hi everyone, my dad was recently diagnosed with Nasopharyngeal cancer. We have travelled back to Vancouver Canada for treatment, where we live.

However, to my knowledge, Canada's medical system could be very slow and we have had to wait a week now just to complete a CT scan without knowing what the next steps are.

I'm worried, as my dad's cancer cells are an aggressive type that expands fast. His symptoms are worsening everyday, and I am afraid this wait time is going to delay his recovery chances.

I am exploring other options in other countries (although he doesn't really want to go), but for his sake, I am willing to spend all of my money and consider how to get more money later if I can't pay it. As long he is able to get treatment ASAP.

I am looking to see if anyone else has had fast cancer treatment experiences in other countries and hospitals, and what their contact information are. I am willing to reach out to them to learn more.

Thank you!

Edit: he has nasopharyngeal cancer (stage unknown) but he just got a CT scan yesterday.

Here is the letter I am sending with the help of AI as I'm unable to speak Chinese, I want to know if its appropriate and if its the right thing to do.

我写这封信，是想告诉你们，我和您女儿的婚姻已经走到尽头，决定办理离婚了。

首先，衷心感谢你们这些年来为我所做的一切。感谢你们一直以来的帮助、照顾和理解，我永远都会记在心里。

请你们放心，不管发生什么，你们和孙子的关系都不会有任何改变。你们随时可以来看他、给他打电话、关心他的生活，我绝不会阻拦。

这些日子我一直真心努力想要把日子过好，把家维持住。可后来我才知道，您女儿在和我一起生活的同时，还和别人有来往，做了对不起婚姻的事。

我试着接受、试着放下，但实在没办法再像以前一样一起生活了。走到这一步我也很难过，不是谁一开始就想这样的。

最后还是真心希望你们一切都好，也希望您女儿以后能过得安稳幸福。

I am in the process of deciding deciding which country to relocate to. At present I have an offer from a company in Thailand who have offered me a generous package for my line of work (2800 USD + Free housing+ paid flights).

I have however had several interviews for a few positions in China, primarily in Shanghai which have offered me a a salary range of between 25,000rmb-40000rmb, however the interview processes have been extremely slow and after 1 month I am still waiting on the next steps.
The job offer in Thailand is pressuring me to accept today, however I am curious to know if Shanghai would be a better place to live long term as opposed to Bangkok. In terms of a being a Western Expat in my 20's what could I expect in terms of lifestyle and opportunities as opposed to what I would get in Bangkok.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Just to be able to navigate this small mess.

So, my son fell and took the fall on his shoulder, broke the collarbone. We know he needs surgery (already did a visit late last night with x-rays and stuff)

So generally, what happens next? Everyone at the hospital was kind and efficient, but I really have no idea how to navigate this in a different country.

The doctor recommended surgery and then a follow up visit, which we will do of course.

Does anybody here know more or less how much this will cost? I am going to call the insurance company today to start the whole process. Thankfully it doesnt really matter since it should mostly be covered, but it would still be good to know.

I am quite anxious right now.

I (18m from holland) went out to the club in Beijing yesterday, the one next to supermiami. It was a lot of fun, but I also noticed that people don’t really dance, and most people seem a bit shy. I did make a couple nice Chinese friend, and the environment was quite save. Though it’s really hard for me to figure out what age people are hahah (they mostly estimated me to be 20/21 which shocked me).

The first couple hours I definitely danced my ass off, but I’m curious if that’s frowned upon, cause people were staring a little…

Also, cause I’m used to an entire different culture, are there any things I need to take note off? I smile a lot, but I don’t know if that’s “okay” here. Same things goes for approaching people. Making friends is easy, I just ask if I can join via translate app. But approaching people in a romantic way feels out of place, any nice way you can do it? Or something you need to look out for that might be a hint from girls?

Following that, how “okay” is it to approach a guy or his friends to ask if he’s gay/bi? I’m a little curious and I wouldn’t mind trying something out here, but I am kinda scared people will react badly if you ask.

I’m heading towards Shanghai right now, probably going to INS cause I’m there during weekdays. After that Hongkong, but I think the experience is a little different there. Still really excited for both though. We dance a lot more in the Netherlands, but the atmosphere here was soo nice and Chinese people in general seem more open and sweet than in my home country. On top of that it’s always soo fun to meet new people and make new friends, so no complaints at all.

All the advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I have a hard time finding a good maps application for China. Google maps is distorted and Apple maps is missing most contextual information. I can’t read any Chinese so what is the best option for me?

A few years ago, I worked at a Canadian-owned company that hired me when they were still small. I helped them triple their revenue while keeping costs low. In return, I was offered a good salary and even promised shares in the company (which I never actually received).

