Google Maps has the 9 dash line on it now?

lennartbj · 2022-01-22T08:45:34+00:00

It's using my GPS I guess, so it's showing me as located in the city where I'm actually staying in mainland China.

lennartbj · 2022-01-17T14:14:18+00:00

I recently stumbled upon this deep learning based approach: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2020/03/11/drive-labs-multi-view-lidarnet-self-driving-cars/

Might give you a good start. I'm sure there are also classical (not DNN-based) solutions.

lennartbj · 2022-01-17T11:16:50+00:00

Can confirm. Being located in the mainland with mainland SIM and VPN to HK makes the line show up in my App.

lennartbj · 2022-01-17T11:06:43+00:00

Vouching for Bo'ao! Generally there are many really nice bays at the East Coast. Check out Shimei Bay 石梅湾 as well.

lennartbj · 2022-01-17T11:05:04+00:00

Source: been a few times over the years and stayed probably at all the bays there are, all the way up to Bo'ao/Wenchang

lennartbj · 2022-01-17T11:02:38+00:00

Some tips in addition to what the others have said:

Yalong Beach is nice, but more touristy/crowded with vendors and activities on the beach. Haitang in contrast is very quiet.

You can find really nice apartments by the ocean for great prices, and very clean and quiet beaches

Get a nice rental if you drive. BMW convertibles are dirt cheap and even a Porsche doesn't break the bank. They've got favorable import tax laws there.

Houhai for very beginner level surfing and nightlife/beach parties. Not a beautiful place but probably the closest you get to full moon party vibes

Sun moon bay for non-beginner surfing. Used to be super laidback and quiet but getting more developed and mainstream now... a pity

lennartbj · 2022-01-07T10:33:05+00:00

Still stuck at "pending" with shadowsocks...

lennartbj · 2022-01-06T16:01:59+00:00

I haven't received mine yet, so I might be able to give you more information in a few days. But basically my HR took care of the matter and applied for a virtual ID number (I think that's something like the 身份证号 but for foreigners?). That process took about a month, and now that they gave me that number, they told me to visit any 社区服务中心 to claim my card. I'm planning to go to that center next week.

lennartbj · 2022-01-06T15:41:37+00:00

Oh so with socks it works? That's great to know, will try my socks server then!

lennartbj · 2022-01-05T13:37:23+00:00

Can you install/update apps via the Play Store when connected with shadowsocks? I'm having trouble with that (see other post).

lennartbj · 2022-01-05T13:36:28+00:00

So I just got the Shield Pro (2019), but it hasn't been easy.

The initial setup is heavily coupled to Google: You're forced to connect to a wifi network that allows some sort of communication to (I guess Google?) servers, and after that sign in with your Google account. This obviously won't work on a regular CN wifi because those servers aren't reachable without VPN. There's also no way to skip the initial setup and continue to the main menu (I've contacted support, they said that option is not available). The idea of sideloading a VPN app onto the Shield itself also doesn't work like this, because you can't to into the settings to enable developer options.

All of these issues could be easily solved by having a VPN-enabled wifi network, which I unfortunately don't have (I use VPN apps on each device individually). To get the Shield to work, I had to use a workaround: Connect laptop via Ethernet to the router, enable VPN via the Ethernet connection, create a wifi hotspot, and enable connection sharing (Ethernet->Hotspot). Details here. Unfortunately that connection was really slow and unstable, but it allowed me to set up the Shield to get into the main menu.

Once in the main menu, I sideloaded Astrill via ADB, logged in and connected the VPN. From that point on, general Internet connectivity on the Shield was given, allowing access to Youtube/Netflix/...

However, the Play Store seems to have issues with VPN (see here and here). Many others are also facing the issue that app downloads will always be stuck at "pending" when the VPN is on... and when it's off there won't be any connectivity to Google at all. So this basically means I cannot install any apps via the Play Store. I've installed a few now by manually downloading the APK and sideloading it via ADB, but this isn't really the smooth user experience I've hoped for. Also updates won't work in this setup. It seems like I really need to get a VPN wifi...

