Source: Dalian Living

www.dalianliving.com

How will you stay connected to people in Dalian? How will you be able to talk with your friends that you make in Dalian as well as friends back in the United States? This post informs you of some of the ways that you will be able to communicate in Dalian, China.

How will you be able to communicate with the States?

Thankfully, it is easy to communicate back with the United States from China. There are several ways you can talk for free. Here are a few ways I have found:

Apple Devices: If a person you are trying to contact in the States has an Apple device then you can message them for free using imessage. You can also do free video and audio calls via Facetime. You don't even have to have a local Chinese phone number here. You can just talk anytime that you have WiFi.

WeChat: Currently in China, nearly everyone seems to have WeChat. It seems to be the favorite social networking platform that people use. But you can also use this app to talk back to people in the States. If someone you want to talk to in the States has a smartphone, they can download the WeChat app and add you as a friend. Once they add you, you can make free video and voice calls as well as send free audio and text messages.

Google Voice: If you use a VPN, you can choose to locate your IP address in the United States allowing you to make free calls inside the States. You just select to make a call through your Gmail account, and you can call landlines and cell phones in the US for free. This is helpful when you need to call a business or customer service center in the United States.

How will you get your mail?

Mail comes in different ways depending on what kind of mail it is and how it was sent. Here are three of the most common ways that you will receive your mail in Dalian.

Hand delivered: Whenever you order anything online here you will include your phone number along with the address. Many packages are hand delivered to you meaning the delivery company will call you before they deliver the package and will find out when you will be home so that they can bring your package by. You can tell them a convenient time or ask them to leave it with the guard or someone else you trust in your buliding. You don't have to worry about checking for the package somewhere. They will notify you before they deliver it.

Put into a Community Mailbox: Most apartment complexes and residential buildings have a community mailbox center that packages are sent to. It usually looks something like below picture. The deliver company will text you a code. You will enter the code on the delivery box computer screen. If it is correct one of the mailboxes will pop open, and you will be able to get your package.

Mail put on your door: Lots of ads and sometimes your utility bills will often be taped onto your door or stuffed into the door frame. It is not uncommon to come home and find some sort of paper stuck on your door. A lot of restaurant and businesses advertise by putting flyers on your door.

What Kind of Communication Services Are Available: (Internet, Cellphones, Radio, Etc)?

Cell Phones: There are only three different kinds of cell phones carriers in China. They are China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. All three carriers provide calling, SMS, and data plans so you will be able to communicate normally here just like you would in the United States.

4G services: All three carriers offer 4G service, but the different carriers offer different kinds of 4G services. China Mobile offer TDD-LTE 4G and China Unicome and China Telecom offer FDD-LTE 4G. Many phones purchased outside China may not be compatible with the TDD-LTE 4G offered by China Mobile. Therefore what kind of phone you have may determine which carrier you decide to use.

Foreigners getting a Chinese SIM card and puchasing a calling/data plan will be required to bring their passport with them to the phone store. The government requires you to enter data from your passport when your phone is set up so that they can have a name to trace the phone number back to.

Internet: Broadband internet is available to set up in most buildings. Some older apartment buildings may not be set up to provide internet, so you should probably check before moving into a new place. Unless your place is extremely outdated, you will be able to get a router and internet service set up to provide WIFI for your apartment room. No matter how good of quality internet you purchase, the internet in Dalian is usually fairly slow. China blocks some websites that commonly use in the United States. Google, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and Dropbox are some of the main sites that are blocked. Most foreigners will use a VPN to access the blocked sites that they like to use. It is a good idea to get a VPN set up before you leave for China. There are many different kinds available and they all have different costs. A VPN I have used that I have found to be pretty good is Express VPN. You can find out more information about it at www.expressvpn.com.

Radio: Radio is not extremely popular in Dalian. Some people still listen to it mainly in their cars, but since nearly everyone has a smartphone most people listen to media, music, and news through apps on their phone. A great many people do not drive a car so what they listen to on their commute to work using public transportation will always be through their smartphone.

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