Before you start

Passport and valid residence permit
A Chinese mobile number in your own name
Work permit, employer letter or student enrolment documents
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
Use a branch near a university or in Xinjiekou
Branches around Gulou, Xianlin and the central Xinjiekou district see foreign customers regularly. Bank of China, ICBC and China Merchants Bank are all workable. Ask a colleague or classmate for the specific branch.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Ask what tier of account you are being given
Chinese banks issue accounts in tiers, with lower tiers carrying tight daily transfer and payment limits. Student and low-documentation accounts are frequently opened at a restricted tier and the limits are not explained. If you will receive a salary or pay rent from the account, ask explicitly for a full-function tier and provide whatever documentation that requires.
In personWho: You
4
Bring the full document set
Passport, residence permit, work permit or enrolment letter, employer or institution letter, lease, registration slip, phone number. One missing item costs a whole appointment.
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, canteens, market stalls and 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 money abroad requires evidence of the income and any tax paid on it. Keep contracts, payslips, scholarship letters and tax filings from the start.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

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

Things most newcomers don’t know

Chinese accounts come in tiers, and a student account is often the restricted one.

Banks classify personal accounts into tiers with different daily transfer and payment ceilings, and an account opened quickly with minimal documentation — as student accounts often are during university onboarding — can carry limits low enough to block a rent payment. The limits are rarely explained at opening and the fix is a branch visit with fuller documentation. If you later start working, upgrading the account is a separate errand nobody prompts you to run.

Source: People's Bank of China

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.

Source: People's Bank of China

Foreign cards in Alipay go further in a cheap city than in an expensive one.

The payment-convenience reforms allow international cards up to USD 5,000 per transaction and USD 50,000 cumulatively per year after verification. In Nanjing, where a deposit plus three months' rent on a central one-bed may total well under the single-transaction cap, the foreign card is a genuinely workable bridge for your first weeks — considerably more so 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 income abroad requires proof of the income and any tax paid on it. Contracts, payslips, scholarship award letters and tax reconciliation records are the enabling documents and they need to exist as you go. Students and researchers with scholarship income are particularly likely to have thin documentation and find out at the worst moment.

Source: State Administration of Foreign Exchange

Common mistakes to avoid

Accepting a restricted-tier student account and finding you cannot pay rent from it.
Attempting the account before you have a Chinese mobile number.
Not updating the bank after a passport renewal.
Going to a branch that has never onboarded a foreign customer.
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.