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loboman
Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Despite all my rage I'm still just a rat in a cage...
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 Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 2:14 am Post subject: |
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The Bank Of China is pretty much the standard for foreign atm use. Other banks did not work for me.
Side note, in July I went to the Bank Of China to change rmb to Dollars. Not hard, but the limit was $500 a day. The transaction was very simple: Passport, a form to fill out, hand in rmb, get Dollars.
At the ICBC, they asked for contract, FEC, tax receipts etc, etc. I walked out of there, across to the Bank Of China and my transaction took less than 5 minutes. |
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voodikon
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 1363
Location: chengdu
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| Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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to the original poster: how's your apartment and job working out for you?
onto money matters, i was recently wondering the same thing, about bringing money in, as i didn't want to buy traveler's cheques and was just going to bring a wad of cash with me ... then i read that bank of america has a partnership with china construction bank so i opened a free checking account at the former while i was in the states and allegedly can withdraw from the ccb atm with no fee. i've still got a bit of rmb on hand so we'll see how it goes. |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 3:01 am Post subject: |
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Travellers' Cheques are apparently a bad idea in China. Even tourists are being increasingly advised against using them. The Chinese are fussy about the slightest difference with signatures. Personally, I have a friend in ChangChun, who, 4 years ago now, had his TC dishonored and held by a bank (ICBC or BOC???) and had to wait until he got back to OZ to get the money back.
Yeah, OP. How did it work out for you in ChengDu. It seemed like a great, very livable city, from my few days there a couple of years ago.
Were you near the 2nd ring road... or did it turn out to be at some new, satellite campus out in the boonies?
LFA |
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voodikon
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 1363
Location: chengdu
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| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 9:03 am Post subject: |
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i thought it was a great, livable city when i first moved here three years ago, which is why i've stayed so long. but after the quake, things just seem ... different. not in any sort of tangible way; it's just a barely-perceptible mood that hangs over the city.
plus these winters just make me want to go south, fast. |
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Charlemagne
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 40
Location: Res Publica Popularis Sinarum
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| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:54 am Post subject: |
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| Bring 1000 Bucks. No more. No less. |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:30 am Post subject: |
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If you have a Visa Debit/Credit Card on your overseas bank account it will suffice. Every city/town with 50000+ people has at least one bank branch that *should* allow you access to your money (minus a transfer fee and a currency exchange fee). Don't take out more from your foreign account, than you need each week.
Be prepared for the contingency of losing your Visa Card though. It could happen accidentally, or via a pick pocket, or someone robbing your apartment when you're out (accidentally is by far the most likely except for a few areas). Mugging of foreigners is very, very infrequent IMO, but serious crime against foreigners is not unheard of in some areas...
Some schools may also be willing to give you an advance on your first salary payment, or a percentage of it, at least, if you ask.
LFA |
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trika
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 5:59 am Post subject: |
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I was just wondering, how much money should one bring when going to China? And in what currency? traveller's checks, us dollars, or rmb...?
can I still keep my bank account in Canada? is it difficult to wire/deposit money into my Canada TD account? hmm silly questions maybe, but I want to be sure to have enough... |
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lf_aristotle69
Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 546
Location: HangZhou, China
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| Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Good on you Trika. I think your first question has already been well answered in the preceding posts. Some other suggestions on the others above too.
Good luck.
LFA |
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JohnC
Joined: 06 Oct 2006
Posts: 47
Location: London
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| Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:40 am Post subject: Re: How much money should I bring? |
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| andrewtphelps wrote: |
| I will be moving to Sichuan Province at the end of August. I won't get paid until six weeks after I arrive. My apartment is provided and I get one free meal a day. In your opinion, how much money in USD should I bring to support me for six weeks? I would really appreciate any feedback from anyone who has lived in China or Sichuan Province. Thanks. |
If you get ill/injured (which no one expects to happen but happens) you'll need at least US$3000 for high quality medical care there. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| trika wrote: |
I was just wondering, how much money should one bring when going to China? And in what currency? traveller's checks, us dollars, or rmb...?
can I still keep my bank account in Canada? is it difficult to wire/deposit money into my Canada TD account? hmm silly questions maybe, but I want to be sure to have enough... |
these have probably been answered before, but no harm in doing it again....
in 2003-04 my RBC bank card was rejected frequently. but i think most ATMs in china now, at least in the more populated regions, accept foreign bank cards for cash withdrawals. my card hasnt been rejected in three years but i rarely use it these days. so, bring a minimal amount of cash with you, enough to tide you over for a couple of weeks, and try your atm card once you arrive just to be sure it works.
you can send money home if you want, just do a bank transfer at the bank of china or whatever other bank does it. the process can take 3-4 days for the money to appear at the other end but its reliable and it isnt expensive (forget how much it cost me to transfer RMB10,000 last year). more than RMB100 but less than 200.
i wouldnt bring travelers cheques... never tried to cash one in china but i have a feeling most banks wouldnt know what they are (based on previous experiences in other countries). |
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trika
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:16 am Post subject: |
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| okay, good to know, thankyou! so I have about 3000 canadian saved, so I guess I will leave 2000 in my bank account, and bring the rest in canadian and exchange it there. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 5782
Location: Coastal Guangdong
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: |
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| trika wrote: |
| okay, good to know, thankyou! so I have about 3000 canadian saved, so I guess I will leave 2000 in my bank account, and bring the rest in canadian and exchange it there. |
good. and once you arrive, always make sure you have the following:
1. enough money in reserve for potential emergencies;
2. return portion of your air ticket on hand (this one's optional); and
3. passport in your possession.
this is in case the school you end up at is horrible and you need to get out fast. there are several stories on this forum of people who were stuck in atrocious conditions but had no money or gave their passport to their FAO for safekeeping (two of the stupidest moves people living in foreign countries could ever make), therefore they couldnt leave. check the archives on the off topic forum, you should come across them.... |
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trika
Joined: 11 Oct 2008
Posts: 16
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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Alright! Thankyou so much!! very informative  |
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killian
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 937
Location: fairmont city, illinois, USA
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| Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:10 am Post subject: |
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one mo thing: notify your "back home bank" that you are going to china. these days, many banks will deny "out of the ordinary" transactions. simply call them up and tell mthem which countries are on you agenda. this way you can still use your home aATM card in the nations you have designated.
can't really blame the banks in such cases. |
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