Originally Posted by
moondog
I thought everyone coming here has working cell phones, but I suppose some of those who are joining new companies* might not have them. While your hotels will definitely have fast wifi, you will still receive 1 or 2 actual phone calls per day. More importantly, when you're released, you might score Y700 like I did, but actual cash is useless if your goal is to go somewhere else. I've heard that Didi has a freeze on new customers. If you don't have an account, you are welcome to message me and I'll pull it off.
*ETA: Your companies should definitely cover this trivial expense. The problem is that you will have no ability to get a SIM directly from Unicom or China Mobile when you're locked up. I can't vouch for Nihao Mobile myself, but if they can get you a SIM that adheres to government requirements (e.g. number, name, passport are bonded), and their value added fee is reasonable, try them out.
Nihao mobile lets you get the sim directly. You may need to do a video call to them so that they can verify that you are you and your passport is in your hand - but they let you register the SIM and you then have a working number. Their rates are reasonable.
Re: DiDi - you can't register on the app, but if you go through AliPay, you can still use DiDi - AliPay feeds it your information and it's as if you already have an account with them.
One final thought on the arrival/quarantine procedures that occurred to me during my trip to SYX this last weekend from observing things in the last couple of months -
most processes are extremely well-planned and they tend to work quite well. (e.g. getting a NAT test, or going through an airport) However, the processes are not very well linked together (e.g. "where do I get a NAT test?") and getting through this barrier can be challenging for non-Mandarin speakers. This is where word-of-mouth or knowing Chinese speakers is very helpful.
Once you are going through a process - don't think/worry, just do. The biggest thing that may trip you up is that a process may not be designed for non-Chinese ID holders, and then you need to find a workaround.