China (CN)
China is one of the world's largest economies and most important expat destinations, combining global business hubs such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou with deep history, fast infrastructure, and a highly digital daily-life ecosystem.
Daily Life
Practical day-to-day information for living in China.
🛒 Supermarkets
Alibaba-owned supermarket with delivery, imported goods, seafood, and app-based shopping.
Membership warehouse popular with expats and middle-class families in major cities.
Walmart operates 280+ hypermarkets and 54 Sam's Clubs in China. RT-Mart and Yonghui Superstores are major domestic competitors. Carrefour China effectively ceased operations by end 2025 (only 4 stores remained from 205 in 2021; Suning sold the remaining subsidiaries in June 2025 for symbolic amount).
Fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, tofu, and noodles. Cashless payments are accepted almost everywhere.
FamilyMart, Lawson, 7-Eleven, and local chains in major cities.
Opening Hours
Shops and malls usually open late morning until 9-10pm. Banks commonly operate business hours with lunch or weekend limitations. Government offices are weekday-only and often close for lunch.
Sunday Rules
Sunday is a normal shopping and restaurant day. The major closures happen during Spring Festival and official national holidays.
Recycling
Waste sorting is city-specific. Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, and many other cities require separation of recyclables, wet/kitchen waste, hazardous waste, and residual waste.
Dining Out
Food delivery, QR-code menus, shared dishes, and mobile payment are the norm. Many restaurants expect orders through WeChat mini-programs or table QR codes.
Utilities & Internet
Electricity, water, gas, and property-management fees may be paid through landlord accounts, building management, Alipay, WeChat, or utility apps. Clarify meter names during handover.
Cultural Tips for Expats
- → WeChat is the operating system of daily life: messaging, payments, landlord chats, school groups, invoices, work groups, and local services.
- → Many foreign websites and apps are inaccessible or unreliable without approved enterprise connectivity or lawful alternatives.
- → Real-name registration is required for SIM cards, bank accounts, transport bookings, and many apps.
- → Keep your passport available for hotels, trains, hospitals, bank visits, and government offices.
- → Many services use QR-code ordering or mini-program queues. If a QR code opens only in Chinese, use WeChat translate or ask staff before assuming there is no English service.
- → Delivery addresses need Chinese order: province/city/district/street/compound/building/unit/room. Save a verified version from your landlord or property office.
- → Apartment compounds often have their own rules for deliveries, visitors, parking, renovation, pets, waste, and e-bike charging.
- → Air purifiers, dehumidifiers, and water filters are normal household purchases for many expat families, but needs vary by city and apartment.
Quiet Hours
There is no single national quiet-hour culture like Germany, but apartment compounds and local rules restrict nuisance noise.
Renovation, drilling, loud music, and construction noise
Construction and loud events can be restricted
- •Assuming renovation work is allowed any time
- •Ignoring property-management notices in Chinese
- •Hosting loud late-night gatherings in dense compounds
Neighbours may complain to property management, police, or the landlord. Repeated issues can affect lease renewal.
Postal Services
China Post, SF Express, JD Logistics, Cainiao, and courier lockers handle most deliveries. E-commerce deliveries are extremely fast in cities.
Cainiao stations, Fengchao lockers, and compound delivery rooms are common. Messages usually arrive by SMS or WeChat.
Passport may be needed for some international parcels or customs declarations.
Use China Post EMS or SF Express for trackable important documents.
Arrange with courier services or building management before moving; there is no universal expat-friendly forwarding system.
- →Write addresses in Chinese
- →Use a local phone number
- →Keep customs invoices for imported items
- →Put your compound/building name in Chinese in every delivery app
- →Ask property management where large parcels are stored
- →Do not click customs-payment links from random SMS messages