Things I should bring to China from the US?

[heifeng]

Isn't there already a top 20 lists or something detailing what one should bring to China on this forum? I would search for it by my pc is super super slow today...

2 months is short, but I always recommend sunscreen and moisterizer , etc. so your skin doesn't get tramatized more by the sun or new products out here than it alread will be by pollutants and general grit circulating in the air (when do the sandstorms start again? after Feb, right?). Even if they have what you want out here, it might not be the easiest to find.

And FYI, the Tjoy brand or ding shenme yi is an evil skincare product/company, there is a reason they promote that lousy brand everywhere~Even if they give it to you for free, do not accept it! Ok, that was my 跑题 of the day!

Also you can bring Zippo lighters to sell or other gifts for general corruption purposes: cigarettes, chocolates, liquor wrapped up in pretty packages...etc.

____

Ps, always take my posts with a grain of salt, or however that saying goes...

[heifeng]

My grandma tells me that chocolate is quite expensive and she insisted that I bring truck loads of it with me to share with everyone in my extended family. Also, she wants peanut butter? I'm wondering how much to bring and what other "essentials" I should bring over. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Ok, so I just reread the thread, so in order to make it sound like China is infact not like a correctional institution where cigarettes are only used as a bartering system for favors, you can indeed bring chocolate, pistachios (esp. if you are in Cali since they may be cheaper there), and VITAMINS. Vitamins are good to bring for your family especially the old folks since vitamins in China claim to be from the US , but seem questionable to me, and buying them in the US actually works out to be cheaper.

Bring a hair stylist along who knows how to cut non-Chinese hair. See related discussion under Grammar and Vocabulary.

oh, yeah, feel free to bring me, heifeng, expensive German shears and I will cut your hair if you ever require it while in China hehe

[flameproof]

Also you can bring Zippo lighters

Zippo gets massively faked in China. You can think of some typical USA cheesy stuff. Just remove the "Made in China" sign first.

And remember, the more cheesy, the more Chinese will love it. Cheesy stuff that blinks and makes funny noises are best.

[Lindsay]

I didn't know what zippo lighters were and I just did a search, turns out my grandfather used to collect those "cheesy" things from the US and japan. I remember he had some in the shape of guns and you just pull the trigger and fire comes out. it was the coolest thing to a 6 year old.

i'm still really concerned about this surge protector thing. i saw this from someone's post:

"Also keep in mind:

1) Many things here are fake or poor quality, so bring your own surge protector that you trust. Don't let your $2000 machine rely on a 20 kuai power strip."

If my laptop does get messed up, is it repairable? my warantee covers just about everything except accidental damage, but would this type of thing accidental?

[Lindsay]

oh, i just remembered something else... (sorry for the neverending questions)

i heard the university dorms are kept relatively cold and most people wear thick sweaters just to keep warm in their rooms. even though i used to go to college in Ithaca, NY (very cold winters) we still had well-heated rooms. do most people buy additional electric heaters for their rooms? like there's a fan that blows out hot air. they are around $20 over here and heat up a room to a balmy 70 farenheit degrees. i have one that uses 750V so do you all advise that i bring it with me?

[adrianlondon]

You can buy heaters in China. Seems silly to bring one with you, considering the size. This isn't some strange country with no technology, you know ;)

Most foreign student dorms are heated well. Most dorms ban heaters anyway (meaning you need to "hide" it).

[flameproof]

are heated well.

Inside it's either sub zero, or over 35C. Last time my hotel was on the hot side and the only way to regulate was to keep the windows open.

I once was in Gansu in a hotel that was more "on the cold side" and they gave me extra blankets. The extra blanket were so heavy I couldn't move at all at night. But it was warm.

Now, for your notebook, it is basically protected by the power supply. Before you write more worries about it i suggest you actually have a look at your appliances and read what it said on the power supply.

Another note, your non-GSM phone you can leave home. It will not work in China.

[adrianlondon]

I guess I'm lucky here at BNU then, with full climate control in my bedroom and a separate one in the living room.

It's a good job they are all separate as my flatmate, an Indonesian guy, usually has his room set to "desert, 12 noon".

