I’m an European student heading to Shanghai for an internship where debit and credit cards are rarely accepted. Locals recommend using Alipay for payments, but I have heard mixed results about compatibility with European credit cards. Some claim credit cards don’t work at all with Alipay, while others say they have zero issues. It was suggested to get a Wise or Revolut card to use with Alipay. What are your thoughts on which option is more privacy friendly or if there are better alternatives.

I have also been advised to get a VPN for China. While I self-host a VPN, I planned to add Mullvad because of its obfuscation techniques. Except it was recommended to get LetsVPN or Astrill, they said because they work the best in China and that is what everyone uses. What are your thoughts on which VPN I should get? Also any other suggestion or advise for my internship in Shanghai are appreciated.

  • utopiah@lemmy.ml
    3·
    1 day ago

    you might be used to that as a European

    FWIW really depends where in Europe, in France and Belgium at least the law radically changed where

    • you can’t smoke in a restaurant, bar, club (that’s been for a while now)
    • you can’t smoke in FRONT of a place (like you need to be far from the exit)
    • you can’t smoke even outdoor in a public place (e.g. train station by the tracks, beach in France)
    • advertisement is forbidden
    • cigarette packs have absolutely disgusting warnings (e.g. lung cancer, throat cancer) with graphic photos

    … so yes there are still some people who smoke but it’s a LOT less public, in Western Europe, than just a couple of years ago.

    To be clear some people still ignore those laws but if you compare to just a decade ago it’s radically less popular.