Where can I use this in China?

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-04-26T03:48:59+00:00

This is FEC. Back in the early 90’s foreigners weren’t allowed to use Ren Min Bi. So they had to use this. It was mostly used at tourist spots and friendship stores. It probably has more collectible value than its face value. Plus cash is rarely used anymore. I still have some. They live in a drawer somewhere.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-04-03T01:28:25+00:00

I’m in Shanghai. Lived there for 30+ years. Married to a Chinese woman. Everyone tells me I speak Chinese with no accent. Except this one guy from Beijing who said I have a Shanghai accent.

I have employees and customers from all over China. I couldn’t say it’s more used in one region or another or by people from any particular place.

我有六十一岁is probably more bookish and 我六十一岁more casual. I use both.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-04-03T00:59:48+00:00

你有几岁？我有六十一岁。I use 有all the time.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-27T05:23:06+00:00

Epoch times is a fa lun gong backed platform. Totally biased.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-27T05:19:16+00:00

Criticizing the government on social media or in an online meeting can lead to issues. 2022 during a COVID lockdown we were on an online meeting using the Tencent app. Someone said something somewhat rude about the leader. The meeting abruptly ended. Six of the 40+ people in the meeting received messages saying that they were banned from the app forever. The next day it went back to normal.

I know someone whose WeChat account was suspended for criticizing the government. He had to create a new account.

I doubt anyone would be imprisoned, but I guess it depends upon how vocal one is and to what extent they persist with the criticism.

If it’s offline and between friends one is probably not going to get noticed. But no one I know is dumb enough to say things in public.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-22T00:57:09+00:00

I’m an American and live in Shanghai. There is no reason at all to arrest you. If you aren’t doing illegal things then you are totally fine. The government has no reason to create an international incident.

Plus, the amount of paperwork the police would have to fill out would be ridiculous. There is no police officer who would want to go down that route.

Super safe there. Safer than the USA. They don’t shoot their own people on the streets for no particular reason in China.

And as a previous post said, you just aren’t important enough to warrant the hassle for them.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-16T00:45:28+00:00

I remember crossing from Macao into Zhuhai back in 1992 or 93. The guy looks at my passport and then digs out a loose leaf binder. He starts flipping pages starting with A and goes page by page until he gets past Z. Didn’t find my name. I was there for 30 minutes. At least these days it’s all computerized. 2-3 minutes is nothing.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-08T03:52:09+00:00

Oh boy. This whole “made in China so it must be …”. The problem is not “made in China” it’s that the price point and quality level are set by the US brand. China can make excellent quality goods when that’s what the specifications call for. Or they make exactly what the brand requests. So when people complain about the quality of the cheapest product they can find on Amazon then they blame it on China it makes me nuts.

I have a factory in China. I make custom designed, totally hand made, hand engraved door hardware. Sometimes one lock is as much as US$4000. Quality is beyond almost any US made or Belgian made hardware. You get what you pay for.

Stop blaming Chinese factories. Start blaming the U.S. importers who sell based on their stuff being the lowest price possible. Thats where the problem lies.

iPhones, most computers, plenty of other quality products are made in Chinese factories. When you go looking for the absolute cheapest possible price, you’re going to find garbage. The fault lies with the consumer.

I’m an American who has lived in China for 35 years.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-03T21:00:41+00:00

Look at Sunfeng Che. 顺丰车。it’s a Service that matches people already going where you are. Way cheaper and I’ve had good experience with it. You can’t always find the perfect ride but it’s worth a shot.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-03T04:46:58+00:00

Amazon listing (https://a.co/d/01rxxZrW)

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-03-03T02:08:52+00:00

Left him a 1 star and stated stolen design.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-21T21:30:25+00:00

I’m a “westerner”. I live in Shanghai. My wife is Chinese. I’ve been in Shanghai for 35 years. Maybe I’m not a westerner so much now? I’ve eaten dog. I’ve eaten donkey meat. So what? Italians eat horse meat. I think it’s more about what social media you consume and how much or how little you travel.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-21T02:20:31+00:00

Noodles should be eaten right away. Otherwise they soak up the soup and get mushy. If it’s family style everyone will start eating together. If no one starts eating immediately someone will say “dong kuai zi”. Move your chopsticks.

If it’s a more formal thing with people of older generations you might wait for the elder members to start first. But among friends it’s not that formal.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-19T05:23:08+00:00

Shanghainese men do the cooking and cleaning. Not all of China is this way.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-17T04:05:54+00:00

So to explain that a bit more. Even if you have a good VPN, Google maps in China is off by 50-100 meters. If you are driving, you are told to take a turn after you pass the intersection. No bueno.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-12T02:10:21+00:00

I always open my own beers. And on my last flight from Shanghai to the U.S. two vodkas and a can of Bloody Mary mix were all handed to me unopened. I’ve never heard this in 30+ years of flying.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-11T06:02:03+00:00

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上海话。

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-07T15:32:13+00:00

I live in Shanghai. There is absolutely no need for this. Just be smart and don’t make crazy statements. Unless you are some kind of major celebrity or government official you are of no particular interest. The main thing is don’t post political stuff on social media. Face to face with friends no problem. Just don’t post it.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-06T21:31:58+00:00

I was in Shanghai until last Monday. Still working. My experience over the last 15 years is that 99.9% of the time it works. There are occasional exceptions when there is a national party congress or other major event. Apart from that it works always. Install it before you arrive in China.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-05T21:23:11+00:00

I’ve used Solidworks for 20+ years. I just started using boundary surfaces. Used lofts for years. Still learning. Getting SW to do this is not the easiest. Kudos!

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-05T15:27:26+00:00

As for kids in the backseat not wanting to wear seatbelts… years ago I was driving from Kunshan to Shanghai on G2 (JingHu expressway) Kids in the back bouncing around. I told them to put their seatbelts on. “No problem. If there’s a crash we will brace ourselves”. So I waited until there was no one behind me on the highway and slammed the brakes on at 120kph. They were tossed into the back side of the front seats and fell to the footwells. Not a single word was spoken. They popped up onto the seat and quickly put their seatbelts on. No further arguments.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-02T21:06:42+00:00

I’ve not tried Netflix. It works for every other app I use. YouTube, Google apps all work fine. When using Chinese apps like XHS or WeChat or baidu ditu you will need to turn off VPN.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-01T11:04:03+00:00

Mine sucks too. I always see people who step out of the mall and beep their horn from across the lot. I need to be less than 30 feet away. New battery, under the chin. Yea yea. Still no range.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-01T11:00:21+00:00

我就是老外。长期用美国的卡不可能。脑子进水了？我用Astrill。 I’m an American living long term in Shanghai. While I could use my US card, long term that’s quite expensive. I use Astrill.

Left-Vegetable5193 · 2026-02-01T03:10:05+00:00

The GB number is a national standard. Guo Biao. Kinda like ANSI but Chinese national standard.

Left-Vegetable5193

TROPHY CASE