[jinjin]

speaking about power conveters and plug adapters, I'm almost positive that all laptops do not require a power converter. Also, in beijing anyway, the outlet plugs fit both flat and round plugs and this weird triangular three flat prong thing not found in the US (but maybe in other countries, I'm not sure)

on another note, I just found out that the mp3 player and some other random chinese gadgets work in the US! I thought that I would have to ditch my electronics b/c the plugs look different, but they charge just fine in the US. (the flat plugs on my chinese bought electronics do not have the holes in them that the US ones have but that doesn't seem to affect their charging abilities). so load up on cheap electronics that are more durable and long lasting than you would think! I went to the Chinese Silicon Valley in haidian district...

[Lindsay]

this probably sounds dumb, but where exactly is this "silicon valley of china" that you speak of? i heard there's a major electronics area in beijing... so is that the same thing?

since i'll be in beijing for such a short duration, what do y'all suggest i do about a cell phone? should i buy a pre-paid one or depend on the landline that's (hopefully) in my dorm room.

oh, something completely off-tropic..

you know those 2008 olympics mascots? the 5 bear/animal creatures? i really want the stuffed animals so are dept stores selling them? i know they're used as promotional tools and all but i would love to buy a set or two since i know i won't be able to attend the games.

[adrianlondon]

Hi - the electronics area is in Haidian, (SW of Wudaokou). It's called Zhongguancun (中关村) and the main street, 中关村大街, runs South from the 4th ringroad.

Your phone may work in China, but I think it'll need to be tri-band. For two months, you could probably do without one, but as everyone here from fellow foreign student to clingy language exchange partner will want to sms you all day every day, you may regret it.

You can buy a mobile quite cheaply, especially a dodgy second hand one (my UK mobile works here, so I didn't investigate where the phone market is, but I think it's near the Hilton), and just shove a payg sim into it. You could then sell the mobile before you return.

Olympic stuff is available in many places. The prices are fixed, so any of the souvenir concessions sell the same stuff for the same price. You can try to find fake olympic gear, but this seems to be one area where knock-offs aren't well tolerated, and all the dodgy stuff I've seen has looked really rubbish.

[jinjin]

Lindsay: not dumb at all. There is a huge strip of electronics stores within walking distance from Beida (on the way to Carrefour). There is also a building with just floors and floors of electronics vendors where you can buy almost anything, and any computer part (no matter how small or big) right outside the small south-west door of BeiDa near the KFC. It says Silicon Valley on the building.

As for cell phone, you have two options: You can buy one in china (expensive) or you can buy one in the US to use in China. EVERYONE, I mean, EVERYONE uses cell phones. Also, nobody uses answering machines or voicemail. Even businesses or law firms (and some university professors) have voice mail as part of their system and report that they are rarely used by the Chinese, and only have voicemail if a foreign customer calls. So everyone texts. buy a plan with cheap texts. I didn't think I was going to use text that much and got roped into buying a plan that costs .25 for each text! now I gave my number to everyone, including professional contacts, so I'm kind of stuck in that plan unless I want to change my number. I've heard horible things about China Unicom, but they are reallly cheap. I have China mobile and the service is good, but more expensive.

The good thing about the cell phones in China is that they are unlocked. So, if you buy one in China, you can resell it on ebay as a GSM unlocked phone and people who travel to other countries other than china will also buy the phone. While many things are cheaper in China, cell phones are not. They are, actually cheaper in the US or the same price and if you buy in US, it ensures that it will have english capabilities. Also, you can use the phone in the US if you have a carrier like tmobile that uses SIM cards.

I went to Queens in New York to an independent tmobile dealer owned by Chinese-Americans and haggled a great price on a GSM unlocked Motorola L6 Razor "candy bar" for much cheaper than I found on the internet. It also has chinese language capabilities that was built into the phone (it wasn't altered after market).

Some guy walked in while I was there and needed his phone unlocked for Egypt. If you live in a large international city (such as Houston, LA, NYC, chicago, etc.) you can find people who specialize in selling unlocked phones and unlocking phones. The only cell phone carrier that always uses GSM is tmobile, although I hear that cingular now offers some GSM phones using SIM card (but don't quote me, I am not sure about cingular)

If you already have a tmobile phone, you can look online for unlocking codes or go to the people who specialize in unlocking phones (they're legit stores, not random people standing on the street corner). But be careful, if you do it yourself, you have three chances before your phone locks itself and you can't use it. it's happened. if you go to the store, make sure that they have a policy to replace the phone if they mess up and the phone locks itself. Also, if you do buy a new phone, you can look for ones that are able to send texts in chinese in the US--you don't have to wait to go to China.

