Why this exists
The idea began with people. After moving from Guangzhou to Shanghai in 2025, I kept seeing international friends run into small but consequential problems: using a Chinese app, finding a suitable local service, understanding what a hospital or landlord actually meant, or simply knowing which step should come first.
One friend did not know how to book a train ticket online, so she had to make a special trip to the railway station just to buy it in person—costing her extra time and transport money for something that should have taken only a few minutes online. A Muslim friend sometimes struggled to find suitable food because the information was scattered and difficult to verify. The answers usually existed somewhere, but not always in clear English, and not always with enough local context to make them usable.
That made me ask a simple question: why isn't there one place that explains how everyday life in China actually works? Adapt to China grew from that question.
What is Adapt to China?
Adapt to China is a search-based onboarding and local-support layer. It turns scattered information into a next step and connects webpage exceptions to local experience.
The website is designed for people who are preparing to move to China or are still settling in. You can use it to plan a move, work through the first 72 hours, understand payments, transport and Chinese apps through the Daily Life Guides, or use free tools for renting, healthcare, and halal, vegetarian and vegan food. The goal is not to give people more information to read, but to help them identify a practical next step.
The core website and community resources remain free. I check official sources where possible, but local details can change, so important information should still be confirmed before you act.
When a webpage is not enough
A public guide can explain the usual route, but a real situation may depend on your city, timing, a Chinese message, or what a local provider actually says. This is where Personal Support can help.
For task-based help, I now use three clear levels: a Light Task (US$20) for a focused, clearly bounded request; a Standard Task (US$50) when the work needs several checks or provider contacts and a small comparison; and a Complex Task (US$80) for deeper sourcing, screening, repeated verification, or coordination. For normal task work, the scope is confirmed first, 50% is paid to start, and the remaining 50% is due at the agreed delivery / handoff milestone after the customer has had the agreed confirmation window (usually up to 1–2 days where appropriate). House Finding Support is a separate US$80 service for a targeted rental search, local verification, a comparison shortlist, and first-viewing coordination; it starts with US$20 and the remaining US$60 is due after the verified shortlist and handoff are arranged. In Shanghai, I am also testing a deliberately narrow Pet Support service at US$20 / RMB 135 per 60-minute home visit for on-leash dog walking and/or feeding, with full English communication. I have cared for eight cats at home for about three years; the current pet service does not include boarding, cleaning, litter-box cleaning, bathing, grooming, training, or medical care. 7-Day Q&A Support remains US$30 for up to 15 questions over seven days, and one ordinary Chinese phone call remains US$10 for one routine call of up to 15 minutes.
My role is to help clarify the situation, handle a clearly bounded local-service task, search for practical options, explain Chinese context, or communicate one clearly defined request. For task-based support, I complete the agreed search, verification, comparison, or coordination scope; the customer still chooses the provider, and the third-party provider remains responsible for the quality, safety, conduct, and outcome of its own service. I do not make decisions on someone else's behalf, operate their accounts, make payments, sign contracts, or replace medical, legal, financial, visa, tax, or other professional advice. The full service details explain the exact scope.
I scored 7.5 overall in IELTS, speak English fluently, and am a native Chinese speaker. This means I can understand both the question being asked in English and the local context behind a Chinese answer.
In my personal life over the past year, I have interacted with people from more than 30 countries. I am comfortable in international settings and try to approach people with respect, an international outlook, responsibility, and clear boundaries. I also spent one year as a teaching assistant for international students, which made me familiar with the practical difficulties, language gaps, and small uncertainties foreigners often face in China.
I am not a businessman. This service simply gives people another choice when they need a local person to help them figure out a practical solution.
Self-help, mutual support, and local help
Adapt to China is meant to work as one connected support system. The website provides self-help: free guides, checklists, and finders for tasks you can solve independently. The community provides mutual support: newcomers can exchange lived experience, share what worked, and help one another avoid the same mistakes. Personal Support provides local help when Chinese context or one clearly defined conversation is the missing piece.
The community is therefore part of the same story, not a separate product. You can read practical warnings and lessons from other newcomers inside Daily Guides, find the WeChat and Instagram community channels on the home page, or add martinzhong26 on WeChat and say “community group”.
Together, these three layers offer a more complete way to handle everyday difficulties in China: try it yourself, learn from other people, or ask for direct local help when needed.
Why I keep building it
I began without web-development experience, then learned how to build the site, interviewed friends, and turned scattered ideas into something people could actually use. Adapt to China is still researched, written, checked, and maintained by one person, and it continues to change as I learn more about what newcomers genuinely need.
I hope it can become a reliable place where people feel less confused and less alone while adapting to life in China. If it makes even one person's transition a little smoother, the time spent building it has been worthwhile.
If you would like to follow the project as it grows, see new explainers, user research, and community stories, follow @adapttochina on Instagram →
Martin Zhong
Shanghai, China