Recently China Telecom has had a promotion where if you pay for a year of fiber optic internet (up to 100Mbps) you can get a Xiaomi phone and 1 year of mobile data and calls for only a little extra money. Might be worth checking out if you are renting a house.
Hey Will.
Yes, you can transfer the money.
I would strongly recommend against Western Union style services as they are widely known to be stupidly expensive and rip you off on exchange rates.
Instead, what you want to ask for is this: 国际汇款 ("guoji huikuan") or 'International Transfer'. The term for this is usually 'SWIFT Transfer' or 'International Wire' in the west.
When you organize such a transfer, you need to first ask your bank in the US for their SWIFT network address.
Then, go in to your branch and get the form to fill in.
You can send the money in multiple currencies, but probably since RMB is not supposed to exist in US banks, the best option would be to send it in USD. To send it in USD, you may have to add a USD account linked to your existing account. This might take over an hour.
Finally, you want to execute the transfer. Wiring money out of China is to some extent, I think it's fair to say, actively discouraged by the government and they have a special bureau called the 外汇管理局 ("waihui guanli ju") or 'Foreign Transfer Management Bureau' who just love to demand information about what it is you are trying to do. Now, given the amount you mentioned (not huge) and your legitimate status here and records of employment, it should not be an issue for them that you are sending money, but they may ask for some type of record or statement. Be prepared for this. Sometimes they take a couple of days to approve things before a transfer will be executed.
Finally, a SWIFT transfer will normally take 3-5 business days to go through. During this time, it is nigh-on impossible to get an update on the status of the transfer. This is normal.
If all of the above sounds like a hassle, it is, but it will work out cheaper than the alternatives, with the possible exception of buying Bitcoin and selling it in the US!
Tell you what, I'm in Shenzhen right now with 20ms pings to Hong Kong and the internet is friggin' awesome. The VPN providers should bounce through here.
If you need a larger single suitcase while in Paris (instead of 2x) I can highly recommend a Wenzhou family's luggage store a block or so east of the Galleries Lafayette, on the southern side of the main eastward road from the northern end of the area.
The only second hand spot I am aware of is the second hand market at Huangtupo. This actually has two portions, the market itself (further west, near the 2nd ring road flyover / bus station) and the clothing section (further east, on Puji Lu). Not sure if the clothing section is still going, though it probably is.
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@nailer is being unfairly dismissed: they are certainly fallible. At one point they were well managed and the only game in town, and their outdoor bar had an interesting social vibe. Recently, none of these is the case (was given a bad bill to the tune of ~300% - no managers present and a subsequent complaint resulted in a less than ideal outcome, many more places are now open, and the outdoor bar is closed). Unless you are specifically seeking faux-Americana (often far better examples elsewhere) or two degrees removed faux-Mexicana, there's little reason to go there. How come French Cafe can serve a great sandwich for 24元 but Sals requires 50元 for a pretend-exoticized nibble? Certainly the business will continue, but the hey-dey is clearly gone. Romaniticizing the past aint gonna help. E-waste recycling by shipping (non carbon neutral) junk across the country? Puh-lease. Garbage processing people here recycle anyway! I applaud the ethical stance of one of the managers, but the place has frankly lost its mojo.
Hands down the best draft craft beer in Kunming. On top of that, very reasonable prices for food and other drinks (especially wine).
Called the number provided on a Friday at 2:15PM while a 10% discount was advertised "on Friday and Saturday" (listed in GoKunming specials).
A Chinese person answered the 'English' phone number in Mandarin then explained in broken English that you need to order 3 hours in advance. (Subtext: As their business is so slow)
Grumble. False advertising. Waste of time. Seems 100% Chinese run. Probably bad pizza.
The listing here is wrong! Teresa's are not defunct, they are just back to being one store instead of two stores on Wenlinjie now! They are still in business, still answer on this phone number, and are still delivering! Points for consistency, it's been years! As of right now, it's 68元 for the more toppings vegetarian at the largest size. They will do thin or thick crust. Yes, it's not to everyone's taste, but I always used to find adding dried chilli powder and some extra salt brought it up to tasty. Might go for a dash of Sichuan pepper oil to spice it up this time around. (You know you've been in China too long when...)
I also had a bad experience here recently.
Honestly, I wish them the best of luck, but I do think the staff are poorly managed and the owners have the wrong attitude and a clear lack of experience in service-oriented business. While the pizza is OK, everything else I have tried (including overnight stay) can be had cheaper and better elsewhere, and the pizza at Roccos is better in my opinion. The service has always fluctuated between acceptable to don't care.
Since they don't have their situation resolved yet, and it has been a few years, I have made the decision not to go there anymore or send anyone else. It's just not worth the hassle, given the crappy location (masked as private or lost). Better pizza with more quiet and privacy on Roccos' terraces.
Getting Away: Tiger Leaping Gorge
Posted byCool shots! What software do you use for the HDR-looking ones?
Official apologizes for Dongchuan milk river
Posted byEasy fix. Re-organize environmental monitoring along the lines of the anti-corruption police; send undercover people around the country from other locations to perform regular testing of all major waterways and air quality. And/or use robots to do it instead.
Rhinos reintroduced to Yunnan
Posted byQuite. The local stuff would be better placed in the new and rapidly expanding category of Yunnandisiacs.
Rhinos reintroduced to Yunnan
Posted byI read a national geographic article on ivory of all kinds in a well stocked venue in Bangkok last night. Their conclusion was that there are serious, proven, viable alternatives to ivory for all purposes except medicinal. The finger was also pointed squarely at China.
Preview: Dali Erhai World Music Festival
Posted byTangential question out of recent interest... anyone know if there's evidence the line-art approach to waves shown in the festival logo image is of Chinese rather than Japanese origin? In modern times, the most popular image showing this rendering style is undoubtedly Hokusai's 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' at truefaith7.hubpages.com/hub/japanese-wave-art
I have since seen renderings by Edo period Japanese artists in a few countries; never Chinese. However, a Chinese watercolour instruction book I acquired in Hong Kong recently also includes the same rendering technique.
Sorry to deflate or inflame any nationalist sentiments. Just interested in the historical origin of this technique!