Nokias are the easiest to unlock, by the way. Motorolas are hit or miss. You can also look in the classifieds or on thatsbj.com for foreigners who were only in China for a semester and are looking to sell their phones because they are going home.

As for the mascots: they are everywhere! I mean, EVERYWHERE. they are in super markets, they are on blankets sold by street vendors, they are in department stores, they are in clothing stores, they are in variety stores that sell random cutsey stuff, so don't worry. they have little ones, they have ones that are the size of small toddlers, you will get sick of looking at them. but they are totally cute.

As for chocolate: there is dove and ferro roche everywhere. I'm not sure why ferro roche is freakin' every where in China, but it's also a huge thing in the China town in both manhattan and flushing in new york. But Chinese love ferro roche. Growing up (I'm chinese, btw) I was always eating ferro roche and almond rock b/c my parents loved them. strange, isnt' it?

there is also a lot of korean chocolate (and japanese pocky--i love pocky). Beijing does not have godiva, but HK does. there is also snickers, m&ms, etc. in China. The only thing that sucks, is that the "chocolate" cakes, brownies, cookies, are never really chocolate. they taste pretty gross, in my opinion.

There's also a Walmart in china and other large markets that foreigners often frequent so I'm sure you'll find almost everything you need. I go back and forth from beijing to the US, and I find I miss beijing food more than US food when I'm in the other country.

[jinjin]

also, Linsday, since you mentioned going to college in NY, I just assumed you are American. But like the previous post, you could be from the UK or elsewhere, and I don't know anything about buying a GSM unlocked phone in other countries other than US and China, unless you count the internet.

[Lindsay]

hey jinjin,

thanks for the super duper cell phone advice, i have been stressing out about that. i'm suffering from a bad cold and i've got less than a month before i get to gallivant thru BEIJING!

i'm also from queens!! and i can really relate on the incessant consumption and admiration for "ferro roche and almond rock" candy by chinese families, but i am not a big fan of those.. what i do really like is the occasional kit kat bar and twix bars. are those sold in beijing?

unfortunately, my cell phone carrier is verizon. i've heard from friends who studied abroad that they just used a pre-paid sims card on their handy dandy t-mobile phones, and now i'm sulking bc i cannot enjoy that convenience. when you bought that unlocked cell phone from tmobile, does that mean you can use it in china and then once you're back in the states, you can use that cell under any wireless carrier? i just had a grand idea of buying an unlocked phone in china with english capabilities, and then taking it back here so i can do a switcharoo with my old verizon phone. is that possible?

OR do you think i should just go on ebay or to a store and buy an unlocked phone prior to traveling abroad? ideally, i would want to be able to use the phone with verizon...

i'm really excited about the big dept stores like carrefour and walmart in beijing! we don't really have a walmart in new york city, and i have only been there once in my life and that was over spring break in florida (weird huh?). the closest thing we have is a Target. i hear there's a ton of competition between carrefour and walmart in the international consumer retail market so i'm looking forward to seeing how similar those stores will be.

[jinjin]

hi lindsay!

I don't think you can use GSM phones with verizon. In fact, all phones (with the exception of tmobile and maybe cingular) in the US can't be switched around because the providers don't use GSM technology. They use CDMA.

For example, you can't have a Sprint phone and use it with verizon's service. stupid isn't it? but that's how they get you--you have to buy a new phone when you switch services.

However, Verizon might move towards GSM in the future, in which case you will be able to use your new phone with it but who knows how soon...

I had Verizon before I left for Beijing. They let me out of my contract for free because I told them I was moving to Beijing for school. If you are going for a month or so, I'm not too sure about that.

I'm in Queens right now too! (I'm going back to Beijing in March for the spring semester, then back to queens for summer, then back to beijing, etc.)

Not all tmobile phones can be used in China, it depends on whether they are unlocked. if they aren't unlocked, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. for example, my friend's tmobile phone receives international texts, but she can't use it to call or send out texts. weird, huh? but it was locked so that's probably why.

