Sam in Guangzhou

Published on 2014-09-18 at 00:00 by Expat.com team

Jordanian expat, Sam moved to China a few years ago. He settled in Guangzhou to work as an export manager. He shares with us his vision of life in this Chinese city...

Why did you decide to move to China?

I could give an extended answer to explain why I came to China but to make it short, I came to China because basically everything in our life has something "made in China".

How was the moving process?

Well when I first really took the decision to move to China, I went to renew my passport because I already made my mind that I'm moving... I made my business visa F and 3 months after, I went to Hong Kong to get a new one from there (Jordanians don't need visa for Hong Kong). After that, I got my second visa form Hong Kong and I started to make my RV (residence visa) and made working book so I can be able to work there.

What are the formalities you had to go through to be able to live and work in Guangzhou?

There are many many many formalities to undergo! You have to go through a lot of things till you get your working visa or what we call work book. Here are the steps I followed:
1. get an F visa with 1 year limit
2. make a police paper
3. get your employer documents
4. get work book
5. register for Z visa
6. get formal invitation
7. take all above and leave China
8. go the Chinese embassy and apply for Z visa
9. back to China with the Z visa which is only valid for 1 month (you must finish all later steps within one month)
10. make new police paper
11. apply for interview
12. get the green book
13. take all above to the immigration and handed off
14. wait for the interviewer
15. pass and they will welcome you to China. Else you should go out of the country within 24 hours and all over again!

Did you face some difficulties to adapt to your host country (language, culture, do's and don'ts)?

At the beginning of my first year here, I indeed faced kind of big difficulties to adapt. But later on, it's all good as you get accustomed to living there.

How is life in Guanghzou?

Guangzhou is a very nice city with nice places to hang out, have fun, work and enjoy your time. The weather is a bit hot during summer but you will get used to it. My advice for every member in Guangzhou is: watch out to get involved in a bar fight or fights in general and be aware of fraud and think smart to avoid any decoy.

Is it easy to meet new people in Guangzhou?

It is super easy! Guangzhou is an international city and Guangzhou local people are open minded and friendly.

Could you please share with us something you like about Guangzhou and something you don't like?

I particularly like the subway. Guangzhou has a market for everything: that's great. But I don't like the killing traffic jam: that's awful!

A common belief about China which wasn't right:

I could mention a lot of common believes on China! First of all, not everything is cheap in China. Chinese don't eat dogs, at least not all of them, ahah! And Chinese don't all look the same. There are much more things I could say as there are many common believes on the country and its inhanitants!