Living in China

[Chill Out]

@OldAsia: just go for the 3 city special at 55 bucks, since Dastardley is happy with it. I have the slightly pricier one (can't remember the name) but it's not really necessary. StrongVPN is good.

[OldAsiaHand]

I've had complete access to ISG in China for a couple of months now without a VPN, however, it seems Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. are still blocked. I had the cheap Witopia service which was OK for ISG, but not the others. Friends have recommended Strong VPN, but I cannnot figure out which plan to take. Anybody use it?

OAH

[Kajos]

Actually I just renewed my witopia and its only 60/year with more than 20 cities to choose from. I think it is worth more than it should be.

FK

Tried both those services and use 12vpn now. It's $30/yr, no slow-down of the connection, US/UK/DE connections to choose from, never drops out. And options for use on Windows, Mac, and a variety of other platforms: Symbian, iPhone, Linux, etc.

[Forbidden Kid]

How much are you paying for Strong VPN?

Am on Witopia - I guess strictly because its cheap!! Something like US$65/year if I remember correctly.
And yes, its slow and unreliable - but nowadays seems like ISG is no longer blocked from here.

SEAJ

Actually I just renewed my witopia and its only 60/year with more than 20 cities to choose from. I think it is worth more than it should be.

FK

[Dastardley]

I paid 69 bucks for a year (or maybe 79, I'm not totally sure anymore). A bit more than witopia but totally worth it for the difference.

They have a "3 city special" for 55$ which I have used for a year and just renewed. I confirm the good comments: it's as fast as the China pipe lets it be, and I've never had a drop-out.

All the best

D

[Chill Out]

How much are you paying for Strong VPN?

I paid 69 bucks for a year (or maybe 79, I'm not totally sure anymore). A bit more than witopia but totally worth it for the difference.

[SE Asia Joe]

What is the legal requirement to register a guest who stays after 11pm?

Does it matter that my guest might arrive, a little after me, in late afternoon, or early evening?

And how convincing will be the reply, "Oops. She forgot to register!"

Does the law vary from province to province, and city to city?

Is it more likely to be enforced in a large city, and hardly ever in a medium sized or small city?

Have any of the bruvvers had a problem with an unregistered guest staying overnight, who has first entered the hotel well before 11pm, and not left the room?

Thanks in anticipation.

P13.

Regulations differ town to town, hotel to hotel within the town AND one hour from the other.

Things are very fluid in this matter these days - crackdowns all over the place makes our activities quite fraught with dangers which we've not used to having had in the past - but there you have it.

Just be careful out there - and apologies if I didn't answer your question - but there just is no correct reply IMHO

SEAJ

[SE Asia Joe]

I thought I would comment on the VPN issue.

I refuse to use free services for fear of getting passwords, data etc intercepted by God knows who.

I tried Witopia for a few months, connection was unreliable and damn slow.

I took a chance and tried StrongVPN and have been very happy with it for several months now. Connection quite reliable (still some disconnections sometimes.) and really fast. Night and day compared to Witopia. Tech support also instant via chat, 24/7, so any problem is fixed very quickly. I highly recommend them.

How much are you paying for Strong VPN?

Am on Witopia - I guess strictly because its cheap!! Something like US$65/year if I remember correctly.
And yes, its slow and unreliable - but nowadays seems like ISG is no longer blocked from here.

SEAJ

[Chris Buckle]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum. Can anyone recommend a decent agent for leasing an apartment around the Nan Shan area?

Cheers,

CB.

[Le Baron]

Use your Chinese speaking (native or non-native speaker) colleagues.

It will be impossible for you to (i) find an apartment, (ii) inspect the apartment, (iii) ask about terms and conditions (utilities, internet connection, security, emergency numbers), and (iv) know the fine detail of the lease, especially payments and their scheduling, without a knowledge of commercial-language Chinese.

Just my experience.

P13.

I live in Dongguan, and my apartment lease was handled by my company's HR&A department. The landlady being a Cantonese, when my company spoke to them directly in Cantonese, things were very smooth.

I am not sure whether you are employed by a company, but if so, then you should ask your company's staff to handle the case for you. Much better and less risk.

[Chill Out]

I thought I would comment on the VPN issue.

I refuse to use free services for fear of getting passwords, data etc intercepted by God knows who.

I tried Witopia for a few months, connection was unreliable and damn slow.

I took a chance and tried StrongVPN and have been very happy with it for several months now. Connection quite reliable (still some disconnections sometimes.) and really fast. Night and day compared to Witopia. Tech support also instant via chat, 24/7, so any problem is fixed very quickly. I highly recommend them.

[Pushkin13]

What is the legal requirement to register a guest who stays after 11pm?

Does it matter that my guest might arrive, a little after me, in late afternoon, or early evening?

And how convincing will be the reply, "Oops. She forgot to register!"

Does the law vary from province to province, and city to city?

Is it more likely to be enforced in a large city, and hardly ever in a medium sized or small city?

Have any of the bruvvers had a problem with an unregistered guest staying overnight, who has first entered the hotel well before 11pm, and not left the room?

Thanks in anticipation.

P13.

[Mind Maggot]

Have you tried real-estate websites like soufun.com? There ought to be some English-speaking brokers there, since so many foreigners live in SH.

There are indeed some English speaking brokers. These might help...

www.joannarealestate.com.cn
www.shanghaicentre.com
www.fullhomechina.com
www.replusrealestate.com
www.eleganceproperty.com
www.shanghai-realty.com

[Zhuren]

Use your Chinese speaking (native or non-native speaker) colleagues.

It will be impossible for you to (i) find an apartment, (ii) inspect the apartment, (iii) ask about terms and conditions (utilities, internet connection, security, emergency numbers), and (iv) know the fine detail of the lease, especially payments and their scheduling, without a knowledge of commercial-language Chinese.

Just my experience.

P13.

Concur completely. Too many foreigners being taken for a ride. He needs indigenous assistance that is on HIS side.

[One Eyed Man]

Moving to Shanghai in a couple of weeks but have found it really hard trying to look for apartmets to rent without speaking chinese.

You guys have any suggestions on how to approach apartment-hunting?

Have you tried real-estate websites like soufun.com? There ought to be some English-speaking brokers there, since so many foreigners live in SH.