I NEED advices, travelling for firstime in my life out of my country to the RED CHINA? Please Help!

[sujeto]

.i.  .i.

 

Admin note: Sujeto edited all his posts out when he was in a bad mood. 

[ChTTay]

In Winter, it's going to be insanely cold in Harbin. Would it be worth packing a few good quality winter clothes in your suitcase? Good thermal pants , winter boots and coat for example. You can buy these things in China generally. Personally, I prefer the styles and quality I can buy at home though. If you're going to be there three years then it would be a good investment. Also, if you are a big guy, then you may find it hard to find your size in China.

If you want unrestricted access to the internet, you might want to look into getting a VPN sorted on your laptop before you leave also.

You may also want to stock up on a few key medicines that you might need. That way you will have them just incase, rather than having to try find them at a pharmacy. Especially as you don't speak Chinese. I usually bring over ibuprofen and decongestant from home as I prefer them to Chinese brands.

[sujeto]

.i.

[grawrt]

Please don't wear a sweater when you first come here. It's still quite nice here. The weather for today is high of 28 and low of 18 throughout most of the week.

[sujeto]

.i.

[Kanjiology]

Make sure to learn a few basic phrases and words in Mandarin before you come so you can communicate and get your point across. It seems like you'll be using English in your academic life, but you're going to need Chinese in your everyday life to do ordinary things. 

 

It seems you didn't pack that many Winter clothes, but I don't think its that easy to get in Venezuela is it? Like ChTTay said, either bring some from home or buy some when you get here, I'm not in Harbin but even I know Harbin Winters are notoriously cold.  

 

Your family should be able to send you packages in the mail as long as they have your address, just make sure to tell them to write your address in large capital letters in pinyin and to write your Chinese cellphone number on the box.

 

I can't think of anything else, but good luck and don't stress too much. You're going to have a room mate in the shared dorm, so you won't be alone in your journey in China. 

[jobm]

same dilemma here. I haven't experienced winter ever since I came out of this world and I have a little idea on what winter looks like~

[sujeto]

.i.

[dementior]

take the chance to learn mandarin!!! if you are coming to Harbin try not to focus only on your English... I mean your English is already good, make a serious effort to learn proper Mandarin, Harbin people speak very standard Mandarin and it would be a pity that you do not commit yourself to learn it.

 

Do not pack your luggage with winter clothes, I mean, you can buy them here probably cheaper than at home... Most important thing in winter is that you wear layers, since indoors the heating works just fine and you will need to take off clothes every time you go inside. Minimum temp about -30 C, but Harbin girls hopefully will help stay warm, they are among the friendlist you will meet in China.

[MPhillips]

Where I am is so hot I just had a Venezolano complaining to me about it a couple days ago--believe or not at 18° a lot of 'em here get bundled up with boots, ski caps & gloves even! Today in McDonald's where it was about 23° this guy was complaining about how "cold" it was! On the other hand 30° below might be going too far the other way!

[jobm]

I am from the philippines I also chose HIT but I was admitted in DUT, still in northeastern china LOL

It will be my first time to experience snow and winter. I am so excited!

I agree, you already speak good English, trying to learn Chinese is also a good investment

I also won't bring a lot of winter clothes in China because I will be buying them in China. I think it is more convenient and cheaper.

[ChTTay]

The issue with buying winter gear in China is the sizes. It looks like OP has decent footwear which is a good start.

Does Harbin have western shops that might sell western sizes? Western XXL? If not, might want to buy before OR get the things posted to you.

I don't live in Harbin so don't know the answer!

[Lu]

As to packing: wear your heaviest shoes on the plane, that way they don't count to your total luggage weight. It's wise of you to bring some shoes from home, make sure they're quality shoes if you can, that last long, so you don't need to buy new ones right away.

If you can find an outdoor sports shop in your own city, perhaps check there for thermal wear: longjohns, undershirts, warm socks, fleece sweaters, such things. I don't think I can explain very cold weather, but you'll need at least two-three layers of clothes and a big coat. And a hat, a scarf etc, but those things you should be able to buy in Harbin.

Your phone has a sim card? You can just bring it to China. You may or may not be able to use it there, but might as well bring it so you can still text from the gate, or perhaps even from Paris to let people know that you've arrived there safely.

Do you have a travel guide? They come in useful both for things like getting from the airport/train station to your destination and later on for finding stuff to sightsee.

Once in Beijing, there is a risk that you make your way to the train station and find the train tickets sold out for the day. This would not be the end of the world (get hotel/hostel, sleep, try again next day) but just not something you want to deal with on your first day out of your country. You can also take a plane, might be more convenient if more expensive. Alternatively, you could book a hostel for one night, they can often also help you buying train tickets.

Do you know where to go once you get to Harbin? In case HIT has more than one campus, make sure you know which campus to go and get the name & address in characters to show the taxi driver or to ask the way. Also get the name of the building/office where you need to register in characters, to ask the way once you get to campus.

Good luck!

[Zander]

Can I just ask how on earth your flight cost $10,000? I think for that price I could circumnavigate the world several times...

[sujeto]

.i.

[Kanjiology]

Wow so you just can't go online and purchase tickets? Must be pretty complex, cause I pay about $800-1000 for a ticket from the USA to China during the off-season and maybe around $1500 when it gets busier, $10,000 USD just sounds too ridiculous, you could sit in first class maybe twice with that kind of price or like zanders said, circumnavigate the world several times.

[sujeto]

.i.

[sujeto]

Once in Beijing, there is a risk that you make your way to the train station and find the train tickets sold out for the day. This would not be the end of the world (get hotel/hostel, sleep, try again next day) but just not something you want to deal with on your first day out of your country. You can also take a plane, might be more convenient if more expensive. Alternatively, you could book a hostel for one night, they can often also help you buying train tickets.

Do you know where to go once you get to Harbin? In case HIT has more than one campus, make sure you know which campus to go and get the name & address in characters to show the taxi driver or to ask the way. Also get the name of the building/office where you need to register in characters, to ask the way once you get to campus.

 

 

Lu thank you for pointing this out, I'll be checking this.

[anonymoose]

I guess now you've got your ticket, it's probably too late, but couldn't you have just taken a bus to a neighbouring country and flown from there?

[sujeto]

.i.