Originally Posted by
moondog
I live quite close to Jiaotong University (Shanghai), and am unaware of such a facility there, but it's a moot point because banks and restaurants are ubiquitous throughout Chinese cities.
We located the campus where he will be and there is at least one HSBC branch not far from there. Possibly he will open an account here before departure. They offer a basic checking account with a $1 monthly maintenance fee, but we need to check out the terms and conditions more carefully. Schwab is still a possibility.
Originally Posted by
moondog
I'm not sure when he was in Xi'an, but it might not matter whether or not your texts get through during his next trip because SMS is now ignored by many, if not, most...though I do still pay attention to the messages from my bank that come through immediately after I buy things.
The host family had an apartment from which one of the Goose Pagodas was visible, and he attended classes at Northwest University. So he wasn't in the outskirts, from what I know. We just assumed that perhaps the phone plan that issued mobile was on precluded anything other than domestic communication, but we don't know, and neither does he. All we know is that the messages always failed to send from our end.
Originally Posted by
moondog
If he likes his iPhone, this seems more sensible to me than optimizing a new phone. With respect to
889 about the possibility that the Chinese phone will be better, the iPhone might not get 5g, but it will certainly work quite well otherwise.
Apparently the Huawei phone they issued him before had an inferior camera. Thus he basically carried both phones in case something could be photographed with the iPhone, and for his music. But, the program wanted them to have the Huawei for class and so their minder could contact them if needed.
It remains to be seen what they issue him. He half expected some kind of Nokia-like brick-- I think someone told him not to expect much-- and was pleasantly surprised that the issue Huawei was decent, except for the camera.
Originally Posted by
moondog
Upon further reflection, I don't think you should sweat the bank thing too much at all. @
889 reminded me of my own experience as the director of a study abroad program; one of our main agenda items was to insure that all students were able to get bank accounts shortly after arrival. Schwab isn't super important. I just like it because when I pull money from it here in China (or anywhere), there are no ATM fees, and they don't gouge me on the FX rate.
He's been working, so he has a bit of money socked away. Last time he was using his debit card and eating fees for cash withdrawals. We saw this as a good opportunity to encourage banking wisely, learning about how banks can nickel-and-dime a person.
Originally Posted by
gudugan
Sorry I can't post links yet.
Specifically on the phone point: Apple has published a list of which iPhone models work on Chinese networks: "iPhone models supported by China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom's LTE, 3G, and 2G networks" [HT202909]
You can find the model of your iPhone this way: "Find the model number of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch" [HT208200]
For models after the iPhone X, Apple makes a version that is only for China, Hong Kong, and Macau. If your iPhone's model is not on this list, I would suggest getting one that is. I have an iPhone X model A1865 (I couldn't find much information about the A1903), which I bought on Swappa.
Texting *should* work if you turn on international roaming, but this is always flaky in my opinion. I'd use a messaging app (e.g. WhatsApp) and get a VPN for the iPhone.
Last time we were actually surprised how well the T-Mobile roaming worked on his iPhone (in Xi'an), and also the VPN. He said other kids commonly had many connectivity issues, be he did not. T-Mobile roaming seems to vary considerably in terms of how good it works from one country to the next, but it worked pretty good in Xi'an.
When we visit Korea, our MO is to rent a battery-powered WiFi hotspot. That has worked very well for us; it allows the whole famn damily to connect when we are all in the same location. We were wondering, can one rent or buy such as that in China?
Originally Posted by
gudugan
Are you doing this gap year through a university? The latest I've heard from universities (mid-May) is that they aren't sure if foreign students will be allowed to attend in the fall.
He is doing this
under the umbrella of the US State Department. It isn't 100% certain yet. But he heard from a host family member in Xi'an that they were back to school a few weeks ago, so we are hopeful. Departure, if he goes, will be in August, and he will return in the summer of 2021, if all goes according to plan.
The cohort that was on this academic year program for 2019-2020 was brought home in early 2020, so we hope that there will not be a significant second wave, and he might be able to complete the whole gap year in Chengdu.