Relocation Tools.
Everything you need to plan your move and settle into Shanghai seamlessly.
Visa Timeline
Select your profile and generate a comprehensive, step-by-step timeline of the documentation required to legally move to China.
Cost Calculator
Estimate your monthly living expenses in Shanghai based on your lifestyle, housing preferences, and habits.
Neighborhood Matchmaker
Take our quick 30-second quiz to discover which Shanghai district perfectly fits your vibe and commute.
Apps in China
The digital ecosystem is different here. Reveal the essential local apps you'll need to survive and thrive.
Chinese Dish Finder
Not sure what to eat or drink in Shanghai today? Filter by your craving and time of day to get a curated local recommendation.
China Packing List
Stop guessing. Find out exactly which everyday items are incredibly difficult or expensive to find in Shanghai.
The First 48 Hours
A personalized, step-by-step checklist to guide you through SIM cards, banking, and mandatory police registration.
"Speak Local" Soundboard
Tap to hear essential phrases spoken by a native voice. Perfect for communicating with delivery riders and taxi drivers.
Weekend Getaways
Escape the city. Use our interactive map to discover curated weekend excursions perfectly accessible for a 2-to-3 day trip.
China Visa & Document Timeline.
Select your profile below to generate a comprehensive, step-by-step timeline of the documentation required to legally move to China.
Plan Your Stay in China.
Estimate your monthly and total living costs based on your lifestyle.
Monthly Estimate
Neighborhood Matchmaker.
Not sure where to settle down? Answer a few simple questions to find the district that perfectly matches your lifestyle, budget, and commute.
Find Your Perfect Neighborhood
Take our quick quiz to discover which Shanghai district fits your lifestyle.
What best describes you?
Would you like to live near your workplace/campus?
What matters most to you?
What's your vibe?
Budget?
Lifestyle?
What matters most in your housing choice?
What are you okay compromising on?
What's your ideal balance?
What kind of living environment do you prefer?
Do you still want some social life?
What kind of environment do you prefer?
What's your main priority?
Would you like to live near your workplace?
What best describes your situation?
What is your top priority?
Do you want to live near major international schools?
Preferred environment?
Commute preference?
What type of home are you looking for?
Do you have pets?
Are you okay with a busier environment?
What's your lifestyle priority?
What does your ideal weekend look like?
What matters most?
Do you have pets?
What's your main goal?
What kind of daily environment do you prefer?
What vibe do you prefer?
What are you willing to compromise on?
What brings you to Shanghai?
Are you familiar with the city?
What do you want to experience most?
What kind of stay do you prefer?
What vibe do you prefer?
Your ideal night?
What are you looking for this time?
Which sounds more like you?
What matters most?
How immersive do you want it?
Would you like to live near your workplace?
What atmosphere do you prefer?
What's your ideal work environment?
What atmosphere do you prefer?
What matters most?
Your ideal day?
Would you like to live near your workplace/campus?
What matters most to you?
What's your vibe?
Budget?
Lifestyle?
What matters most in your housing choice?
What are you okay compromising on?
What's your ideal balance?
What kind of living environment do you prefer?
What kind of environment do you prefer?
Would you like to live near your workplace?
What best describes your situation?
What is your top priority?
Do you want to live near major international schools?
Preferred environment?
Commute preference?
What type of home are you looking for?
Do you have pets?
Are you okay with a busier environment?
What's your lifestyle priority?
What does your ideal weekend look like?
What matters most?
Do you have pets?
What's your main goal?
What kind of daily environment do you prefer?
What vibe do you prefer?
What are you willing to compromise on?
What brings you to Beijing?
Are you familiar with the city?
What do you want to experience most?
What kind of stay do you prefer?
What vibe do you prefer?
Your ideal night?
What are you looking for this time?
Which sounds more like you?
What matters most?
How immersive do you want it?
Would you like to live near your workplace?
What atmosphere do you prefer?
What's your ideal work environment?
What atmosphere do you prefer?
What matters most?
Your ideal day?
Would you like to live near your workplace/campus?
What matters most to you?
What's your vibe?
Budget?
Lifestyle?
What matters most in your housing choice?
What are you okay compromising on?
What's your ideal balance?
What kind of living environment do you prefer?
What kind of environment do you prefer?
Would you like to live near your workplace?
What best describes your situation?
What is your top priority?
Do you want to live near major international schools?
Preferred environment?
Commute preference?
What type of home are you looking for?
Do you have pets?
Are you okay with a busier environment?
