Author: life-china

is where we explain an aspect of Chinese life. Simple. So now you know. What is Daigou? Daigou (代购) is roughly translated as ‘buying (on behalf of),’ but the definition has grown much broader – into a true cultural phenomenon – in the last decade. It has become a trust-based consumer-to-consumer network based on exporting luxury and household goods from abroad into China.  Originally a gray channel navigated mainly by international Chinese students sending friends and family members luxury items back home, it has since progressed into a global community and industry consisting of anything from German knives to...

Who’s that knocking on the door? Waimai? Nope, just your friendly local census enumerators.  Expats will be included in the seventh Chinese national population census, which will officially start November 1 and run until December 10. Some households may have already received a visit as census staff are gauging housing and demographic conditions. Foreigners who are on “short-term stays such as business trips or family visits, are excluded,” reports Shenzhen Daily. However, a Beijing-based census employee encouraged all foreign residents to fill out the form “regardless of the duration and type of their visas.” The information to be collected...