[carfreak]

Excellent write-up vvijay! And for me, this has come at the most appropriate time- I am going to visit Shanghai and Beijing next week.Hopefully I will not have the same issues you faced with food because I am non vegetarian!

One doubt- how easy/ difficult is it to stay in touch with family back home? I have read none of the social media sites work in China. And the same applies to gmail etc too. I am hoping I can use Facetime.

[ritzy]

Originally Posted by carfreak

One doubt- how easy/ difficult is it to stay in touch with family back home? I have read none of the social media sites work in China. And the same applies to gmail etc too. I am hoping I can use Facetime.

Let me pitch in to answer this. Yes, Facetime can be used.

However, WeChat is the formidable app that makes life easy in China. Voice & video call quality is better than Whatsapp. It also helps in connecting with locals without barrier of language as it has nice translator function among many other useful functionalities. I have used it to communicate & negotiate with drivers, housing brokers & tourist guides who don't know a word of English. I would recommend that you ask people back home to install Wechat for seamless communication.

Fortunately, since past few months, whatsapp is also working here but media cannot be transmitted. So you can use whatsapp to send / receive texts and for voice & video call.

I have lately observed that Gmail & Hangouts messages do get received but you can't send them.
Use of VPN apps is against law and don't work here.

Hope this helps!

[car love]

Originally Posted by bsdbsd

Good for them! Disheartening to hear how far they have progressed (in terms of how far we are behind). I am flummoxed to hear the bullet train stat you have mentioned. I had never considered that aspect. Shows how much we are used to our sufferings.

Every road is dug up in Bangalore these days. The commute is now straight out of hell. We are regressing as the time progresses. There is no end in sight. I am seriously considering moving out...not sure where and how.

https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comme..._better_roads/

It's really amusing to watch debates on Indian channels discussing the Chinese slowdown and how India is going to overtake it shortly. As an analogy a 6.5 foot giant teenager slowing in growth is a normal thing while we being a 2 foot toddler are already showing signs of growth slowing. So which is more deadly??
The Chinese have a derogatory term for us, Luan ( which roughly translates as land of chaos). Sadly, that's exactly what we are.

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by ritzy

Let me pitch in to answer this. Yes, Facetime can be used.

However, WeChat is the formidable app that makes life easy in China. Voice & video call quality is better than Whatsapp. It also helps in connecting with locals without barrier of language as it has nice translator function among many other useful functionalities. I have used it to communicate & negotiate with drivers, housing brokers & tourist guides who don't know a word of English. I would recommend that you ask people back home to install Wechat for seamless communication.

Fortunately, since past few months, whatsapp is also working here but media cannot be transmitted. So you can use whatsapp to send / receive texts and for voice & video call.

I have lately observed that Gmail & Hangouts messages do get received but you can't send them.
Use of VPN apps is against law and don't work here.

Hope this helps!

Thank you very much Ritzy.

I was under the impression Whatsapp was banned in China. If it works then I guess I won't be needing another app. I want to remain in contact with family- it's great if I can do video calls also.

We are taking a guided tour so I am hoping there won't be the necessity for a translator app

[JoseVijay]

Thanks for bringing back memories of my last year's trip to Guangzhou. Exotic cars and beautiful infrastructure are a way of life for Chinese these days. I echo with other members on the forum that Chinese are a few decades ahead of Indians in terms of development and infrastructure.

[vvijay]

Originally Posted by ritzy

Fortunately, since past few months, whatsapp is also working here but media cannot be transmitted. So you can use whatsapp to send / receive texts and for voice & video call.

I have lately observed that Gmail & Hangouts messages do get received but you can't send them.
Use of VPN apps is against law and don't work here.

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by carfreak

Thank you very much Ritzy.

I was under the impression Whatsapp was banned in China. If it works then I guess I won't be needing another app. I want to remain in contact with family- it's great if I can do video calls also.

In my case, since my travel was for about 15 days, I had an international roaming pack activated with Airtel. So the carrier that got picked up (China Unicom) never gave me a feel I was restricted into using any messenger apps. WhatsApp, Gmail etc. worked like a charm and I did not have any minor restrictions of transmitting media as well. And this is, as far as I stay on the carrier's 4G network. Connect the phone to an office or hotel Wi-fi, you come into the surveillance radar and these apps stop working. Whether it is due to the fact that these carriers leave the restriction open when the roaming users connect through Chinese networks, I'm not sure.

Originally Posted by carfreak

We are taking a guided tour so I am hoping there won't be the necessity for a translator app

Trust me, I would still recommend to have the Google Translate app readily available for some emergencies. There were times I had to rely on the app for basic needs of food and transport

Cheers,
Vijay

[carfreak]

Originally Posted by vvijay

In my case, since my travel was for about 15 days, I had an international roaming pack activated with Airtel. So the carrier that got picked up (China Unicom) never gave me a feel I was restricted into using any messenger apps. WhatsApp, Gmail etc. worked like a charm and I did not have any minor restrictions of transmitting media as well. And this is, as far as I stay on the carrier's 4G network. Connect the phone to an office or hotel Wi-fi, you come into the surveillance radar and these apps stop working. Whether it is due to the fact that these carriers leave the restriction open when the roaming users connect through Chinese networks, I'm not sure.



Trust me, I would still recommend to have the Google Translate app readily available for some emergencies. There were times I had to rely on the app for basic needs of food and transport

Cheers,
Vijay

Thank you Vijay, I am planning on taking a tourist sim on reaching Shanghai. Hopefully the 4g network will help me connect to Whatsapp and gmail.

I have installed the Google translate app

[Abhinav V]

Hey,
It felt really good going through your travelogue. You have really showcased the Chinese car scene vividly. I really wish we had at least one-tenths of the cars they have. Not complaining though.
One card solution for all modes of transport including car rental is really brilliant. It saves us from the hassle of carrying a lot many cards.
Prohibition of usage of IC-engined two-wheelers and buses save a great deal of petrol/diesel, something which even we should consider.
At least that way, we get more fuel for enthusiasts like us .

[volkman10]

The Chinese auto market is extremely atomized.



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