sold outside China work here on 4G and mostly on 5G, so the only thing you actually need is a SIM. Visitors: grab an international eSIM data plan before you land and skip the airport queue. Residents: walk into a China Mobile or Unicom store with…
The lease ends in two weeks and the landlord’s message arrives with photos: a scratched door frame, a stained curtain, the word “deposit.” A month’s rent is on the line. Whether any of it comes back usually comes down to five steps — and the order you take them in. TL;DR — the 30-second version…
TL;DR — 30-second version A ¥15-a-month membership card earns its keep off exactly one number: the coupon minimum. Meituan and Ele.me both sell you a packet of red envelopes (hongbao), five or six coupons worth ¥6 to ¥7 each, and every coupon needs a basket of ¥35 to ¥40 before it works. Order big or…
Signing up for a gym in China takes about four minutes. Getting out can take four months. The gap is almost never the gym — it is the contract nobody reads while the sales tablet is in their hands. TL;DR — the 30-second version Memberships run from about 99 CNY a month at budget 24-hour…
