Before you start

Passport, and usually a residence permit or valid visa
A Qingdao address for broadband
An unlocked handset
A payment method for top-ups

Step-by-step

1
Get the SIM on day one
Any China Mobile, Unicom or Telecom shop issues one against your passport under real-name registration. Prepaid data plans are cheap. Do this before the bank and before flat viewings.
In personWho: YouDay 1
2
Register it in your own name, not the company's
An employer-registered number takes your bank verification and payment wallets with it when you change jobs. One extra shop visit removes the whole problem.
In personWho: You
3
Order broadband and check the building first
Chinese fibre is fast and cheap; installation depends on the building's wiring and landlord cooperation. Taking over an existing live line is far quicker than a new install — ask at the viewing.
In personWho: You1–2 weeks
4
Ask your employer how it reaches the parent company's systems
For a Korean, Japanese or European manufacturer, the ERP, quality and design systems that run the plant sit abroad, and so do the messaging apps your colleagues use. Every established multinational here has a corporate arrangement. Ask what it covers and whether it extends beyond the office.
Via employerWho: YouBefore accepting
5
Sort out access to personal accounts before you fly
Email, password manager, authenticator, banking. Set the arrangement up and test it while you still have unrestricted access.
OnlineWho: YouBefore departure
6
Install the apps the city runs on
WeChat for social and much that is official, Alipay for payments and city services, Amap or Baidu Maps for navigation, DiDi for taxis, Meituan and Ele.me for delivery. Google Maps does not work in mainland China.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Residence permit or valid visa
Qingdao address for broadband
Payment method for top-ups

Things most newcomers don’t know

KakaoTalk and LINE are unreliable here, which is a specific problem in a Korean and Japanese business city.

The mainland network environment affects foreign messaging services, and Korean and Japanese teams in Qingdao routinely find that the app their head office uses does not work well from here. The practical consequence is that even Korean-managed plants end up running their China-side communication on WeChat, and that your family and friends at home may need to move too. It is a small thing that shapes daily life more than people expect.

Source: community-reported

In a multinational plant, connectivity is a corporate arrangement rather than a personal improvisation.

Qingdao's foreign employment is concentrated in manufacturing operations whose ERP, quality and design systems live on a parent company's network abroad. Every established multinational here has solved this because the plant cannot run otherwise. That makes it an easy and normal question to ask at offer stage — and the answer tells you whether the arrangement reaches your laptop at home, which is the part that affects your evenings.

Source: community-reported

The Chinese phone number is the root of your identity, and losing it is expensive.

Real-name registration binds the number to your passport, and from there it becomes the verification anchor for your bank, Alipay, WeChat Pay, hospital bookings, delivery apps and often your compound's door access. Re-establishing it after a lapse means redoing the registration and re-verifying every downstream service. Keep it topped up through long absences.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Google Maps does not work, which matters on a coastline with two bay crossings.

China mandates a coordinate offset on published mapping data and Google's mainland base data is poor and misaligned. Amap and Baidu Maps are accurate, integrate with the metro and DiDi, and — importantly in Qingdao — give live traffic on the Jiaozhou Bay bridge and tunnel, which is the difference between a thirty-minute crossing and a two-hour one.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the employer register your SIM in the company's name.
Assuming KakaoTalk or LINE will work reliably from the mainland.
Accepting a plant role without asking how the parent company's systems are reached.
Leaving two-factor authentication on a home number you then let lapse.
Relying on Google Maps for live traffic on the bay crossings.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.