What's your lifestyle priority?
What does your ideal weekend look like?
What matters most?
Do you have pets?
What's your main goal?
What kind of daily environment do you prefer?
What vibe do you prefer?
What are you willing to compromise on?
What brings you to Hong Kong?
Are you familiar with the city?
What do you want to experience most?
What kind of stay do you prefer?
What vibe do you prefer?
Your ideal night?
What are you looking for this time?
Which sounds more like you?
What matters most?
How immersive do you want it?
Would you like to live near your workplace?
What atmosphere do you prefer?
What's your ideal work environment?
What atmosphere do you prefer?
What matters most?
Your ideal day?
Your Match:
The China Tech Stack
Click the cards to reveal the essential local apps you'll need to survive and thrive in China.
Uber
Click to Reveal
DiDi (ๆปดๆปด)
The go-to ride-hailing app. Has a great English interface and accepts foreign credit cards.
Google Maps
Click to Reveal
Amap (้ซๅพทๅฐๅพ)
Highly accurate navigation, live traffic, and transit routes. Apple Maps also works decently via VPN.
Google Translate
Click to Reveal
Baidu Translate (็พๅบฆ็ฟป่ฏ)
The most accurate engine for Chinese-English translation, featuring live AR camera scanning.
Apple Pay
Click to Reveal
Alipay (ๆฏไปๅฎ)
The backbone of Chinese daily life. Bind your foreign card to pay for literally anything via QR code.
UberEats
Click to Reveal
Meituan (็พๅข)
Order food, groceries, medicine, or even a massage directly to your door in under 30 minutes.
Amazon
Click to Reveal
Taobao (ๆทๅฎ)
The world's largest e-commerce site. You can buy literally anything here, often with next-day delivery.
eBay
Click to Reveal
Xianyu (้ฒ้ฑผ)
The best second-hand marketplace. Great for buying used electronics, furniture, or selling your own items.
Click to Reveal
WeChat (ๅพฎไฟก)
The ultimate everything app. Messaging, payments, social media, and integrated mini-programs.
Tinder
Click to Reveal
Tantan (ๆขๆข)
The local equivalent for dating and meeting people. (Tinder is active but requires a VPN).
Booking.com
Click to Reveal
Trip.com (ๆบ็จ)
The absolute best app for booking high-speed trains, flights, and hotels within China. Great English support.
Click to Reveal
Xiaohongshu (ๅฐ็บขไนฆ)
"Little Red Book" is the trendiest lifestyle, fashion, and food discovery social network in China.
Tripadvisor
Click to Reveal
Dianping (ๅคงไผ็น่ฏ)
The undisputed king of restaurant and business reviews. Buy discounted group meals and find the best spots.
YouTube
Click to Reveal
Bilibili (ๅๅฉๅๅฉ)
The premier video sharing platform. Famous for its highly engaged community and "bullet-screen" comments.
TikTok
Click to Reveal
Douyin (ๆ้ณ)
The original Chinese version of TikTok. Incredibly addictive short-form video content and live-stream shopping.
IMDb
Click to Reveal
Douban (่ฑ็ฃ)
The ultimate cultural database for in-depth reviews and ratings on movies, books, and music.
Discover Local Flavors.
Not sure what to eat or drink in Shanghai today? Filter by your craving and time of day to get a curated local recommendation.
China Packing List.
Stop guessing what you need to bring. Find out exactly which everyday items are incredibly difficult or expensive to find in your destination city so you can pack smart.
Your Custom Packing List
We skipped the obvious stuff (shirts, socks) and focused on what expats actually struggle to find here.
The First 48 Hours.
Navigating your arrival in China can be overwhelming. Get a personalized, step-by-step checklist to guide you through SIM cards, banking, and mandatory police registration.
Your Arrival Gameplan
Check these off as you complete them to ensure a smooth transition.
Weekend Getaways.
Escape the city. Discover our curated weekend excursions perfectly accessible for a 2-to-3 day trip.
"Speak Local" Soundboard.
Tap any phrase to hear it spoken by a native voice. Essential phrases for surviving and thriving in China.
Stop here, please
ๅฐฑๅๅจ่ฟ้
Go straight
ๅพๅ่ตฐ
Turn left
ๅทฆ่ฝฌ
Turn right
ๅณ่ฝฌ
Slow down
ๆ ขไธ็น
How much is it?
