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1. China's border control
China’s border control is divided into a variety of channels, including Chinese citizen channel and foreign citizen channel. International students should enter through the latter. Before entering the country, you must fill out the Application Form for Entry of Foreigners and hand it to the inspector of Customs Office. Inspectors may ask you about your travel purpose, contact and address in China. Please prepare your responses in advance and bring relevant documents with you.
After entering the country, you are forbidden to stay at the border control office. Baggage should be claimed as soon as possible. Please do cooperate in security check.
Read more on:
https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741435/n907688/n1234186/n1248056/index.html
2. How do you arrive at school
Upon arrival, students can choose taxi/metro/bus and other options, or take an intercity train or transit flight to their destination city. Please ask the school for details. To take your own transportation, please refer to "Traffic" for more information.
3. Accommodation
There are usually dormitories for international students on campus. They can also rent a house outside the school by themselves.
Please note that those who do not check in within the school's specified time may need to arrange their own accommodation, so please contact the school for confirmation.
To arrange your own accommodation, please refer to "Accommodation" for more information.
4. Freshman registration
After a freshman arrives in China, he/she should promptly go to the relevant department to complete the registration procedure. For details with regard to the time, place and materials needed for such registration, please refer to the school’s Admission Notice.
The following documents are required in general for freshman registration:
*Please prepare and submit the materials according to the requirements of the school.
The procedures of registration usually include:
1) Accommodation: register for accommodation and move into dormitory;
2) Payment: pay tuition, registration fees and other related fees;
3) Medical insurance purchase: present a valid passport and the admission notice, and pay medical insurance premium;
4) Student registration: fill in relevant forms for student registration;
5) Physical examination: attend physical examination arranged by the school;
6) Visa interview: attend the visa interview arranged by the school for the first-time residence permit applicants; and
7) Residence permit: apply for a residence permit after obtaining your medical examination result and passing the visa interview.
*Registration procedures may vary from school to school. Please consult your own school for more details.
5. Open bank account and mobile payment
Upon arrival in China, international students will receive guidance on the opening of bank cards by the school. To apply for a bank account in China, you must take your passport or other valid identity documents to the bank counter to fill in the application forms.
After completing your bank card, you can download Alipay or WeChat clients at Huawei App store, Apple Store or Android App market. After downloading, signing up and adding a personal bank account, you can use your mobile phone to pay. Once the above operation is completed, you can make a purchase by swiping code.
6. Physical examinations
According to the provisions of relevant laws and regulations of the Chinese government, international students entering China with X1 visa must take a health check. Alternatively, international students may choose to take physical examinations in their own country before coming to China, but they need to submit the original Physical Examination Record of Foreigners in Chinese or English at the time of student registration, and then go to the local Health Center of the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau to have the aforesaid form reviewed. If the submitted document does not conform with the specifications or requirements or no medical examination has been conducted before entering China, they are required to re-take a health check at the Health Centre of the local Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. Then the centre will issue the Certificate on Verification of Physical Examination Record for Foreigners, which is one of the preconditions for obtaining a residence permit in China. For physical examination, the following materials may be required:
Under normal circumstances, the school will arrange medical check-ups for students. If you miss the checkup, you need to go to the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau to complete this procedure. A holder of X1 visa must apply for a residence permit within 30 days upon the date of entry; therefore it is necessary to complete the medical examination as soon as possible after entry. International students with X2 visa do not need medical examination.
7. Medical insurance
According to the relevant regulations of China, international students whose duration of studies in China exceeds six months should purchase medical insurance in China. The school will provide students with advice and services for medical insurance purchase. For more information, please check: http://en.lxbx.net/
8. Residence permit
Residence Permit for Foreigner in the People’s Republic of China is issued to foreigners residing in the People’s Republic of China for more than one year. International students with X1 visa must change it to residence permit within 30 days upon the date of entry. The permit shall be applied for to the Exit-Entry Administration of the Public Security Bureau of his/her place of residence. For details, please refer to Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners and the relevant provisions promulgated by the local Exit-and-Entry Administration.
When applying for residence permit, you need to submit Certificate on Verification of Physical Examination Record for Foreigners issued by the local inspection and quarantine department. Therefore, please complete the medical examination as soon as possible after entering the country and bring the necessary materials to the local Exit-Entry Administration Bureau.
The police station needs to check your original passport when handling your application for residence permit. At the same time, some other procedures may also require your original passport, such as applying for bank cards and mobile phone/Internet access. Therefore, please make relevant arrangement in advance.
*If a student cannot arrive at the school before the registration deadline prescribed by the school, he/she should contact the relevant school administrator in advance to consult the alternative time for registration.
