SZSTUFF — practical resources for Shenzhen expats and tourists

1Before you arrive出发前

Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay开通支付宝或微信支付
Almost everything here is paid by scanning a QR code, and few places take cards. Install one and link your Visa or Mastercard before you arrive.
Foreign eSIM, or a VPN境外eSIM / VPN
Most foreign SIMs and travel eSIMs route your data outside mainland China, so Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube work. On a Chinese SIM or local Wi-Fi they are blocked, and you will need a VPN.
Arrival card, online入境卡填报
Fill in China's arrival card on the National Immigration Administration's own site before you arrive, and skip the paper form in the queue.

Visa nudge签证提醒
Tell us when you entered China and your permitted stay. We will email you before it runs out so you don't accidentally overstay.
Set a reminder
Register your address居住登记
Every foreigner has to register where they sleep with the local police station within 24 hours of arriving. Hotels do it for you. Landlords usually don't — take your passport and the lease and go in person. Or do it online: scan the code with WeChat and register without the trip.
Scan with WeChatSend yourself “szstuff.com” in WeChat and tap the link. In the WeChat browser, long press the QR code and select “Scan QR Code”.

Alipay支付宝
Set this up first. It takes foreign Visa and Mastercard directly, which means you can pay for almost everything before you have a local bank account.
App Store Android
WeChat Pay微信支付
The other half of daily life. Also foreign-card capable, and the only way to split a bill with anyone you meet.
App Store Android
Bank of China中国银行
Opening a local account: passport, residence permit, a Chinese mobile number, and a morning. Bring your employer's letter if you have one.
Get a local SIM early办手机卡
China Mobile, Unicom or Telecom, at any carrier shop with your passport. Nearly every app here verifies by Chinese phone number, so this unblocks everything else.

Shenzhen Metro深圳地铁
Seventeen lines and still digging. You don't need a card — the QR code inside Alipay or WeChat opens the gates.
Scan with WeChatSend yourself “szstuff.com” in WeChat and tap the link. In the WeChat browser, long press the QR code and select “Scan QR Code”.
Amap高德地图
The map that works here, with bus times and metro exits that are correct. Foreign maps are not.
App Store Android
DiDi滴滴出行
Taxis and private cars. It runs inside Alipay and WeChat, so you can skip the separate app and the separate registration.
App Store Android
China Railway 12306中国铁路
High-speed rail tickets. Futian and Shenzhen North are the two stations you'll use; Guangzhou is under 40 minutes.
App Store Android
Crossing to Hong Kong过境香港
Futian, Lo Wu, Shenzhen Bay and Huanggang — Huanggang runs 24 hours. This page shows live queue times on the Hong Kong side.
Bao'an International Airport宝安国际机场
SZX, on Metro Line 11. About 40 minutes from Futian.

Meituan美团
Delivery of food, groceries, medicine and a phone charger at 1am, usually inside half an hour.
App Store Android
Taobao淘宝
Everything else, next day. Have it sent to the locker or the front desk of your building, not to your door.
App Store Android
Dianping大众点评
Reviews, photographed menus and the prepaid deals that make eating out cheaper than cooking. The map view is how you find anything nearby.
App Store Android
Huaqiangbei华强北
The largest electronics market on earth, six floors at a time, ten minutes from Futian on Line 2 or 7. Go once even if you need nothing.

Beike贝壳找房
The main listings site. Agents take roughly a month's rent as commission, and the deposit is usually two months plus one.
App Store Android
Anjuke安居客
Worth cross-checking against Beike — the same flat is often on both at different prices.
App Store Android
Shekou International School蛇口国际学校
The long-established international school, and the reason so many families end up in Shekou.
QSI International School科爱思国际学校
Nanshan campus, American curriculum, rolling admission.
International School of Nanshan南山国际学校
IB, and takes both foreign passport holders and returnees.

Exit–Entry Administration出入境管理局
Residence permits, visa extensions, lost passports. Book the appointment before you go; walk-ins lose a day.
National Immigration Administration国家移民管理局
The national rules in English — visa categories, what each one allows, and the current transit-visa exemptions.
China Consular Affairs中国领事服务网
Applying from outside China, and the online appointment system for embassies and consulates.
Human Resources & Social Security深圳人社局
Work permits and social insurance. If your employer enrols you in 社保, this is where the balance and the reimbursement rules are.
Shenzhen Government, in English深圳市政府
Where the official answer lives when a form or a rule is in question.

Ambulance 120. Police 110. Fire 119.急救电话
English on the emergency lines is patchy. If you can, have a Chinese-speaking colleague or neighbour make the call and give the address.
Distinct Healthcare卓正医疗
Private clinics in Futian and Nanshan with English-speaking doctors and appointment times that are actually kept. Most international insurance works.
Shenzhen Meteorological Bureau深圳天气
Typhoon and rainstorm signals, May to September. A red rainstorm or a typhoon signal closes schools and offices — this is the page that says so.
Air quality空气质量
Usually good by Chinese standards. Worth a glance in winter when the northerly wind brings haze down the coast.

Now Shenzhen深圳英文资讯
News, restaurants, jobs, events and a directory of the city, in English. Running since 2001, which makes it the longest-lived English site about Shenzhen.
EyeShenzhen深圳英文门户
The city's own English portal, and the best single starting point. Visa rules, hospital lists and event listings, kept reasonably current.
Bendibao Shenzhen深圳本地宝
Chinese only, and the site locals actually use for how-do-I-do-X. Worth running through a translator — it is usually more specific than anything in English.
That's Shenzhen城市生活杂志
English events, restaurant openings and city writing. The listings are the reason to check it weekly.
Shenzhen Daily深圳日报
The city's English-language newspaper. Where policy changes show up first in a language you can read.
r/shenzhen论坛
Questions answered by people who actually live here. Search before posting — yours has been asked.
Pleco词典
The Chinese dictionary. The camera lookup pays for itself the first time you point it at a menu or a utility bill.
App Store Android