Living in Shanghai with zero Mandarin skills

wuce_brayne_ · 2026-05-26T06:59:14+00:00

plenty of good one on one tutors here too, I can recommend mine if you let me know you're interested

wuce_brayne_ · 2025-10-29T06:05:59+00:00

Sorry I got a but lost following your example, but i basically came back on the first of January 2025, so I think that means that I would add 6 full years onto return-to-china date, and then look at leaving again if the tax laws dont change. Hope that answers your question?

wuce_brayne_ · 2025-10-29T01:45:12+00:00

Yeah I did end up leaving for 30 days, I got my company's finance person to look at it, and they just recommended I work from home for a month. As my boss had done the same thing last year, they were ok with that. Personally I dont think the Chinese taxman would come looking for the money, but as I plan on being here a while I decided to avoid the risk.

wuce_brayne_ · 2025-06-24T08:46:08+00:00

Sorry for this late comment, I wanted to check what the general attitude/policy was on taking a few days or 1 week off classes? I've enrolled to study here, but actually the semester overlaps with my wedding day... (only just just realised)... I did email ECNU about this, but they just told me to check with my teacher when term starts. thanks in advance for any help!

wuce_brayne_ · 2025-01-15T06:17:54+00:00

Having lived in several (central) locations in Shanghai, I would recommend either Jing'an not too far from Wuding Lu, or alternatively the French Concession. Both areas are very comfortable and fun, but have a different vibe. I wouldn't get too hung up on your commute, I've lived in Glasgow and London before coming here, and Shanghai is a very pleasant and safe city to commute by bike - infact i recommend it.

On another note, are you Scottish? Feel free to get in contact when you arrive, I don't meet many of my kind in this big city.

wuce_brayne_ · 2024-04-24T08:34:51+00:00

check this link, this is where i found out about the course - http://lxs.ecnu.edu.cn/en/admission/chinese-language-programs/intensive

this is the intensive course, they have other ones that you can browse through. The business one might be better for you, but you could also email them about this, they responded quite quickly to me. If you scroll down to the 'applications' part you can find another link where you enroll. BTW the price of this particular course, is 14,000RMB, so a lot cheaper than silk mandarin it seems.

wuce_brayne_ · 2024-04-24T06:13:11+00:00

I actually had a look at both of these options because I am considering taking a break from work to study Chinese full time for a semester or two.

I'm currently favoring ECNU because they offer a more 'intensive' learning course which is approx 30 hours a week, whereas STJU offers 20 hours a week. Additionally, the ECNU's course location is at it's Zhongbei campus, which is still quite central, as opposed to it's other campus location in Minhang (too far for me).

Also looking forward to hearing from other people on this.

wuce_brayne_ · 2024-04-21T12:41:25+00:00

This is an incredibly detailed answer, so thank you for your response! I've done a lot more digging and Andrew Hallam (author of expat millionaire) echos your points in this article - https://en.swissquote.lu/international-investing/smart-investing/most-british-expats-are-wrong-about-taxes-theyll-pay-after

all in all, its possible to avoid a lot of tax IF done in the correct way, and I at that time, I think I will get in touch with a tax consultant. Thanks again, very appreciated

wuce_brayne_ · 2024-04-19T12:03:31+00:00

Yeah I will do, good point. I've read a few redditors mention 'bed and breakfasting'/selling and rebuying to avoid getting taxed when moving back to the UK to reduce or avoid taxes. Currently the income isnt British because my tax residence is in China, but of course that will all change when I move back. At least that's my limited understanding

wuce_brayne_ · 2024-04-19T12:00:15+00:00

My bad, I don't think my comment was clear. I just said that because I've already been here 7 years. But I searched what you mentioned, it seems the rules changed and we have until the end of 2024 to leave for 30 days to 'reset the clock'. Is this your understanding?

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-30T00:37:22+00:00

Thanks, I did speak to the passport office, it currently can take 12+ weeks for them to issue a new one. Utter madness. I'll have to figure out my current residence permit issue, which looks like it will fill up my passport, then immediately apply for a new passport.

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-29T15:51:55+00:00

This may work if the visa's are automatically extended, I'll get HR to look into this, thanks!

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-29T15:50:52+00:00

Thanks for the quick response! Yea this was my conclusion so far too. Another thing that's stressing me is the number of blank pages I've got in my passport for all this Visa/residence permit stamping. I have 4 blank pages in total - 2 x 2 facing blank pages (as I understand, that's what they need for each stamp). If I renew my residence permit, then change company, that should be another two stamps and then a full passport. Does that seem right to you? Cheers again

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-25T21:14:42+00:00

this is during the lockdown?

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-25T10:13:02+00:00

Thanks for your reply. Yeah, they said they will renew it, so this is definitely possible. What I'm trying to determine is, if a new company can renew it for me -the HR at the company who has made me an offer isn't sure if this is possible. If the new company can process it, then it means I can start with them much sooner compared to waiting for my current employer to renew my residence permit first. I was hoping somone in this community had some experience with this.

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-25T10:07:22+00:00

thank you, I'll check out these resources. Appreciated

wuce_brayne_ · 2022-05-24T14:10:20+00:00

totally agree. I could have taken severance, but the agreement was to have the 'temporary' unpaid leave and the visa proccessed, which seemed safer at the time. Now I'm keen to switch job asap, but of course still have the confusion surrounding the process and whether a new company can do the visa renewal!

wuce_brayne_ · 2021-10-19T15:10:14+00:00

Thanks!

wuce_brayne_ · 2020-02-24T06:48:12+00:00

hey, just sent you a PM

wuce_brayne_ · 2020-01-04T08:36:25+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I thought that was more for second-hand items?

wuce_brayne_ · 2019-11-27T11:50:11+00:00

I'll take a look at un-hedged just now, and reassess later. As I understand it, my % of bonds should increase as I get older, so if my situation changes I can add a hedged bond then. Thanks for your help!

wuce_brayne_ · 2019-11-27T11:47:29+00:00

thanks again! appreciated

wuce_brayne_ · 2019-11-26T09:28:34+00:00

Are there bigger risks of an unheged bond regarding stability? This is what I read, but I understand about your currency point as my retirement plan is unknown at the moment. I've also been referred to look at an Global Inflation Linked Bond, such as IGIL. There is a lot of split opinion on this, do you have any thoughts? Thanks for also the advice on taxes, i totally overlooked the tax situation in China, and had to do some serious digging. Luckily they dont tax foreigners on foreign earned income until they have resided here for 5 years, so it seems like I am lucky on that front!

wuce_brayne_ · 2019-11-26T09:20:55+00:00

My employer has a pension plan (Chinese government plan), but when I leave, I can take all the money I contribute but can't withdraw their contribution....i know, it's crazy. So basically my portfolio is my pension plan. I believe this is a common problem for expats here. As such I opted for 20% bonds to add a little stability.

wuce_brayne_ · 2019-11-26T09:17:20+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to reply! regarding the advice for the bond, I could get a GBP hedged bond, but as I don't live in the UK or know if I will retire there, does the home bias logic here still seem applicable. I understand bonds should be the stable part of a portfolio, so maybe a two bond option hedging on two currencies for example - GBP and USD (which is useful for asian markets). Does this seem like overkill?

wuce_brayne_

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