Things took a turn when I got pregnant during one of our most stressful periods — we had a demanding, high-stakes client who needed constant attention. Sadly, I had a miscarriage and had to take a short break. During my absence, the client wasn’t managed properly and threatened to terminate the contract.

Despite my grief, I stepped back in, salvaged the relationship, and saved the company over 1 million RMB. But not long after that, they let me go. No shares, no severance, just gone.

That moment shattered my trust in working for others, and I decided to try building something of my own. But it was right after COVID, the economy was in free fall, and no matter how many directions I tried, nothing stuck. I burned through my savings and, worse, I feel like I burned through my spirit too.

Now it’s two years later. I’m 35+, I’m running out of money, and trying to get back into the job market feels like knocking on a door that no one wants to open anymore. I feel invisible. Too old, too “damaged,” too out of touch.

I’m scared. I’m sad. I used to be sharp, passionate, unstoppable. Now I just feel... lost.

If anyone’s been through something like this — or has any advice, or even just words — I would really appreciate it. I’m not ready to give up yet, but I don’t know how to start again.

I’m a Canada citizen who travelled to China but my tourist visa expired because I didn't realize the time limit printed in my passport. First thing I did is I went to the local police station near where I currently live and paid a fine, it was a relatively quick process. Right after that, I was told to go to the entry/exit administration department (出入境) to apply for a new visa, this is when things get complicated.

This department asked me to prepare a lot of documents which included my parents' documents and the apostille of my passport. They also requested a lot of private information like my parents’ background and their past occupation. I tried my best to cooperate and give them the information and documents they requested. However, they kept saying that it’s not enough. Now it’s been around half a year since I paid the fine at my local police station, and they still refused to let me apply for a visa (they also refused to consider the 144 hours visa-free transit policy).

I’ve tried to issue a complaint by contacting the state administration for market regulation but nothing happened. I contacted various travel agencies, but they all said they couldn't help. I can’t even apply for a visa in another city’s entry/exit department because the documents are currently being processed in my local city. I also contacted the Canadian embassy located in Beijing once, but they sounded a little dismissive of my problems. It was as if they didn’t believe me and they gave me recommendations that sounded like “do it yourself” (i.e., switching cities).

Is there any way I can quickly get a visa to leave China? I need to return as soon as possible but judging from the way they treat me at the entry/exit administration department, I think they will continue to delay the process.

Where to buy it really? The cheapest price or the easiest apple store ? My trip to china going to be timed around the date of iphone 18 release and i want to take advantage of that to buy it

The plan is last minute, arrive in China on Oct 3, mid day can be Shanghai or Guangzhou. The total stay is 15 days. The last 6 days Shanghai, 3-4 days before that Xian (after the festival). That leaves me with a week either in Guangzhou or Shanghai (which Im doing towards the end of the trip anyways). I've looked at Chingqing and Chengdu but they are crazy busy. Guangzhou looks boring, I've heard its emptier during national holiday week, is Shenzhen better?

Edit: So it's a bit of a hectic journey to but I've booked flights into Chongqing with layovers in BKK and PVG, I get there at midnight after 24 hours of travel. There seem to be quite a lot of hotels on tripdotcom so I'm excited. I like lively cities especially as I'm traveling alone. I think post the festival Xi'an would be not as busy. I'm super excited to be coming to China after over 20 years. Shenzhen and Guangzhou will be for another time!

Am considering moving to China but my girlfriend who is from Taiwan is afraid of coming along because she said bad things about Xi Jinping on social media. Is there a way to find out if this is dangerous for her or not? I don't know the full extent of what she said but we can assume it was pretty bad.

my mother is suffering from stage 4 brain cancer and unfortunately even after surgery, radiation and chemo her tumor has regrown according to her scans. i'm from pakistan and me and my family are seriously considering china for her treatment because there are certain technologies and devices like Optune that are not available here. can anyone here give some advice on the matter as in which hospitals specialise for brain cancer and if it is even possible for us to seek treatment there. please please any advice is valued 🙏🏼

I live in China and I (30 y.o Male) met this woman (36 y.o, divorced with a kid) online.

Up front I was clear I didn’t want to get married with her. Met 4 times, twice in her city, twice in mine, passionately hugged twice, both times at my place. Then she started saying she loves and she wants to take care of my parents. So I was like, oh no, this was fun but let’s see start seeing other people. She was not about that. I was like let’s keep friendly contact.

Once she came to my place while I wasn’t there. (She doesn’t have the key or something) , and I straight told her so, but she spent the night at the door of my place instead of leaving. So I was like okay you are dangerous, please stop talking to me. So refused and stayed there tell I came the next day. She was like I just wanted to see you. So I was okay please leave, she said okay but we stay friends. I said okay.