ๅคๅฐ้ฑ๏ผ
Thatโs too expensive
ๅคช่ดตไบ
Use the meter
่ฏทๆ่กจ
Take me here (show phone)
ๅธฆๆๅฐ่ฟ้
Iโm in a hurry
ๆ่ตถๆถ้ด
Drop me off here
ๅจ่ฟ้ไธ่ฝฆ
Pull over here
่ทฏ่พนๅ่ฝฆ
Take the fastest route
่ตฐๆๅฟซ็่ทฏ
Is this the right way?
่ฟๆก่ทฏๅฏนๅ๏ผ
I think weโre going the wrong way
ๆ่งๅพ่ตฐ้่ทฏไบ
Can you wait for me here?
่ฝๅจ่ฟ้็ญๆไธไธๅ๏ผ
Iโll be right back
ๆ้ฉฌไธๅๆฅ
Please go slower
่ฏทๅผๆ ขไธ็น
Iโm not in a rush
ๆไธ่ตถๆถ้ด
How long will it take?
้่ฆๅค้ฟๆถ้ด๏ผ
I ordered food
ๆ็นไบๅคๅ
It hasnโt arrived yet
่ฟๆฒกๆๅฐ
Iโm at the main gate
ๆๅจๅคง้จๅฃ
Call me when you arrive
ๅฐไบ็ปๆๆ็ต่ฏ
I canโt find you
ๆๆพไธๅฐไฝ
Wait a moment
็ญไธไธ
Iโll come down
ๆ้ฉฌไธไธๅป
Leave it at the door
ๆพๅจ้จๅฃๅฐฑ่ก
Put it in the locker
่ฏทๆพๅคๅๆ
Iโm outside
ๆๅจๅค้ข
Iโm waiting downstairs
ๆๅจๆฅผไธ็ญไฝ
Can you come to the front?
ไฝ ่ฝๅฐๅ้ขๆฅๅ๏ผ
I didnโt receive it
ๆๆฒกๆถๅฐ
Itโs the wrong order
่ฟไธๆฏๆ็ๅคๅ
Please bring it up
่ฏทๆฟไธๆฅ
Iโll meet you at the entrance
ๆไปฌๅจ้จๅฃ่ง
Leave it with the security guard
ๆพๅจไฟๅฎ้ฃ้
Ring the bell
ๆ้จ้
I have a reservation
ๆๆ้ข่ฎข
Check-in, please
ๅ็ๅ ฅไฝ
Check-out, please
้ๆฟ
The WiFi is not working
็ฝ็ป่ฟไธไธ
Whatโs the WiFi password?
WiFiๅฏ็ ๆฏๅคๅฐ๏ผ
The AC is broken
็ฉบ่ฐๅไบ
Thereโs no hot water
ๆฒกๆ็ญๆฐดไบ
Thereโs no electricity
ๅ็ตไบ
Can you fix it?
่ฝไฟฎ็ไธไธๅ๏ผ
I locked my keys inside
ๆๆ้ฅๅ้ๅจๆฟ้ด้ไบ
The door wonโt open
้จๆไธๅผ
The key doesnโt work
้ฅๅไธ่ฝ็จ
The water is cold
ๆฐดๅพๅท
The sink is blocked
ไธๆฐด้ๅ ตไบ
Thereโs a leak
ๆผๆฐดไบ
The room is too noisy
ๆฟ้ดๅคชๅตไบ
Can I change room?
่ฝๆขๆฟ้ดๅ๏ผ
I need more towels
ๆ้่ฆๆดๅคๆฏๅทพ
The light is broken
็ฏๅไบ
The toilet doesnโt flush
้ฉฌๆกถๅฒไธไบๆฐด
I want this
ๆ่ฆ่ฟไธช
Not spicy
ไธ่ฆ่พฃ
A little spicy
ๅพฎ่พฃ
No meat
ไธ่ฆ่
Iโm allergic to this
ๆๅฏน่ฟไธช่ฟๆ
Water, please
่ฏท็ปๆๆฐด
One more, please
ๅๆฅไธไธช
The bill, please
ไนฐๅ
Can I get this to go?
ๅฏไปฅๆๅ ๅ๏ผ
Delicious
ๅพๅฅฝๅ
Iโm ready to order
ๆๅๅคๅฅฝ็น้คไบ
What do you recommend?
ๆไปไนๆจ่็ๅ๏ผ
I donโt eat pork
ๆไธๅ็ช่
I donโt eat seafood
ๆไธๅๆตท้ฒ
No peanuts
ไธ่ฆ่ฑ็
Is this vegetarian?