* Source: http://www.campuschina.org/
China is famous for its extensive and profound cuisine. It is a great experience for international students to taste different delicacies in China during their stay. The way to taste food can be through school canteens, restaurants, takeaways and other ways. One can use the "Dianping" app to check customer’s review and rating on the restaurants’ environment, dishes and prices; takeaway delivery can be realized through "Eleme", "Meituan" and other apps to order online.
In China, public transport in cities is convenient, including buses, subways and city rails. Cross-city public transport mainly include long-distance buses, trains, planes, ships and so on. Except public transportation, one may travel also by shared-bicycles, taxis, rental cars and others. For more information, please refer to "Traffic" section of this website. (Add hyperlinks)
International students can choose a school dormitory, short- or long-term housing outside of school. Please refer to the "Accommodation" section of this website. (Add hyperlinks)
China is a vast country in space, which enables it to produce numerous products, such as silk, embroidery, ceramics, lacquer ware, tea, calligraphy and antiques. One could find these products at different markets, such as Beijing's Silk Street, Nanjing's Fuzi Temple, Shanghai's Yuyuan, Tianjin's Ancient Culture Street, Guangzhou's Qingping Market and so on. In addition, flower, bird and fish market, farmers markets are also good places for leisure shopping.
In China, online shopping has become a popular consumption and lifestyle. Here are some of the most well-known e-commerce shopping sites:
Tmall: www.tmall.com
JD: www.jd.com
Taobao: www.taobao.com
Suning: www.suning.com
Amazon: www.amazon.com
On the university campuses of China, there are all kinds of sports venues and facilities, such as football fields and courts for basketball, badminton, volleyball and table tennis. Some institutions have gyms and swimming pools. The use of sports facilities is either free or charged. International students can choose their sports according to their own interests and the actual situation of the institutions.
There are generally concert halls, opera houses and other cultural venues in many cities in China, which hold a number of performances ranging from Chinese and foreign concerts, symphony concerts, song and dance operas to ballet, dramas, acrobatics and other shows.
There are many local operas in China. Some of the famous dramas are: Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Yue Opera, Yu Opera, Cantonese Opera, Qin, Sichuan Opera, Ping Drama, Jin Opera, Han Opera, Chao Opera, Yi Opera, Hebei Bangzi, Xiang Opera, Huangmei Opera and Hunan Flower-Drum Opera. There are more than 50 kinds of dramas in China, of which Peking Opera is most popular one. Opera performances are usually performed in a theatre.
In China, it is quite convenient to watch movies. Cinemas are available in most urban areas of China, and well-known foreign films are available in time.
There are museums, art centers in China's major cities to hold large-scale exhibitions of cultural relics, photography, painting, handicrafts and other shows.
110–Alarm call. In case of emergency, such as theft, robbery, fighting and other things, please dial 110. Tell the police what has happened, the accurate position of the matter when seeking help.
119 –Fire call. In case of fire, dial 119 to tell what has happened, where the fire occurred without exaggeration when seeking help from the fire brigade. Fire alarm calls and alarm calls cannot be dialed blindly, otherwise they should bear legal responsibility.
120 –First-aid call. In case of serious illness and needing to rush to the hospital, you can dial 120 to tell doctors the symptoms of the patient. If you know what diseases the patient get, tell the hospital during the call to ensure ambulance will come to help as quickly as possible.
999 –Emergency call of the Red Cross Society. The dial method is the same as 120.
122 –Traffic emergency call. In the event of a traffic accident, dial 122 to tell traffic police the site of accidents, police will rush to the site to deal with the problem.
Hong Kong: Emergency call 999
Macao: Emergency call 000
1. Regulations and rules
International students’ behaviors in China are governed by China’s national and local laws and regulations on foreigners as well as the university’s rules and regulations on international students. The local exit/entry administration, police station and college/university share the responsibilities of student management.
Before the formal beginning of studies, students will be instructed in the guidelines on their code of conduct and the school’s rules & regulations for freshmen. In addition, the exit/entry administration and police station will also give lectures on public safety.
International students can obtain more legal knowledge by surfing “Law and Regulations” sections. (Add hyperlinks)
2. Off-campus internship
If an international student holding X visa needs to participate in an off-campus internship program or get a part-time job during his/her stay in China, he/she shall first obtain the consent of the school, and then submit the consents of both the school and the employer on off-campus internship program or part-time job to the exit-entry administration to apply for adding a note on such information to his/her residence permit. Only after this, he/she can engage in off-campus internship activities. Otherwise, the activities, such as working outside school in a work-study program or an internship program, are not allowed. Please note that your internship date cannot exceed the validity of your residence permit.
. See more on "Internship Policy." on the website.
*Some of the information in this part is from http://www.campuschina.org/.
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