[Solutions] to the Most-Asked Questions on Ringy: Volume Two

About us: Ringy provides FREE interpretation for expats in China. Follow Ringy, send Ringy WeChat messages, tell us whatever you need help with. 

Ringy started in February 2016. We have received nearly 1000 requests for different kinds of assistance. While we keep promoting Ringy001 as a platform providing free interpretation, more than 40% of the requests are asking for local service and information.

Ringy001 was founded with the mission of helping to make expats life easier in China. Thus, we decide to start a column to share the solutions we’ve found for our users so far, with everybody.

The three questions we featured last time were:

1, Where is the closest post office—meaning I need package mail service.

2, Where do I find a good A yi (maid)? Preferably western trained?

3, Where do I get western grocery? 

(Follow us to view history and read the previous article.)

This week, we are gonna talk about:

1, I have a problem with Taobao. Can you help me Ringy?

No kidding, we’ve solved countless problems regarding Taobao— don’t know the Chinese words to search for certain products? Can’t understand a production description? Need to discuss with the shop owner/customer service for some details and, sometimes, need to return a product you don't like?

Despite the hassle, Taobao and Tmall really are the places to shop for almost anything at a fraction of the price you would get in a real shop, not to mention the sheer variety and convenience they provide!

Solution: Go to baopals.com. They’ve translated info of over 800 million+ products on Taobao and Tmall to English, have an English customer service team, and make shopping online in China incredibly easy and comfortable.

Searching for products you want in Chinese words will lead to more accurate results on baopals. Of course, you can always ask Ringy for the Chinese words before you shop :)

2, What is the best way to go to Guangzhou from Dongguan? Bus or train?

With the intensity of cities almost wherever you are in China, there are at least 2-3 cities that are just 2-3 hours drive away. But, getting bus tickets or train tickets is always a nightmare for expats! Especially with the unclear signs throughout, we often find ourselves worrying after guiding a user to the station.

Solution: Try Didi’s hitchhike ride. Post your riding details including departure city's location, arrival city’s location, and departure time. A driver that matches your hitchhike ride info will answer the offer and come to where you are to pick you up! Drop off to the most convenient location can be discussed between you and the driver! The price? Usually just about the same as the train and bus would cost, but definitely save time and reduce the hastle! 

The driver might call you to confirm details. To avoid talking to him on the phone you may get Ringy’s helpful interpreters to prepare a text message for you and send it to the driver through the IM within the app. Further discussion can be accomplished with Ringy’s help as well! 

3, How can I get e-wallet/mobile pay if I don’t have a China bank card?

E-wallets like WeChat wallet, Alipay, and Baidu wallet are the new highways for paying in China. Not only is it super convenient but also comes with seemingly endless discounts and groupons. However, not having a China bank card seems to be the deal breaker for all of these.

Solution: This is like a suggestion rather than a solution—get your own China bank card! It’s really not that hard! Just take your passport and go to any bank near you, you don’t need a staying permit or working visa to open an account! Most of the bank have staff that speak English as well. Standard process is－－ fill up a form, wait at the window, set your password, done! Make sure you tell them you wanna open the online payment function. If the English speaking staff is out for other matters (sounds like an excuse but that happens a lot ), you can always get Ringy (WeChat ID: ringyringy) to help.

Or, always ask a Chinese friend to trade! Have them send money to your WeChat account!  Just show up with a nice, crisp bundle of cash and nobody can turn you down! Make sure your wad of cash is new, flat, and desirable to have, so people are more likely to say yes even though it’s just a trade.

＊For travelers coming just for a short visit and can’t get either one above, Ringy is willing to help out here as well. Transfer money to our paypal account and we will send the equivalent in RMB (deducting the banks processing fee) to your WeChat account.

Wanna get some questions featured in the next article?

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