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 first
Account opening requires SMS verification to a Chinese number, and the number requires real-name registration against your passport. There is no way to reverse the order.
In personWho: YouDay 1–2
2
Choose a branch used to foreign customers
Branches in Shekou, Futian CBD and Nanshan handle foreign residents constantly. Bank of China, China Merchants Bank — headquartered here — ICBC and the mainland arms of HSBC and Standard Chartered are all workable. Ask a colleague for the specific branch.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
3
Bring everything
Passport, residence permit, work permit, employer letter, lease, registration slip, phone number. One missing item costs an entire appointment.
In personWho: You
4
Link to Alipay and WeChat Pay the same day
This is what makes the account usable. The metro, shared bikes, hospital bookings and your electricity bill all run through the phone rather than a card.
Mobile appWho: YouSame day
5
Consider a Hong Kong account as well
Many Shenzhen residents keep a Hong Kong account for unrestricted international transfers and for holding foreign currency. Hong Kong banks have tightened onboarding considerably and generally want proof of a genuine connection to Hong Kong plus a personal visit — it is achievable, not automatic, and worth researching before you assume.
In personWho: You
6
Learn the outbound currency rules early
Mainland 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

The border makes Shenzhen the one mainland city with an easy second banking option — but Hong Kong onboarding has tightened.

A Hong Kong account gives you unrestricted international transfers, multi-currency holdings and access to services blocked on the mainland, and it is forty minutes away. What has changed is that Hong Kong banks now apply much stricter onboarding to non-residents: expect a personal visit, proof of address, proof of income, and questions about your genuine connection to Hong Kong. It is a project rather than an errand, and it is easier while you are employed than after you leave.

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 of the three needs updating separately. People discover this weeks later when a payment fails or an account is frozen. Do all three in the week you collect the new passport.

Source: People's Bank of China

Foreign cards in Alipay cover daily life and fail at the amounts that matter.

The payment-convenience reforms allow international cards up to USD 5,000 per transaction and USD 50,000 cumulatively per year after verification. Coffee, taxis and groceries are solved. A rental deposit plus three months' rent in Nanshan can approach the single-transaction cap in one payment. Treat the foreign card as a bridge for your first fortnight, not a substitute for the local account.

Source: People's Bank of China payment guidance

Getting money out of mainland China is a documentary problem, not a banking one.

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

Source: State Administration of Foreign Exchange