The first three months in China test every assumption you brought with you. Cashless payments, super-app dependency, and the rhythm of campus life all feel different — and that's before you taste the food.
Get the payment stack right early
Open a Chinese bank account in the first two weeks. Link it to Alipay and WeChat Pay. Cash is rarely accepted, even at fruit stands.
Find your neighborhood
Don't live exclusively on campus. Spend weekends in the surrounding district. The best language practice happens at the dumpling shop down the street, not in textbooks.
Build a Chinese friend group, not just an international one
It's easy to default to other internationals — same language, same struggles. But your immersion ceiling is set by who you spend evenings with.
Join one local-led student club. Photography, hiking, mahjong — anything where Chinese is the working language.
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