Job Discussion Forums

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

bank account(s)
i currently have two accounts. i have the atm card for only one (the other was stolen, but i have under rmb100 in that account). i'm moving from jiangsu province to sichuan. i've heard varying information, including:
-i need to close out my account and take the money in cash to my new location (scary)
-i can transfer the money, but the bank will charge rmb5 for every 1000 i want to transfer to a new branch
-i should leave my suzhou account open and entrust somebody with my card and PIN, who can transfer the money from suzhou after i arrive
-i can continue to use my current atm card and be charged 5 yuan for each transaction because it's outside of the city the card is attached to

so, is there no domestic network even if it's the same bank? can anybody clarify what to do?

cell phone
i've heard conflicting information over whether or not i'll be able to use my xiao ling tong (ut starcomm) in another city if i change ... the card or whatever it uses. does anybody know?

i also have a mobile phone. i can simply buy a new sim card in the new city, right? how much does this cost at china mobile?

stuff
has anybody sent excess baggage via trains? how does the procedure work?

thanks.[/b]

Don McChesney · Joined: 25 Jun 2005 Posts: 656

Excess baggage,
I've just spent 2 days on a train, (hard sleeper). The couple opposite me had 3 large suit cases, several plastic bags of instant food and water bottles, about 6 boxes each of 10 kg grapes, over a dozen Hami melons in string bags, each melon weighed about 4 kg, and the whole lot was stuffed under the bottom bunk, or on racks.
Pay a couple of Y to get your luggage on early, this is done in the waiting room for the train.
First come, first served is the rule, it seems.

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

except i'm going to fly since it's a 40-hour train ride, and, man! i really don't want to deal with dragging all that luggage around with finding a place for it on the train.

chengdude · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 294

Have you looked into China Rail's freight service? If I end up moving, I'll be shipping at least half a dozen boxes with them as they're apparently a lot cheaper than China Post. I'll be checking into exact costs in the next day or two, so I'll post here just for general reference.

By the way, we're almost trading places: I think I'm going to Nanjing and you are coming to where I live now. Where will you be working?

tw · Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 3898

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

Keep it simple! you'll have plenty of things to worry about in your new place so no need to create yourself more worries.

Bank accounts:

- Close the account in Suzhou and reopen one in Chengdu. Much easier than trying to wait for a definite answer from one of us only to be faced with conflicting answers from bank staff. Even in the USA, some banks might ask you to close an account and reopen if you're moving to another state.

Phone:
- loose it. Get another one in Chengdu.

Luggage:
- Get someone to ask at the train station about it. They'll give you a better answer. An alternative might be to put it on cargo in the same flight you're taking. Some airlines will allow you to do that.

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

lionheartuk · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 173 Location: Guangdong

When I left Sichuan I closed my bank account and opened a new one in the next city I worked in. I also had to buy another SIM card for my phone at the cost of 50RMB. My other SIM card still has 200 RMB crediti on but China Unicom tell me I have to go back to Sichuan to prove my ID to enable me to have the 200 refunded. The sales assistant in Sichuan told me when I bought the SIM card that it will work in all of China.
I still have to get the refund as I am not going to let Unicom keep it.

Chris_Crossley

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

voodikon · Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 1363 Location: chengdu

i don't know. i'm scared of the bank. more specifically, i work 9-6 so the banks are closed when i'm free from work (and during lunch hour, they're also closed, apparently, or, though they have a person sitting there, for all practical purposes they're closed). i guess i could go by this weekend and ask.

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

If I remember correctly, you work around SIP, right? Why don't you give the BoC branch in SIP a call and chat with them? I believe they have a few people there that speak english fluently. I think they should be able to give you more reliable info than most of us.

boxcarwilly · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 85

If you are greater than 20kg of luggage on China Southern Air Lines, you can expect to pay 1.5% of your ticket price per kg of overweight luggage.
I will report on actual rail pricing after I ship as one really does not know pricing until after the cash is paid. But to get your stuff by rail and if you are moving North to South (Jilin to Guangdong), you may have to wait a month to get your goods. I will probably use three methods: plane for the stuff I must have, express shipping for the stuff I can wait two weeks for and rail for the stuff I can wait a month for.

boxcarwilly · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 85

More info to add to my previous post:

To ship cargo on the plane, one has to get to the airport 2.5 hours early and the rates are 10 RMB per kilo for weights under 45 kg's and 4 RMB for 46 kg's and above. It gets to the destination within one day of sending.
Shipping 50 kg's for 200 RMB by plane seems pretty reasonable to me if you need the stuff.