Chinese Mobile Luck Decoded

Most foreigners who are interested in China enough to come visit the country, or, their local Chinatown, understand the importance of the lucky number 8, but most in China will still be baffled with the sheer monetary and emotional efforts invested in quest of the perfect mobile number, and how a string of seemingly randomly auspicious numbers that are impossible for your average Laowai ("Old foreigner") to remember makes perfect sense to the average Chinese. Here is your quick guide to decoding the secret L factor in Chinese mobile number.

First, understand that Chinese numbers usually sound like other words and you can construct sentences out of them. To group the digits, let's call them lucky numbers vs. filler numbers:

Lucky Numbers: 8 (prosperity), 3 (birth/promotion), 9 (longevity), 7 (universal lucky number)  or even the dreaded Western 6 (smooth success), and at all cost avoid 4 (death).

Filler Numbers: These are the verbs and/or subjects: 1 (Will/Shall), 5 (I/Me), 2(Children/ Son), 7 (Can be a lucky number, or it can mean Wife in Chinese), 0 (Clever/Effective/Wishes come true), 17 (Together) 18 (Will prosper) 95 (Only me), etc, etc

The mission, should you accepted it or not, is always to find a new mobile number that is sufficiently affluent and affordable. Many of them have been already pre-purchased by some enterprising companies, only to be resold to you at the price of YOUR superstitions. The more lucky numbers it contains, the more expensive your mobile number will get - and they can start as low as 10 RMB (About 1.6 USD) and go up astronomically. 

Example: One of the most expensive numbers with a listed price I saw was 138 1158 8888, which loosely translates to "Will be promoted and prosperous, will will I prosper, prosper prosper prosper prosper". It's so tongue-twisting, you could whip this string into a money spell and teach it at Hogwarts.

How much does this much luck cost you? 450,000 RMB - yup, 70K USD to bid for that number. If you have that much dough for your digits, you have probably already, well, prospered prospered prospered prospered.

Drink and Thou Shall Prosper

Shanghai Life: Get Your Mobile On

One thing I love about rapidly developing countries is the vast mobile infrastructure and widespread connectivity. Almost everyone who is old enough to graduate from kindergarten is eligible to carry a mobile phone in China.The coverage is good and most foreigners will be immediately connected to a Chinese network upon landing at Pudong airport, (hello "CMCC") where you can call-and-be-called at obscene rates (as compared to China local rates) charged by your favorite mobile company at home. First thing first - on my recon trip to Shanghai, I got my first Chinese mobile phone.

Phone + SIM: These two can be obtained in various ways. Go to any China Mobile or China Unicom retailers, most newsstands, convenience stores, phone shops, or even shady-looking street-corner person-with-a-stool with lots of numbers written on a chalk board. A cheap mobile handset can be bought from 200 RMB up, a prepaid SIM card probably will cost $50-60 RMB up - the price largely depends on whether you pick a lucky number. (See explanation below) Since Chinese people are entrepreneurial in nature, the luckiest numbers can cost anywhere from 500 RMB to 1 million  RMB or even more (yes you read that right!)

SIM Only: If you have an unlocked mobile phone, feel free to buy a SIM card only and use it. Chinese networks are on GSM and supports dual bands (900/1800). It should work.

Chinese Mobile Numbers Decoded: Chinese mobile numbers comes in the 3-4-4 format with 11 digits, which seem to beat the memory capacity of your average foreigner. However, if you look closely, the first 3 is determined by the region and mobile company, such as 133, 134, 135, etc. Then you can play with the rest. However, you can select your number either at the local mobile retail offices or online at places like Xuanhao.com (Literally, "pick a number.com") where your lucky number is pre-purchased and resold.

If you are a lazy, oops I mean efficient, ex-foreign resident, just use the first 3 digits then add your 8 digits home mobile if you are from London, or use 1330, 1340, etc, then add the 7 digit home mobile if you are from the US. For Chinese, the matter gets complicated due to luck factors, and it deserves another blog.

Personal Experience in quest for mobile: 

Bombshell Move: Picked up a SIM card on Xuanhao.com before landing in China which didn't cost me more than a regular Chinese dinner out and made me feel 2x better as a superstitious Chinese, and 5x better when I gave this number to my superstitious Chinese family, relatives and friends. :) Then, went to a street corner shady stand and picked up a refill ticket worth 100 RMB. Popped it into my unlocked Android phone, viola - worked!

