China Living Guide

Guangxi Is Easier Once Your WeChat Life Is Sorted If you are an Australian heading to Guangxi, China — perhaps for uni, a teaching role, trade work, a language course, or simply a proper change of scenery — WeChat is not just another messaging app sitting beside WhatsApp. It is where a lot of everyday coordination happens. In a place as broad and varied as Guangxi, that matters. One day you may be arranging lunch with classmates in Nanning; the next you could be trying to find a reliable bike repairer, a hiking mate for a weekend near Guilin, or the group chat for your apartment block. None of these things are impossible without WeChat, of course. But going without it can turn small jobs into a bit of a circus. ...

Beijing Is the Capital — But There’s a Bit More to Know If you are asking, “what is the capital of China?”, the straight answer is Beijing. That is the answer you want for a school form, a pub quiz, a visa-related document that asks for country facts, or when your family back in Australia asks where you are headed. China’s capital is Beijing, written in Chinese as 北京 and pronounced roughly like “Bay-jing”. ...

Why this matters for Aussies in China If you’re an Aussie living in China, studying there, or just landing soon, a big public event like a china military parade can feel less like “news on the telly” and more like a day where the whole city suddenly starts acting different. Roads get adjusted, some places run on tighter entry rules, transport can get knotted up, and people on WeChat start sharing half-helpful, half-panicked messages like it’s a team sport. ...

Why “facts about China” matters more than random internet chatter If you’re an Australian living in China, getting ready to move, or helping a student sort their life out here, the phrase “facts about China” can mean two very different things. On one hand, there’s the big-picture stuff: the country’s size, the speed of city life, the sheer scale of digital payments, the way WeChat sits at the centre of daily logistics. On the other hand, there’s the very unglamorous stuff that actually bites you in the bum: how to pay a bill, book a ride, find a group chat for your building, or keep track of school notices when everything is happening in Chinese and everyone assumes you already know the drill. ...