I’m trying to cancel my China Mobile broadband subscription.

• I call China Mobile and I tell them I want to cancel, they say “sure, done!”
• One day later I get a call back: “You wanted to cancel broadband? You need to give back the router and modem back to cancel.”
• I learn that I can just go to any China Mobile store to return the devices.
• So I go to a random store and the owner tells me no, you need to go to another one in Chuansha.
• Go there, they say “You got two broadband addresses on this subscription, you need to go to the first one in Putuo District.”
• So I drive one hour to Putuo, and there after waiting in the queue, they say: “OK you can cancel one, the other you need to go into Pudong.”
• So I drive back to exactly the same store in Chuansha, and I’m finally done with this.

It’s the same trying to legalize some documents and trying to find your way in the maze. Applying for things like my working visa would take several trips to the Government Service Center (政服务中心), because there’s no clear documentation and the only way is by trial-and-error. Take a number and wait until you’re at the service counter, and see which documents are missing.

The same ‘from pillar to post’ thing for registering other legal documents. But I’ve learned that you just got to do the grind and go to the 派出所 (police station), then to the Community Service Center (事务受理服务中心) and learn about where to go step by step, rather than expecting everything to be over.

Often, when I went to a place and left empty-handed (besides some newly gained knowledge), I’ll go to a nearby supermarket and buy some peanuts or eggs, so at least I feel I didn’t go for totally nothing.

There are also issues with language. I can read Mandarin but sometimes I’ll get sloppy. I looked for baby vitamins and saw a brand I wanted, but then bought the one for the wrong age because the packaging looked identical. I bought a Nintendo Switch game but then the seller said it won’t be added to my account; I would need to use his account to play it. I often buy the wrong batteries because in China they’re named #7 or #5 rather, than AAA and AA

I bought shoes on Jingdong京东, and in one day the fabric came loose, but I couldn’t apply for a refund because you need a Chinese ID (身份证), nor could I let someone else do that because the shoes were purchased on my passport. ⁠My hotel reservation gets cancelled because they say they cannot accept foreigners. Police knocks on the door to see if I really live where I registered my address.

In 2018, I was preparing the documents to move to China, and it was such a huge list of degrees, medical reports, invitation letters, work experience proof, and other forms. And most of these you couldn’t just print out — but had to get them translated, stamped, and apostilled. And back then there wasn’t a clear guide for this, at least I couldn’t find it. You stitch together your information from Reddit, forums and friends. But I’m glad I kept grinding at it, because it’s all been worth it.

I see this all just as an expat tax — inherent to living in a new country. I’m exploring a new culture, nature, and towns, as well as all this paperwork. And given this fantastic adventure, it’s only a small price to pay.