Blunder Moment: Picked up an IP card from another cigarette stand to make international calls and paid the face value - 100 RMB, which contains full 100 RMB worth of minutes. My Shanghainese auntie looked horrified and told me I should have negotiated and NEVER pay face value on the street. She claims it should only cost me 50-60 RMB and I should never be let out on the street alone again. Lesson learned.

Sausages, Scorpions, or SIM, Sir?

Shanghai Impressions Part One - Language

One thing that makes my transition to Shanghai easier than most is that I have a Shanghainese mother. Having visited the city numerous times before and somewhat understanding the local culture gave me huge relief in settling in, though one can also argue that the "expectations" for my integration into the local culture is much higher. So, what are some of my first impressions of Shanghai? I can certainly think of a few.

Language

Mandarin is the official language in Shanghai for business. However, the Shanghainese dialect is largely favored by the locals as a preferred tongue for interpersonal use. The difference between the two is similar to German to Swedish, and to untrained Mandarin ears, about 15% comprehensible.

You hear Shanghainese in the office, on the metro, in the neighborhood, on the sidewalk... The locals are not at all abashed, if not downright proud, of speaking it in the face of non-locals,  and taking refuge in the fact you won't understand 85% of what they are saying. I've personally encountered it a few times with curious neighbors pointing at me babbling in Shanghainese while my relatives are taking me on a walk, and the two will have a happy quick convo about who I was, why I was here (I understood a few words here and there) without explaining to me anything in Mandarin. Get used to it - to the Shanghainese, all non-locals, Chinese or Foreign, are equal when it comes to being judged, described and explained with or without your acknowledgement. No offense is meant - or at least, you can't be hurt by what you don't know, literally. :)

How important is learning Shanghainese? For foreigners, not very important other than grasping a few common phrases as a sign of respect, and easy way of gaining favors from the locals. For Chinese, most non-locals living in Shanghai have attempted an aural comprehension of the dialect without oral fluency - it's easier to mix in if you can understand the flow of the daily convo and lunch-time small-talks without your peers constantly explaining. Nonetheless, most non-local Chinese do not attempt to actually SPEAK it unless they are spot-on with the accent - while foreigners (by which I mean, if you don't look Chinese) attempting Shanghainese can be interpreted as "ohh...cute", non-local Chinese speaking bad Shanghainese is seen as awkward as a New Yorker speaking funny Texan.

Personally speaking... Well, to my Shanghainese mom, learning Shanghainese is key to my survival as she is convinced 100% as a local that if I didn't speak Shanghainese fast I would be ripped off, alienated, gawked upon, discriminated against, losing her face, and shaming my ancestors, among other bad things, e.g. my veggies at the markets will be twice as high and my rent will be 20% more. (Kidding! I'm kidding!... but paying more than others is living horror to any Shanghainese :) ) Oh well, as I struggle through my breakfast crash-course enforced by mom daily, I am too hoping for a swift and soft landing.

Shanghainese vs. Mandarin: It's like a chicken talking to a duck

A Turtle Above the Sea

Shanghai, or in Chinese, 上海， literally means "Above the Sea" in Chinese, is not only the largest city in China by population, but also the largest city proper in the world by the same measure. A busy and bustling city situated at the Yangtze River delta, it is also going to be my new home.

The term "Sea Turtle", or 海龟／ 海归, which sounds like "returner from the sea", is a Chinese phrase to describe overseas Chinese or overseas-educated Chinese who opt to return to China to either work or settle. While my personal mission is not crossing the oceans to literally crawl back on shore, dig in the sand and lay eggs... (Can't seem to get the National Geographic documentary I saw on Netflix out of my mind... National Geographic can sometimes be quite, you know, graphic) it's not a far-fetched metaphor for my professional aspirations.


What will this blog be? While mostly a personal journal to document my returner life across the Pacific and blunders / bombshells in re-adjusting to the Chinese daily life, I'm hoping that my rants and musings can serve as a sounding board for those sharing the same path.

So here we go, it's Year of the Dragon, one must dream big and bold. 1-2-3, the paddling begins.

Staying in the current