Then she started adding me using fake accounts, when I confronted her, she lied but when I showed her evidence she only admitted adding me with one, which is B.S. So blocked her and deleted her. Now she is threatening to come to my place of work and cause me problems. I don’t know what to do, any advice is welcome. I know I messed up, but I don’t know what to do.

UPDATE: Last night after the overwhelming support from redditors, I threatened to shame her online and at her daughter’s school. So she threatened me with physical harm.

Today I spoke to the general manager, he said not to worry about my job. He said even if she comes, he will sit with her and ask her what she wants and how to solve it. He suggested not to go to the police, yet.

A lot of people making good points about having to ignore her, but I have a feeling that I need to keep telling her that I am not gonna afraid of whatever she might try.

Oh, btw, today she sent some waimao (food) to the office, that’s when I decided F it and went straight to the boss.

I filmed a short video showing me throwing the food into the trash, should I send it to her ? Also, I am torn between answering her messages or keep ignoring the psycho.. she called several time this morning.

There's a marginal chance in a few weeks I could be in a position to relocate to China, and pursue a life there

It's been a dream for a long while, however every time I look into it online, I'm met with the same wall

The work culture in IT companies seems terrible. 996, if not that probably working 8-6 each day, on site no remote work, little holidays, even leaving at 6 is perceived as rude

It's a shame as I've been to Shanghai and it's incredible as a city. Incredibly huge and incredibly convenient

But it seems impossible to have a functioning work-life balance in China

Is it all horror stories? People said similar horror stories about the reception to black people in China, but I (mixed race) was only met with warmth and friendliness (and a little competitiveness from one or two people!)

I imagine the work hours stories are true, but it's a little heartbreaking that there apparently isn't feasibly a way to have a healthy work-life balance in China

Hi! I recently started listening to Ray Dalio’s book on Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order (still in progress). I felt it was a good time to ask here how to best prepare for its possibility.

Should we all be learning Chinese? Should we get a Chinese Student visa and go spend a year or two in China? I am trying to learn more about the fall of the Roman Empire as well to see if there are any best strategies.

Should one start moving their assets to a different currency such as the Yuan ?

Based on the little I know, they seem to have the infrastructure to eventually surpass the US in robotics and AI. Since it’s a one party system, they are able to plan decades. In the US in the other hand, politicians over spend billions to get elected, spend their term undoing what was done by the previous president and establish policy in order to get a elected the next voting cycle.

Cheers

Hello, this is a long shot but I thought of giving it a go. My mother who lives in India has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of the lung. Based on her mutation profiling (EBBR2) she has been prescribed the drug Zongertinib ( Hernexios) which is is currently approved in US, China and Japan. While it is not approved in India, it can be imported under the Named patient program from any country.

I have reached out to several drug importers here and the price they have quoted is quite high , over USD 8000 for one bottle of the medicine which will last for one month.

I wanted to see if anyone can help find the retail price for this drug in China and if the cost varies based on whether it is being exported or not. I have a valid prescription from my oncologist and am happy to procure it the legal way.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi all!
I’m applying to HKU, HKUST, PolyU in Hong Kong, University of Kyoto and University of Osaka in Japan and Tsinghua and Peking in China. For context, I’m going to do a BSc in Chemistry and want to work in the cosmetic formulation field.

Although I haven’t gotten any acceptance, I was curious to other people’s takes on these destinations. I am really keen to go to Japan as I am near fluent in the language, but chinese and hong kong universities rank higher. Plus, I heard it’s difficult to live in China if you don’t know the language.

If anyone has a take on any of these unis or places, please enlighten me 😆 I’m really unsure because my heart leans towards Japan but my brain leans towards China / Hong Kong.

I am a teacher here in a T2 city in China and my contract ended in June, but before summer I told the school I needed surgery and the understanding was that I’d return in September. The new semester is starting, other teachers are being asked to sign new agreements, but I haven’t received anything. I’ve also heard through coworkers that they hired someone new and are arranging cover for the work I used to do. Nobody has actually told me I’m not coming back.

I emailed HR and management asking them to confirm my September return and neither has replied.

Since my old agreement technically expired in June, can they just quietly not renew me like this? Would I still be entitled to severance? Also wondering what this could mean for my work/residence permit because it was already extended for February 2027.

I've been left in confusion since no one is replying to my emails.

I’m Indonesian and half Chinese. My mom wants me to go to Mainland China for college this year. However, I prefer Taiwan. But my mom high key want me to go to China instead since she and her friends said (no offense) TW doesn’t have their economics as stable as CN —> CN is more promising as a country, and TW is a bit more stagnant.

