Before you start

Passport and valid residence permit
A Chinese mobile number in your own name
Work permit or employer letter
Proof of address and the temporary residence registration slip

Step-by-step

1
Get the SIM before you try the bank
Account opening requires SMS verification to a Chinese number, and the number requires real-name registration against your passport. The order cannot be reversed.
In personWho: YouDay 1–2
2
Go to a branch that has done this before
In Chengdu this is the single most important variable. Branches in the Wuhou consular district, around the Gaoxin high-tech zone and near the international schools handle foreign customers; a neighbourhood branch may genuinely never have. Ask a colleague for the specific branch and, ideally, the specific member of staff.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Bring far more paperwork than the list requires
Passport, residence permit, work permit, employer letter, lease, registration slip, phone number. Where staff are less familiar with the procedure they tend to ask for everything, and being sent away costs a whole appointment.
In personWho: You
4
Take a Mandarin-speaking colleague
English-language service at bank counters is far less available here than in Shanghai or Shenzhen. An hour of a colleague's time turns a difficult morning into a straightforward one, and this is a normal favour to ask in a Chengdu office.
In personWho: You
5
Link the card to Alipay and WeChat Pay the same day
This is what makes the account usable. The metro, shared bikes, teahouses, market stalls and your utility bills all expect the phone rather than a card.
Mobile appWho: YouSame day
6
Learn the outbound currency rules early
China operates capital controls with an annual individual conversion quota, and remitting salary abroad requires evidence of the income and the tax paid on it. Keep contracts, payslips and tax filings from the start.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Residence permit
Chinese mobile number in your name
Work permit or employer letter
Lease and temporary residence registration slip

Things most newcomers don’t know

In a second-tier city, the branch matters far more than the bank.

National rules leave discretion to branches, and how a branch exercises it depends on how often it has onboarded a foreign resident. In Shanghai almost every central branch has; in Chengdu, many have not, and an unfamiliar counter will default to refusing rather than risk an error. This is not obstruction — it is unfamiliarity, and it is entirely solved by going to a branch a colleague has personally used. It is the highest-leverage piece of practical advice for banking anywhere in western China.

Source: community-reported

Real-name registration binds SIM, bank and wallet, and a passport renewal breaks all three.

Your Chinese number, bank account and payment wallets are registered against your passport number and cross-referenced. Renewing the passport changes that number and each needs updating separately. People find out weeks later when a payment fails or the account is frozen. Do all three in the week you collect the new document — and note that in Chengdu the passport renewal itself may involve a trip to Beijing if you are American.

Source: People's Bank of China

Foreign cards in Alipay cover daily life and stop where it matters.

The payment-convenience reforms allow international cards up to USD 5,000 per transaction and USD 50,000 cumulatively per year after verification. In Chengdu, where rents are low, a deposit plus three months' rent may actually fit inside the cap — which makes the foreign card a more workable bridge here than in Shanghai. It is still not a substitute for a local account for salary and utilities.

Source: People's Bank of China payment guidance

Getting money out of China is documentary, not technical.

Individuals face an annual foreign exchange conversion quota, and remitting salary abroad requires proof of income and of tax paid on it. Your employment contract, payslips and annual tax reconciliation are the enabling documents and they need to exist as you go. Waiting until departure to move several years of savings is how people find the process slow or blocked.

Source: State Administration of Foreign Exchange

Common mistakes to avoid

Walking into a neighbourhood branch that has never onboarded a foreign customer.
Attempting the account before you have a Chinese mobile number.
Going alone when an hour of a Mandarin-speaking colleague's time would halve the difficulty.
Not updating the bank after a passport renewal.
Leaving all outbound transfers to the month you depart.

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