Santa Fe A/S : Moving to China – The Impact of WeChat on the Daily Life

Posted: 14/08/2017 Author: Santa Fe Relocation

When moving across the globe, especially to somewhere like China, one concern is how you are going to keep in touch with all the new people you meet. How will you find out about local events and how will you migrate into the local culture. In these days, media is the best option. China's media is slightly different to the rest of the world.

It's no secret that China's media is quickly catching up to and even overtaking that of the rest of the world, and if you're planning on moving to China it's worth keeping up. Google is being crept up to by Baidu, YouTube by YouKu, Twitter by Weibo, and beyond. But perhaps the biggest rival of all of these put together is messaging app WeChat. How does a messaging app rival the likes of Facebook and Twitter, you ask? Well, that would be because WeChat is so much more than just a messaging app. A more accurate description might be a Social Media, Messaging and Gaming hybrid.

WeChat has taken China by storm, with over 938million monthly users and availability on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone and more, and it really isn't hard to see why. WeChat is a single app that is filled to the brim with features. With messaging, video call, voice call, emoticons and stickers, gaming, geolocation searching (Shake), QR coding and capture, a social media feature, brand channels and mobile commerce, this single app really does it all and couldn't be a better aid for your move.

Social Media

WeChat's social media features fill a gap where China lacks access to Facebook. With the social media site banned, WeChat is easily China's main and most heavily used social media application and it's definitely worth considering as you move. The 'Moments' feature is like a mix of Facebook and Twitter all rolled into one. Users can post statuses and up to nine photos at any one time, but the benefits don't stop there. WeChat has better, more effective security and privacy settings than that of any social media site. Your contacts list cannot be seen by others, and any updates you make can only be seen by friends that you have verified. Any interactions can only be seen by those on the contacts list of the person posting the comment, creating an ultimate level of intimacy and privacy.

Another social feature that WeChat has is their 'Shake' feature. A geolocation searching feature, it does exactly what it says on the box. You switch it on, shake your phone, and the app will connect you to someone else in the world who is also shaking their phone in that moment. It's a whole new, fun way to connect to new people, and all through a single app.

Mobile Commerce

WeChat's use of mobile commerce is ground-breaking, and probably the easiest and most convenient money-related application you could download for you move to China. Ahead of even America, WeChat has been using payment features on their app since 2013, where they could send monetary gifts, transfer money to their contacts or businesses, or even pay bills. The 'Wallet' section of the app allows the user to top up their phone, transfer money, use QQ coins, pay utilities, public services, card repay, send 'red packets' (monetary gifts) and even donate to charity or split the bill at a restaurant. WeChat's Go Dutch feature not only helps you to pay exactly what you owe for a split bill, but will also do all of the maths for you to calculate the exact amount.

This feature is still growing. With vending machines even popping up all over China that can be used with the WeChat app, the whole process of spending and money transfer in China has taken on a whole new life. Having access to all of these features in a single app is revolutionary, and it's no wonder that the app is growing in popularity not just in China, but also worldwide.

For more information on WeChat or your move to China, please don't hesitate to get in touch.