Moving to Chengdu Soon

Posted in: Forums > Living in Chengdu • 7 posts • Newest

• • Journey
    June 13, 2012
    17 posts
  • Hello everyone,

    I am an American who would like to relocate to Chengdu within the next 60 days. My plan is to go there and study the language and find employment. I am still researching everything and would appreciate any tips, advice, and suggestions to make the move go smoothly. Thak you in advance for your help.

    Below are the topics that I need some help on:

    Visa - Do I apply for a tourist visa and then later change it to a working visa?

    Renting a room - Is there a website besides this one where I can search for a room to rent?

    Job - What websites can I use to look for work in Chengdu?

    Bank Account - What will I need to open a bank account there?

    ID - Will I use my passport as my identification, or do will I apply for one there?

    Transportation - Will it be easy for me to get around town without a car? I plan to take the bus or train to and from work. Do you recommend I get a bike?

    What else do I need to know that I didnt mention in the topics above?

• • magentalisted
    June 14, 2012
    54 posts
  • Visa - Probably not a very good idea. You won't be able to change a tourist visa to a work visa in country as far as I know. If you're coming to study you're supposed to come on a student visa; if you're coming to work you're supposed to come on a work visa (of course you need appropriate paperwork supplied by the school or employer to obtain either of those in your home country).
    Renting a room - Yes, if you can read Chinese. Otherwise, this is probably your best option until you're in Chengdu, when you can just go to an agent (though you'll need to speak Chinese or have somebody translate at most of them).
    Job - This one is probably your best bet.
    Bank Account - Passport and 10 yuan. Ability to speak Chinese helpful, but if not, find a Chinese person to translate for you.
    ID - Passport.

    Transportation - No need for a car. Bikes are good. The bus network is good but the buses tend to be very crowded. Subway has one line so far and another to open later this year. Taxis are also plentiful, though catching an empty one during rush hour can be difficult.

• • Journey
    June 14, 2012
    17 posts
  • Thank you for your informative reply. Regarding employment; I am assuming that it would be hard to get hired without being interviewed in Chengdu first. This seems like a catch 22 for me.

• • Dragon Expeditions
    June 15, 2012
    162 posts
  • Depending on what sort of job you want it might not be too hard to get hired before you arrive. Probably at least half the jobs posted here would hire you without meeting you in person. A fairly closely overlapping half wouldn't be able to help you with a visa though.

    You do need to enter the country on the type of visa that you want to stay on (although can go from Tourist (L) to Visitor (F) and I think sometimes Student (X) locally). If you're forced to enter on the wrong type though (60 days is not much time to get all the paperwork for a work visa) it's not too far to Hong Kong to come back in with the correct one. Bring originals of degree certificates etc as these are now a requirement for work permits or foreign expert certificates

    Agree completely with @magentalisted on all the rest.

• • stevealec247
    June 17, 2012
    1 post
  • Hi...!
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• • piglet44
    June 17, 2012
    21 posts
  • Dear Journey
    I find your post really strange! Firstly why have you chosen Chengdu? Do you know anything about China? Some basic research would be necessary before you make such a big step to come to China. A simple google search would answer most of your questions.
    As to advising you on finding a job- what qualifications do you have, how old are you etc? I can't advise without knowing. If you are a Native speaker and you have a BA you can easily get a teaching job without coming to Chengdu first and the employer would fix the visa issue for you.
    Secondly,on this very website there are lots of ads for jobs, and housing which don't require Chinese but of course if you are intending to live and work here knowing at least a bit of Chinese would help. Otherwise how will you talk to the landlords and sign a contract etc?
    There are many other things you would need to know before you move to China and the first would be how to search for information that will help you survive here.
    I recommend www.raoulschinasaloon.com the folk there are very knowledgeable and helpful.
    Good luck

• • magentalisted
    June 18, 2012
    54 posts
  • You know, in an ideal world, yeah, everybody would be able to fluently speak the language of the country they're going to move to and know the culture and yadda yadda. But plenty of people have managed to move to China with limited or no Chinese skills and survived, so, yes, while it's helpful I don't think it's a reason to just forget about moving here. (Of course, I'd highly recommend one to learn as much as he/she can before coming, and to try to continue to learn while here.) Besides, plenty of people managed to move here before the days when Google was your one-stop answer for any question, so I read Journey's questions here exactly as an attempt to "search for information that will help [him/her] survive here."

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