mostly about short-term stay in China
PEK T3 Exit B tourist outlet +86 13121 195558 [6am ~ 10pm]
7D Rmb 100 tourist SIM providing 30GB + 100min outgoing
15D R 150
30D R 250
Takes 5 minutes to set up, with smrz
On Day 7 (early morning) this numer would 失效. After not before that you can visit any Unicom office except T3ExitB to convert it to long-term. Cheapest 套餐 is Rmb8/M.
Long-term SIM is doable at airport for anyone 18 or above.
j4: I have found map APPs essential to everyday living, when you are outside home/office.
In contrast, Taxi APP is important but less than 1) subway and 2) bike sharing.
— Baidu map
— Alibaba’s Amap [高德]
If you don’t log in, then you may experience strange errors “网络不行, 建议下载 offline map”
smrz for passport .. unsupported. TechSupport said that taxi booking without smrz is unlikely, but I was able to book twice
Payment .. binding with alipay done. No bank card binding possible.
tap on your username or icon > 编辑资料 > 个人资料 — you can set DOB and weight. I don’t know how important these things are.
TechSupport .. only by chat 🙁
Backup plan for TianjinCityStn->BeijingSouthStn: taxi (up to rmb 600 according a taxi driver)
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/high-speed/ has recent Q&A
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/for-beginners.htm
https://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/how-to-buy-train-ticket.htm
Tianjin火车站 022-26193702
TSN airport 86 22 96678
TSN custom 22 12367
TSN to Tianjin火车站: subway … 25-30min trip.
3H rule “Keep at least 3H between expected landing and train departure.” https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/how-to-take.htm has details. I feel 2.5H is possible.
— 检票口 closes 5 min before departure. Better reach the station building 15 min before train time. You need to pull luggage and queue up at a few junctures.
— 12306.cn notes
==== foreigner-friendly booking agency. Agencies have helped many foreigners. Not a “road less travelled” 🙂 A good agency offers hotline/wechat. Using an agency costs extra (USD 6), but saves you lots of risks, research/xx. Low-cost insurance premium, for the first trip.
If using agency, then advisable to book ASAP. Once e-ticket is issued, I will get an email showing seat and gate etc. At check-in time, only need to show passport, and let system retrieve booking details. No paper ticket.
— https://www.chinahighlights.com/contactus/ shows wechat, email, hotline(tested).
— https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/ticket-service.htm
github.com was, as of 7 Jun, accessible from hotel but blocked by ChnM, according to ChnM hotline. On 19 Jun, I was able to git push via ChnM hotspot, so the firewall is kinda dynamic.
— Two branches in T3. The only person to know something is +86-13810 248813. Can get long-term SIM or temp SIM. Only for age 18+
— roaming
— 话费充值 [account refill]… immediate update of account balance on ChnM APP
* [3 Dec 2023] I was able to use alipay AND wcpay. (Earlier I used wcpay to refill 178**7725)
— 6-digit 服务密码 … can be a life-saver when you lose access to your account while roaming. I was able to reset this code by sending SMS
1xxxx1 for both mobileNum xxxx5241 and xxxx 0430
— APP login: 1) 4dots 2) SmsOtp
==== ChnM billing
To change package, may need to call 10086
话费 .. your account balance. Usable to pay monthly package, outgoing minutes or GB [i.e. mobile data]
套餐外本机主叫 rmb 25c/min. Incoming is FOC from domestic or overseas[confirmed Dec 2023]
You need to (as a form of background heat stressor) monitor your usage in terms of GB, call cost,,, otherwise excess usage would eat into 话费. APP provides up-to-date usage statistics.
— 178 and 159 Rmb8 package “8元4G飞享卡”.. 159 to take this up on 1 Sep 2024
— 13621 Rmb5 package 12c/min, probably zero talk time included
— call-only: rmb29/160 min outgoing.. PayAsYouGo 212 min will cost rmb39
— call-only: rmb39/230 min outgoing; rmb20/150m [call hotline to activate on 1 Dec]
— data-only [流量包]: Non-promo pricing .. rmb30/5GB. Promotion offers go as low as RMB 1/GB but expires quickly. On 16 Sep 2023, I bought rmb5/5GB 7D-validity 立即生效.
— choosing 流量包 on APP:
On APP, search for 流量包. The offers are accurate. Once bought, they take effect immediately, and expire in a specified timeframe. 区域流量 .. limited to Beijing, not for Tianjin
k_quietime k_soul_search
— worst possible losses ranked… Be conscious of the relative value of each!
todo: set meituan passwd for TJJ
k_X_PPD_China
I can’t afford to rely on something unpredictable. If reliable, then the avaibility/convenience is excellent in many situations .. short trips in normal weather condition, or after midnight. In contrast, public transport is more essential.
Plan 0: don’t rely on bike sharing. Buy a cheap bike if needed. Own bike is easier to operate.
Plan 1: (not really a base plan) rely on yellow bike, set up manual top-up from Any bank card. (wcpay would be a good second top-up source.) Accept the various surprises. (Citibike and SgBike etc also come with surprises.)