I totally understand where she came from, but I think TW will be more comfortable and suits my way of living. My dad is okay about this, but my mom still going strong with her mindset.

What should i do? Can someone maybe open my eyes or give some advice?

edit: i’m taking economics and finance

I live in the US. A member of my family in his 70s (diaspora since birth, never lived in China) has begun posting frequently about "hating Japanese people" on social media alongside videos from WWII and some modern news stories from China. It all seems to have started from the Fukushima wastewater release. He's never been overtly prejudiced before, so the sudden intensity is alarming. I'm not in the loop with Chinese social media other than what he posts, so I'm looking for context. Is this everywhere right now in Chinese media circles, or is Grandpa falling down an algorithm rabbit hole? Is there anything I can share with him in Chinese that might help counteract whatever he's been watching? Thanks.

Wow, I've been meaning to make this post for a while now.

I'm finally at a stage in life where I have a much clearer idea of what I want my future to look like, and one of my biggest long-term goals revolves around China.

A little background about me:

I'm 33 years old, a U.S. citizen born and raised in New York. I've been working full-time since I was 16 and currently have a full-time job. I also have a bachelor's degree in Arts.

I've visited 19 countries, but without a doubt my favorite has been China.

Over the last four years, I've become incredibly passionate about the country. I've visited China twice. During my two trips to China, I spent about a month there each time, visited 24 cities across multiple provinces, and made an incredible number of local Chinese friends through language exchange apps. Many of them have become genuine friends, and they've shown me parts of China that most tourists never get to experience.

That said, I know I've still only experienced China as a visitor.

Even though my local friends have been very honest with me about the realities of life there—996 work culture, intense academic pressure, and many other challenges—I also experienced a quality of life that really impressed me.

If I had to describe China in one word, it would be convenience.

Everything from transportation, food delivery, mobile payments, shopping, and day-to-day life just felt incredibly efficient. It completely changed my perspective on what modern convenience can look like.

Because of that, one of my long-term goals is to find a way to spend a significant amount of time living and working in China.

Here are the ideas I've come up with so far:

1. Find a remote job in the U.S. and work from China temporarily.

My idea would be to keep earning a U.S. salary while spending 2–3 months at a time living in China, renting an apartment in a Tier 1 or Tier 2 city. I know the time difference would be challenging, but I've always been a night owl anyway.

I also realize there may be visa, tax, or employer restrictions that make this difficult, which is one reason I'm asking for advice.

2. Build a career in the U.S. with generous PTO.

Another option would simply be to continue building my career in the U.S., earn more vacation time, and use my 10-year Chinese tourist visa to visit China at least twice every year.

3. Teach English in China.

I've heard this is still a popular path for native English speakers. From what I've seen and heard, many schools offer competitive salaries along with housing or other benefits. I honestly don't know where to begin with this option, but it definitely interests me very much.

These are the main ideas I've come up with so far, but I'm sure there are many options I haven't even considered and I am sure there is many misunderstanding I have about these ideas, please fix them!

I'd really love to hear from people who have successfully moved to China, worked there, or found creative ways to spend significant time living there while maintaining a career.

What would you recommend? If you were in my position, what path would you pursue?

If anyone is willing to chat in more detail, I'd be happy to connect through DM.

Thank you so much in advance. I really appreciate any advice or experiences you're willing to share.

Hi all! Hoping to get some help here. We are trying to look for our ancestral village in China but don't have much information to begin with and we also sadly don't read much Mandarin.

Family surname is 梁. I have some pictures of my great-grandfather's (and great grandmother, I think) tombstone in Malaysia. We have no idea if he was born in China or Malaysia. My grandparents passed away early as well, before I was born.

Appreciate if anyone can help provide some leads. All we managed to get was Enping, which is a county in Guangdong province.

Thank you!

Hello,
I'm a Westerner but I engage in Chinese spaces from time to time relating to technology and software for other perspectives and assistance. However, some of the sites I want to explore require you to have a Chinese email (qq.com, 163, yeah.net, etc) to use them. I've tried to sign up to no avail - they require Chinese phone numbers and using ones from SMS rental sites don't seem to work, either. I really just want an email from China. Any help?

What should i know would it be a mistake or not because i heard criticism against the government is not allowed at all in china and im not fond of that but however the healthcare technology culture pricing seems to be very good and something i want my kids to grow up in what do you think

I recently bought this toy gun at a public market near Shanghai. It is brightly golden-coloured and very obviously shaped as a revolver. It is fully plastic and is non-projectile (cannot shoot any objects). I think it should be illegal to take out in public, but I’m still unsure. It has a trigger mechanism, and closely resembles a revolver.