Originally Posted by
YacozA
I'm in the same position as you... with your experience, would you recommend that I open an account in Shanghai when I am there in several weeks, or should I phone up / visit a HSBC Premier branch in the UK and try and apply for an account?
I'd definitely try to do it from the UK first - the only thing I'd do differently would be ask them to send the debit card to a branch in Shanghai rather than risk it getting lost in the post.
Opening the bank account when you arrive instead probably involves all the same form filling, except you might be speaking to someone who doesn't speak much English and it will then take a few days/weeks to get a debit card produced and sent.