International study is a big leap, leaving your home and going to an entirely different country and culture, there are so many things that you need to consider. Do you know what you need to prepare and pack for your journey ahead? We want you to travel and study well, so to make things a little easier for you, we’re going let you know all the essentials that you need and should require a coveted place in your suitcase to come and study in China. 

Let’s get the formal stuff out the way first. 

CERTIFICATES

Letter of admission and JW202 form 

Of course, your passport, and some copies of it, and plus some passport /ID photos just in case

*For international students holding VISA XI (for more than 6 months of study), you should apply for residence permit within 30 days of entering China which will allow students to legally live here. You can apply for residence permit at the Local Ministry of Public Security of Exit-Entry Administration Bureau (当地公安局出入境管理机构) after you register in School.

*For international students holding VISA X2 (for less than 6 months of study), they do not need a residence permit. 

*Make sure you have some extra passport/ID photos, you will most likely need these. 

High school/university transcripts and certificate/diploma of highest education.

*Translated into English or Chinese 

Physical examination record

*Bring the original physical examination record that you received from your full medical check with you. 

*If international students’ physical examination record does not meet the requirements of the university after you arrive, you maybe asked to do another health check in a local health center. 

*Physical examination record is needed to apply for Residence Permit. It is valid for 6 months only. 

Last but not least don’t forget your flight tickets and itinerary.

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FINANCES

*Take with you your tuition fee receipt or the original transcript of remittance if you paid the tuition fee in advance. 

*If you are required to pay the tuition fee to the university upon entering, you may need to take some cash with you or create a Chinese bank account to get a China UnionPay card so you can use it, otherwise you will need to use a card which can be accepted by the university, please check with your university about this. 

*The following banks can be used by foreigners to transfer money: Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China. 

Nowadays in China, people tend not to carry cash around anymore and purchase most things through multipurpose online payment apps such as WeChat and Alipay. It makes things much more convenient. You will need to create a Chinese bank account then connect it to either of these apps to do this. 

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Finally onto the exciting part

ITEMS YOU WILL NEED FOR DAILY LIFE 

Electronic Items

In this day and age where would we be without our mobile phones, this is one thing guaranteed you will be all taking with you. 

*Tip, when you get to China, purchase a Chinese sim card to avoid high charges on your phone when you need to use it. 

What else? 

Mobile charger

Portable power bank if you have one. 

Laptop or iPad/tablet and their chargers/power source

For those keen photographers out there you might want to take your camera 

Earphones

USB or hard drive 

Plug adapter *very important, check the following link to see what types of plugs are used in China https://www.iec.ch/worldplugs/list_bylocation.htm

Clothes 

This is dependent on how long you’re staying to study for in China, 1 semester or 1 year and more. It also depends on which city you’re based in and the weather climate in your region of stay. Do some research into this and it will help you decide what to bring. As a general principle bring clothes fit to wear for each of the seasons you are here for. In some areas winter in China is incredibly cold and summer is incredibly hot. Take underwear, shirts, jumpers, coats, shoes, scarves, socks, and clothing you would normally wear. 

*Of course you can also buy clothing in China too at a cheap and affordable price in local stores or at international brands, but be aware that the sizing maybe different to what you’re used to back at home however you should still be able to find the right fit for yourself. 

Toiletries

We would advise against taking too much as you can easily purchase these types of products anywhere in China. But if you do use your own shaver, shaving cream, moisturizer, make-up, tampons, toothbrush, toothpaste that you use back home, you can bring these along. Most of these types of products are readily available in many supermarkets. 

First aid kit: 

If you have any medicine or medical equipment you need for a personal medical issue you should take it with you e.g. if you have asthma, you should bring your inhaler. 

Some other things you may want to take: 

Motion sickness tablets

Diarrhea tablets

Mosquito repellent

Paracetamol 

Antibiotics 

Sore throat lozenges 

Usually pharmacies across China will sell both western and traditional Chinese medicine, so you should be able to get the medicine you need. 

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TO GET TO YOUR UNIVERSITY 

You should get the correct university address in Chinese or get a map of the university, so if you’re travelling there yourself you don’t end up in the wrong place. Become familiar with your campus and create routines on how to get to different areas you need to e.g. class, accommodation and canteen. If you have booked airport pick-up service, you will need to confirm this beforehand. 

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FOR EMERGENCIES

Please dial the following numbers if you ever need to. Let’s hope not! 

• Police telephone: 110

• Medical Emergency telephone: 120

• Fire Emergency telephone: 119

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And that’s it, this is what we would recommend and what you would need to pack to get your higher education study in China underway. We hope you have a fantastic learning experience and an even better adventure. For those who are just considering whether to come and study in China, feel free to get in contact with us, we’d be happy to speak to you. Remember, you can apply right here at UniEdu! 

If you’d like to know more about what apps you should download onto your phone for your study in China adventure, we’ve covered that too. Please check our blog post on that.