No perfectionist please. Perhaps half the locals also have problems with one of the three operators. My basic goal is “can use any one”. My good-eough goal is “can-use multiple”.
| green | blue | yellow | |||||||
| 滴滴打车 Didi | Hello | 美团 Meituan | |||||||
| done[1] | done[2] | LSQ | TJJ | smrz | |||||
| xxxx我爱死你 | xxxx我爱死你 | xxxx 7725 | xxxx 我爱死你 | mobileNum | |||||
| no[4] | nowhere [3] | GM | psbc::GP | bank card | |||||
| explicit; tested | tested +! explicit binding | LSQ NA | TJJ NA | Alipay auto-pay | |||||
| small | R3 late 2024 | PPD bal | |||||||
| no PPD[4] | 🙂 ppd linked to wcpay/alipay | linked to her bank card | linked to psbc::GP | PPD funding | |||||
| Paid by Alipay | Paid by PPD | Paid by PPD | one-tap QR-scan | ||||||
| scan from 小程序 | can fund PPD | TJJ NA | wcpay usage | ||||||
— green.. Didi cab/bike
[1] mainPage > 打车 > blue shield > 安全工具 > smrz … shows smrz completed
统一实名认证 .. different from 实名认证, only supporting China NRIC
* Tested: one-tap scan, ending with Alipay auto-deduction, although ppd not funded
.. Alipay (not wcpay) gives new users benefit of the doubt
[4] PPD depends on bank card binding, which is unsupported for passport. Without PPD created, you can’t use alipay to fund it.
Hotline not good. Low cost. Many menus.
— blue.. Hello bike/cab
[2] tap on username > 个人信息 > smrz done. smrz was initialized via Alipay.
Log in by SmsOtp but not Alipay 🙁
Blue is the most complete set-up in terms of payment control.
* ppd funding by Aliay or wcpay. Tested in 2024
* When insufficient, Alipay auto-deduction actually kicked in … mysteriously
** [3] Alipay or Bank card binding are nowhere
— yellow .. meituan
Account 1: smrz under grandma, binding her bank card. login/pw: 178xxx/se8. You need this after you reset the APP.
Account 2: smrz under TJJ, binding psbc::GP card
ppd (known as “余额”) funded by owner’s bank card. Y0.01 tested Sep 2023
Payment PIN: 1xxxxx1
Killer requirement: parking zone. I worry about it constantly, though the provider seldom levy a fine or restrict your access.
Switching account .. Person A can log out, to let Person B log in, then A to re-login. Same phone can keep both A+B’s personal data.
Running in Beijing, China: Best Routes and Places to Run in Beijing (greatruns.com) has insights: “Beijing has an extensive public transportation system, consisting of buses and inexpensive subways, with English language signage. Runners should note Beijing’s climate: cold winters and hot, humid summers. The city is famous for its cherry blossoms in spring and gorgeous fall foliage in the parks.”
The Top 5 Running Spots in Beijing by a foreigner has personal insights.
k_X_PPD_China
As I told my son, the most essential infrastructure pieces are
1) mobileNum under_your_name. You can have multiple 🙂
2) bank cards… You can have multiple, even within the same bank.
2b) banking APPs … registered with a mobileNum under_your_name
3) Alipay+wcpay … registered with a mobileNum under_your_name and bankCards under_your_name
4) subway APP/card under any name. You need ID details only during top-up.
5) bike sharing APP under any name. MobileNum vs banCard ownership can be different:)
How is wcpay registered with my passport? 钱包 -> 身份信息 -> 实名认证状态. Note this info is not available in the wechat-level (distinct from wcpay-level) settings.
When not “if” you hit (big or small) obstacles using these services, you really, badly need effective customer service[1]. What’s effective? Email is usually not fast enough. Chat is slow, and complicated due to Chinese input, and during ID authentication. I usually prefer F2F or hotline.
In general, China banks, ChnM (subway to a lesser extent) offer the best customer service thanks to the physical branches. Among the banks, HSBC is more foreigner friendly but with fewer branches.
Alipay, another infrastructure entity, is better than its peers. I spoke to hotline 3 times … stable connection.
wcpay is the worst of all. 95017 is the official hotline.. never tried.
Bike sharing is the smallest infrastructure piece. Didi has online chat that lets me speak, but bad experience. HelloBike has/had a hotline but in 2024 I only found the chat. It worked fine.
[1] Singpass would be a benchmark in effective customer service. No branches but many places to offer help to the elderly.
I foresee myself spending lots of time in China and relying on customer support. In the U.S. customer support come with a premium, but luckily no such extra cost in China.
Sugg: similar to fire alarm testing, try each service periodically.
— which infrastructure service can be available if you impersonate a family member or trusting friend.
— which China apps can “register” a mobileNumB while on SimCardA
Meituan.. tested
Alipay.. tested
HSBC-China .. tested
Wechat .. I was using 97263200
ICBC .. tested, but I changed it back to 159 because sometimes we receive smsOTP
— Case study: Beijing subway card is more essential than bike sharing. I received lots of customer support at stations. Still I need multiple alternative payment methods:
Option 1: the 亿通行 APP.. actually easy to set up smrz + Alipay binding
Option 1b: try.. set up 一卡通 APP using grandparents’ IDs
^^ these options don’t require a RMB 20 deposit 🙂
Option 2: keep my precious subway card.
.. I was able to top up using wcpay PPD
.. I was able to top up using Alipay bank card
Option 3: register additional subway cards using my passport or grandparents ID. I think I can top-up using their ID.
Better test the APP once a while.
I now foresee myself spending lots of days every year in Beijing.
Need to accept the reality of China firewall.. Don’t be bitter or resentful. China government is not completely without justification. Focus on solutions.
Note some workhorse sites [dreamhost, github,,] are accessible by wifi intermittently (such as the Wifi-101) but seldom permitted by ChnM hotspot. Therefore, Don’t rely on dreamhost for important info. Use git-blogg or SD drive instead.
— MLPhone as roaming hotspot
Issue: NoSim. I had to connect to a wifi to set up SIM
Issue: other devices can’t detect this SSID. I had to disable-then-enable the hotspot on mlphone. Once another device connects to this SSID, mlphone shows a green banner on top.
“For Monthly Data Travel APAC, once the current 2GB has been utilized , it will automatic activate another 2GB block @$15 per block.”