The Essential Cell Phone
It would be difficult to exaggerate the popularity of cell phones in China. In February of 2007 6.8 million new subscribers got cell phones; in March 6.7 million. As of late May 2007 almost 40% of Chinese own a cell phone, and the number of subscribers is expected to hit 500 million by the end of June 2007 (1). Not only that, but there may be more active cell phones than there are subscribers, as it's not uncommon for people to have more than one cell phone in order to take advantage of different rates on different providers. When you arrive in China, one of your first priorities should be getting a cell phone.
Cell phones are quite inexpensive and easy to use in China. Even the cheapest models should have both English and Chinese language interfaces, though of course you should confirm this before you purchase the phone. The cheapest models can be purchased for as little as US$30, and SIM cards can be purchased for 50 RMB (more auspicious phone numbers cost more). Minutes can be added to a SIM card by purchasing a phone card (generally in increments of 50 RMB) from a vendor; calling an automated service, which has instructions in both Mandarin and English; and entering the PIN printed on the card. For China Mobile rates are .60 RMB a minute to talk and .10 RMB to send an SMS, with no cost to receive an SMS. There are too many other, smaller service providers to list them all, but rates are generally comparable.
Monthly plans are also available, though you must sign a long term contract to get the best rates. The way these work can be slightly confusing for Westerners used to receiving an itemized bill. For example, you may elect to pay 20 RMB a month for unlimited incoming calls, with outgoing calls and SMS at the normal rates on top of that sum. After you sign the contract, you add money to your phone in the usual way, with phone cards purchased from vendors. Each month, 20 RMB is deducted from the total that you add to your phone. So, if you add 100 RMB to your phone each month, you will actually have only 80 RMB at your disposal after the flat rate for incoming calls is deducted. If you would like an itemized bill it is possible to print one for your phone number from the China Mobile website, but to do this you must be able to read Chinese.
Especially for non-Chinese speakers, it's enormously helpful if your cell phone has the ability to receive Chinese text. Even if you yourself do not read Chinese, a cell phone that can receive Chinese text messages is a quick and easy tool for communicating with cab drivers. You can ask your friends to help you by sending you the address of where ever you're meeting them for dinner or the like, and then you can simply show the text message to your cab driver. An address in pinyin will not work for this purpose so Chinese text support is essential.
A major difference in the way Chinese people use their cell phones as compared to the way they're used in the West is voice-mail. Chinese people virtually never have voice-mail on their phones, and should you bother to set up voice-mail on your own cell phone, do not expect anyone to leave you any messages. Actually this is as true on landlines, both professional and personal, as it is on cell phones. Chinese people simply don't like to leave voice messages; for whatever reason they're much more comfortable with SMS and other written forms of message leaving (2).
Another major difference to keep in mind is the difference in cell phone etiquette. Chinese people don't consider it rude to answer a cell phone at any time, whether they're interrupting a conversation, a dinner, a class they might be teaching, or even an important business meeting. If the phone rings, they answer it, and those who sit waiting for them to finish their conversation are not in the least offended by the wait.
