观察笔记：到中国的第一周，真正重要的六件事

The paperwork clock starts immediately

The most common theme in published accounts of arrival is the 24-hour and 30-day rules. You must register your temporary residence at the local police station within 24 hours of arrival — most universities arrange a group registration session during orientation, and missing it creates a problem that takes weeks to fix. You must apply for the residence permit within 30 days, and the university's international office usually walks new students through it in the first fortnight.

The practical advice is to keep your passport and admission notice physically with you for the first week, and to photograph every document you file.

Money and connectivity

Almost everything in urban China runs on WeChat Pay and Alipay, and the accounts most students describe are set up in this order: Chinese SIM card (a passport is enough), Chinese bank account (some branches want the residence permit, so ask the international office which branch to use), then linking the bank card to WeChat Pay and Alipay.

Foreign cards can now be linked to both platforms, but students consistently describe that as a fallback rather than a solution — you will meet QR codes and mini-programs that only accept domestic cards.

Language, food and the first month

The near-universal report is that the first month is harder than expected and the fourth month is much easier. Learning to read a menu, order food and ask for directions removes most of the daily friction, and the students who push through the awkward period early are the ones who describe the whole experience positively later.

Campus canteens are the single biggest cost saving and the easiest place to meet Chinese students; the standard advice is to eat there rather than in the international student dormitory kitchen for at least the first term.