่ฟๆฏ็ด ้ฃๅ๏ผ
Iโll have the same as that
ๆ่ฆๅ้ฃไธชไธๆ ท็
Can you make it less salty?
ๅฏไปฅๅฐๆพ็น็ๅ๏ผ
Itโs too spicy for me
ๅฏนๆๆฅ่ฏดๅคช่พฃไบ
Weโre still deciding
ๆไปฌ่ฟๅจ็่ๅ
How much is this?
่ฟไธชๅคๅฐ้ฑ๏ผ
Too expensive
ๅคช่ดตไบ
Can you lower the price?
่ฝไพฟๅฎ็นๅ๏ผ
Iโll take it
ๆ่ฆไนฐ่ฟไธช
Do you have another size?
ๆๅซ็ๅท็ ๅ๏ผ
Can I try this on?
ๅฏไปฅ่ฏ็ฉฟๅ๏ผ
Do you accept card?
ๅฏไปฅๅทๅกๅ๏ผ
Iโll pay with my phone
ๆ็จๆๆบๆฏไป
Just looking, thanks
้ไพฟ็็๏ผ่ฐข่ฐข
Can you show me another one?
่ฝ็ปๆ็ๅฆไธไธชๅ๏ผ
Is there a discount?
ๆๆๆๅ๏ผ
Final price?
ๆไฝไปทๅคๅฐ๏ผ
Itโs too small
ๅคชๅฐไบ
Itโs too big
ๅคชๅคงไบ
I changed my mind
ๆไธ่ฆไบ
Iโll think about it
ๆๅ่่ไธไธ
Do you have a bag?
ๆ่ขๅญๅ๏ผ
Where can I pay?
ๅจๅช้ไปๆฌพ๏ผ
Help!
ๆๅฝ๏ผ
Call the police
ๆฅ่ญฆ
Call an ambulance
ๅซๆๆค่ฝฆ
I need a doctor
ๆ้่ฆๅป็
Iโm sick
ๆ็็ ไบ
Iโm lost
ๆ่ฟท่ทฏไบ
I lost my passport
ๆ็ๆค็ งไธขไบ
Please help me
่ฏทๅธฎๅธฎๆ
I donโt feel safe
ๆ่งๅพไธๅฎๅ จ
I need help now
ๆ็ฐๅจ้่ฆๅธฎๅฉ
I lost my phone
ๆ็ๆๆบไธขไบ
My phone was stolen
ๆ็ๆๆบ่ขซๅทไบ
I canโt find my hotel
ๆๆพไธๅฐๆ็้ ๅบ
Iโm stuck
ๆ่ขซๅฐไฝไบ
I donโt know where I am
ๆไธ็ฅ้ๆๅจๅช้
Please call someone for me
่ฏทๅธฎๆๅซไบบ
I need an interpreter
ๆ้่ฆ็ฟป่ฏ
I feel dizzy
ๆ่งๅพๅคดๆ
I need water
ๆ้่ฆๆฐด
I donโt understand
ๆๅฌไธๆ
Do you speak English?
ไฝ ไผ่ฏด่ฑ่ฏญๅ๏ผ
Please speak slowly
่ฏท่ฏดๆ ขไธ็น
Please write it down
่ฏทๅไธๆฅ
One moment
็ญไธไธ
Itโs okay
ๆฒกๅ ณ็ณป
No problem
ๆฒก้ฎ้ข
Thank you very much
้ๅธธๆ่ฐข
Iโm just visiting
ๆๅชๆฏๆฅๆ ๆธธ็
Iโm from abroad
ๆไปๅฝๅคๆฅ็
Iโm not sure
ๆไธ็กฎๅฎ
Can you repeat?
ไฝ ่ฝ้ๅคไธ้ๅ๏ผ
I didnโt hear you
ๆๆฒกๅฌๆธ
Itโs urgent
่ฟๅพ็ดงๆฅ
Please hurry
่ฏทๅฟซ็น
Letโs go
ๆไปฌ่ตฐๅง
Scan this QR code
ๆซ่ฟไธชไบ็ปด็
I pay with WeChat
ๆ็จๅพฎไฟกๆฏไป
I pay with Alipay
ๆ็จๆฏไปๅฎๆฏไป
I donโt have cash
ๆๆฒกๆ็ฐ้
Can you show me?
ไฝ ่ฝ็ปๆๆผ็คบไธไธๅ๏ผ
Where is this place?
่ฟไธชๅฐๆนๅจๅช้๏ผ
Is it far?
่ฟๅ๏ผ