The survival guide for living in Shanghai
Clear, practical, English-language guides to surviving Chinese bureaucracy and making Shanghai your home — visas, police registration, tax, apartments, banks, hospitals, and the small stuff nobody tells you about.
Just arrived? Do these first
Police registration, SIM card, bank account, WeChat Pay — the first-week checklist to get your Shanghai life working.
Know your real salary
China's income tax and social insurance take a visible bite. See exactly what you keep, before you negotiate anything.
Find a place to live
Deposits, agent fees, Ziroom vs. Lianjia vs. Wellcee, and the contract clauses that actually matter.
Visas & immigration
The paperwork that keeps you legal in China.
- Police registration (临时住宿登记)
The 24-hour rule every foreigner must followGuide - Work permit & residence permit
From Z visa to being fully legal to workGuide - Extending your visa or stay
Timelines, rules and where to applyGuide - Chinese green card
The realistic path to permanent residenceGuide - Visa days-left calculator
Never overstay againTool
Work, tax & money
Salary, taxes, banking and insurance.
- Shanghai salary calculator
Take-home pay after tax and social insuranceTool - Income tax for foreigners
The 183-day rule, rates and deductionsGuide - Social insurance (五险一金)
What gets deducted and what you get backGuide - Open a bank account
Passport, work permit, employer letterGuide - English-speaking accountants
Directory & how to chooseServices
Daily life
The things you actually deal with every day.
- Get a SIM card
Real-name registration with your passportGuide - Alipay & WeChat Pay
Bind a foreign card or open a local accountGuide - Suishouban app
Shanghai's government super-appGuide - Drive with a foreign license
The exchange written-test shortcutGuide - Hospitals & English care
Public 3A vs. international hospitalsGuide
Off the tourist path
Niche, genuinely useful guides you won't find on a tourism site.
- Motorcycles & the 沪A plate
Shanghai's famously expensive platesGuide - Pets in Shanghai
Vets, adoption and traveling with petsGuide - Cycling & riverside paths
45 km of car-free riverfrontGuide - Secondhand & flea markets
Xianyu, 虬江路 and moving salesGuide - Fishing spots
Dianshan Lake, Dishui Lake and moreGuide
- Shanghai coffee culture
10,000+ coffee shops and countingGuide - Libraries & study spaces
The spectacular Shanghai Library EastGuide - Gyms & fitness
From 200 RMB/month to Pure FitnessGuide - Parks & green spaces
Free parks, paid parks, annual passesGuide - 12345 hotline in English
Shanghai's citizen hotline for foreignersGuide
English-speaking services
Directories of professionals who work in English.
1. Register your address with the police within 24 hours of moving in — it unlocks everything else. 2. Check your real take-home salary so you know what you're negotiating with. 3. Get a SIM card so the apps that run your life here can be set up.