China is a fantastic country with gorgeous cultures and histories. The mainland of China refers to the region excludes Hong Kong (香港) and Macau (澳门) but includes Hainan (海南) island. China mainland is socialism (社会主义), and the ruling political party is Communist Party of China (CPC).
Climate and weather Dalian (大连): average temperature in summer: 23 oC average temperature in winter: -3oC annual air quality index (AQI): good (良) Shanghai (上海):average temperature in summer: around 29 oC in July, around 31 oC in August, maximum 38+ oC. average temperature in winter: 4oC annual air quality index (AQI): good (良)
Social media Wechat (微信)：detailed online tutorials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=812jVCZGL5g&list=PLb6Qpex4Hu4DDuJUX9nzh2JUWhG0LeqJz&index=2
QQ (腾讯QQ): I suggest you use Tencent QQ International. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYC8QSfBCtI
*IMPORTANT* In China, we cannot use Facebook, Messages, Instagram, Google, Youtube. If you still want to visit these websites, you have to use VPN in your phone and your laptop. Because of the government‘s restriction, I suggest that you use UoE VPN. You can find how to set UoE VPN from the link http://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/computing/desktop-personal/vpn/vpn-service-using .
Food where to eat in a Chinese university: student canteen (学生食堂)，takeaway (外卖)，restaurants near the campus (附近的餐厅) .
food in student canteen: You have to wait in line to grab your food. The main food (主食) is usually rice (米饭), steamed bread (馒头), noodles (面条), pies (馅饼) and bun (包子). The dishes are usually cooked using traditional Chinese cooking techniques such as stir-fry (炒), pan frying (煎), steaming (蒸) and deep frying (炸). University’s canteen also offers soups, porridge and soya milk (usually breakfast only). Don’t worry if you don’t know how to pronounce the name of the dish you want. You can first look through the dish quickly and figure out what you know is included in the ingredients, such as the name of a kind of vegetable (i.e. tomato) or meat （i.e. beef）. Then you simply point the dish you want and pronounce the name of the vegetable or meat in Chinese. We usually choose two dishes and one main food for a meal. How to pay for your meal? You can find a contactless student card reader near where you order your dishes. Just attach your student card (饭卡) to the card reader, then you will complete the payment for your meal. (video about university’s canteen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWy0LsxrJs0)
Takeaway: you can order takeaway and have it delivered to your location without extra charge. We usually use Baidu Takeaway (百度外卖) app ,Ele Takeaway app and Meituan Takeaway (美团外卖) app. The delivery time is usually 20 to 40 minutes. We usually use Wechat Wallet (微信支付) or Alipay (支付宝) to pay for takeaway online orders. Therefore, you’d better register a Wechat account or Alipay account, and add your Chinese bank card(s) to your account. These two payment methods will make your life rather convenient in China. (videos about how to use wechet )
Online shopping We usually go to Taobao.com (淘宝) or JD.com (京东) to buy things online.