My phone isn't a tmobile phone, but I can use it on tmobile, but I can't send picture texts. so there's always going to be something weird when you cross providers. I haven't tried it with China Mobile (my carrier in beijing) so it might just be a quirk with tmobile, not with the phone.

As for twix and kit kat bars, I'm not sure. I want to say yes, but I honestly haven't paid that close attention (I looove ferro roche so I always go straight for those : ) ). I know they have oreos that taste like they do in america. the lays and pringles don't taste a thing like they do in america. there are also a lot of korean wafers with chocolate layers that are good. and nestle sells chocolate milk and chocolate malt milk in cartons that aren't refridgerated (they taste ok if you refridgerate them, but that's just my personal taste).

[Lindsay]

hey jin!

if you don't mind my asking, what university do you go to in bejing? are you going for a degree over there or attending language classes? you're so lucky to get to travel around so frequenty! i'm attending the march 4-week mandarin course at beijing language and cultural university near wudaokou so i'm definitely looking forward to the college setting and crazy nightlife. i am already pretty conversational in mandarin but completely illiterate in reading and writing. i'm not expecting to learn a great deal from just 4 weeks alone but at least want to construct simple sentences. these 2 months will literally be my "free" time, away from all academic and career obligations and responsibilities. i wish i could stay in bj longer but i have to attend my college graduation in may (i graduated in Dec. but want to walk with my friends in May) and then i will have to start work as a corporate slave from july until eternity. as you can see, my schedule is just not conducive to traveling for long periods of time. okay, sorry for all the pathetic ranting.

when you mentioned that people in bj like to text a lot, is there some kind of translation software on phones? i get very confused when i even attempt to read any chinese letters and i feel like an inferior loser. any way of letting the phone do all the work?

[jinjin]

I go to BeiDa, I'm getting my masters in chinese law. it's my way of escaping the corporate world too (went back to school after working for a year--heheh).

Some of my chinese friends have english-chinese dictionaries on their phones but it's pretty archaic from what I gather. you also have to enter in word by word--it doesn't just read your text and then spit out a sentence translation, unfortunately. there might be the technology out there, but you might need a phone like the palm treo that can handle it. (i miss my palm treo--I had verizon and had to ditch it when I moved to china).

you can get a chinese-english and vice versa translater for pretty cheap. the one I have is called Besta (it's a taiwanese brand) that has both traditional and simplified, korean and japanese. it's great because it has a stylus so you can draw in words you don't know.

It might be good the phone doesn't do the work for you. honestly, I learned so many words by having to look them up and the looking up part helps with ingraining it in your mind. when I'm lazy, I just grab a Chinese friend--good way to meet the locals

I've seen those weird translator pens on skymall where you can run the pen over whatever language, and it spits out the translation on the side facing you. Pretty cool, not sure how well it works--maybe you could run it over the screen on your phone (but I think they are pricey...)

hope this helps!!

[pandaxiongmao]

Kit Kat is available in China, but usually only the basic chocolate-flavoured ones. Sometimes also white chocolate. There is not the wide variety of (limited time) flavours you can find in Japan or Taiwan.

I've seen candy bars similar to Twix, but haven't seen the real thing. Can't speak for Beijing though.

If you want a basic phone, you should be able to find one for less than 100RMB. I am not in Beijing, but the cheapest phones I have seen in southern China start at around 80RMB - a little more than $10 US. Plus you can be sure that it handles Chinese properly.

[flameproof]

If you want a basic phone, you should be able to find one for less than 100RMB.

I doubt the less then 100. New phones start usually at around rmb350 or so.

You can also check for the cheaper sim cards that start with 010 (instead of 13...). But be aware that those cards run only on the supplied phone and should be bought in a set.

i'm really excited about the big dept stores like carrefour and walmart

Don't get overexcited. They carry mainly local stuff. Metro has a good selection of imported stuff. I am sure there are also a few upmarket shops with a wider imported range.

[adrianlondon]

Also, CDMA phones have poor reception. I wouldn't bother, unless you're going to be here a long time, want to make a lot of calls, and are willing to carry two mobiles (one which works, and one which doesn't, but would be very cheap if it did) like many of my Indonesian friends here.