Dear flyertalkers, bumped into this thread and while I could find some answers for my problems in it some advice still could be helpful
- I am for a month or 2-3 a visiting scientist at a knowledge institute/university in Southern China
- Since the stipend/living allowance is taxed I am seen as a short-term employee and had to go through/arrange all the interesting things you have to comply with - getting a work permit, Z-visa, residence permit, local bank account, Alipay, Wechat, Tax app and so on (next to even passing a medical test ;-)). The Institute staff was of stellar help here.
- Needed of course also a Chinese SIM - all these apps and accounts are linked to your Mainland Chinese number, and you get security/log in codes on such a number only when you install your bank app, Alipay etc. for the first time, etc.. So straight upon arrival my hosts and me went to a China Unicom shop at the airport.
- I thought they helped my buying the usual pre-paid SIM card, just for a somewhat longer period.
- It appeared 1-2 weeks ago they probably made a mistake or faced a shrewed sales person - I have an 88 Yuan/Month, 50Gb/M, 400 voice min/M subscription....for 2 YEARS (24 months). So if nothing changes, I am stuck for 2 years minus 2 months with a data and voice package I will hardly use. I am likely to visit China some 1-2 times for say a week each per year in the future, and a very basic subscription to which I buy data according to needs would serve me very well. Receving SMS-es from China in Europe (where I live) is important since it allows continuing my Wechat and Alipay acccounts, the bank account and so on (could not transfer all funds to my home country due legal limitations, but the remaining sum can be spent during future travels). I don't blame anyone for this - I am their first visitor under the program they run, and many things I had to comply with were surprises for my hosts too.
- Of course the staff here is trying to solve this issue with me too. But am very glad if the wisdom of the crowd in this thread could clarify
a) Has China Unicom minimum times you need to keep a contract before you can move to another subscription?
b) Can you get SMS-es abroad while having a minimal subscription (I see options in the 8-28 Yuan/M range)
c) There seems also an option to put your phone contract in dormant state that allows you to keep your number for 5 Yuan/M, and then you can reactivate by calling the service line - does anyone has experience with this, I assume you will not be able to receive SMS-es abroad
d) When I called the customer service at 10010 (domestic) or +8618618610010 (from abroad) these days to see what is possible, I got a choice menu that only gives instructions in Chinese. Unfortunately the "press 2 for English", as moondog has experience with, is not coming up. Any suggestions for a way around this?
Tnx so much!