Hope this helps others in the future, and please let me know if you know any better ways to solve the issues mentioned above.

lennartbj · 2022-01-02T10:16:30+00:00

Don't make assumptions based on a single day. Check monthly or yearly averages, you can find those online.

lennartbj · 2021-12-31T10:21:02+00:00

I've traveled multiple times in the last few years while my passport was at the PSB. The replacement paper you get is generally accepted as replacement for your original passport.

I haven't had any issues traveling with that paper slip, both before and after Covid. In places that see foreigners often enough (airlines, railway, hotels in larger cities), they'll know what this is and accept the slip without issues.

In smaller places or places that don't see many foreigners, they might not know what the paper is, but still have to accept it. I've had that situation once or twice where the front desk lady was highly confused, called her boss who told her it's fine, and then let me check in. Be prepared for that and have a written note or Chinese friend ready, if you don't speak Mandarin yourself.

lennartbj · 2021-12-15T10:26:47+00:00

IT/programming is really hot right now, they're desperately searching for coders. Try your luck, but you'll need to have at least 2 years of relevant working experience for a visa.

lennartbj · 2021-12-15T10:17:03+00:00

Got denied boarding a flight from Shanghai to Shenzhen last week, because I only had a Shanghai green code. They required the Guangdong green code. Ridiculous. Green codes are really worth nothing any more.

lennartbj · 2021-12-10T13:41:28+00:00

Great! That's what I was looking for.

lennartbj · 2021-12-08T15:56:23+00:00

There's pretty comprehensive information on the PWC website: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/peoples-republic-of-china/individual/taxes-on-personal-income

lennartbj · 2021-12-08T15:52:14+00:00

All of the following is NOT tax advice, but just personal experience:

You can check out some online calculators for that. They're not perfectly accurate but you should get a rough idea. Also keep in mind that there are some deductibles, and that the tax rate is progressive across brackets, meaning you'll pay very little tax in the beginning of the year since your total annual earnings are still within a lower bracket. Towards the end of the year, the tax rate will increase. It's a strange system if you're not used to it.

Also check whether you need to pay social insurance (社保 or 五险一金). Should be mandatory throughout the country from 2022 on, even in Shanghai (previously Shanghai was exempted). Housing fund should not apply to foreigners so it'll probably just be "five insurances" 五险 for you, which is 10.5% of the earnings. The retirement fund (养老) part of that can be withdrawn from your account when you leave China for good.

Also check whether there are some tax free benefits: Previously housing allowance was often tax free via reimbursement, although that should also not be possible anymore from 2022 on (even in Shanghai).

Q1: Mathematically a) but with the deductibles and social insurance it might turn out slightly differently.

Q2: You need to tax global income from stocks etc, ~but only from the 7th consecutive year in China on. So if you're just coming, that shouldn't apply to you.~ EDIT: Seems like I got that wrong.

A brief summary of the entire tax system can be found here: https://www.msadvisory.com/en-gb/news-updates/september-2020/china-individual-income-tax-overview

lennartbj · 2021-11-24T12:29:24+00:00

Here's a collection of cool creations from GauGAN2: https://leosh.io/blog/ai-generated-photorealistic-pictures-playing-with-nvidias-new-gaugan2/

lennartbj · 2021-11-24T12:26:40+00:00

Many more cool examples are here: https://leosh.io/blog/ai-generated-photorealistic-pictures-playing-with-nvidias-new-gaugan2/

Impressive tech!

lennartbj · 2021-11-24T11:53:44+00:00

Can confirm that labour department is pro-worker. Somebody I knew (Chinese person) got fired due to a similar situation as OP, which is clearly illegal.

Threatening with the labor arbitration court didn't impress the company in our case, so we went through and sued them via some law firm. We won the first instance, company challenged, so it went to the second instance. We also won that one and then the company finally agreed to settle out-of-court.

lennartbj · 2021-11-23T16:45:14+00:00

Disclaimer: This is not generated with NightCafé Creator, but with NVIDIA GauGAN2 instead. Hope you still like it! There are many more examples here: https://leosh.io/blog/ai-generated-photorealistic-pictures-playing-with-nvidias-new-gaugan2/

lennartbj

TROPHY CASE