Author: stlplace

Categories
Fun Life Tips Saint Louis

The swimming pools size at the JCC St. Louis

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I am mostly talking about the length for lap swimming

Creve Coeur

Indoor

Recreational pool (warm water, temp probably slightly above 84F): 20 yards

Lap pool (warm water, temperature is probably at 80F): 25 yards

Outdoor

They have two kinds of setups for the lap swimming

Shorter: about 25 yards

Longer: about 25 meters (about 27.43 yards)

Those numbers are a bit trickier because they are not standard. And I got it from my own try and error, via my Apple watch. I assume Apple watch is measuring the pool length correctly.

Refer to the official length

Chesterfield

Indoor

Warm water, temp 84F, 25 yards

Outdoor

Need some confirmation as I haven’t been there for a long time.

(Update 06-24-2025)

Today (this evening) it was a bit usual because a boy approached me and asked whether I speak English. I said yes, and he asked if I could teach him to swim. It looks like he can swim to some extent. I showed him and his friend how to breeze via mouth above the water. Also, the very basics of breaststroke. The boy is 11, his friend is 9 and the boy’s big sister is 12. They all know some swimming or can swim some: but they seem have not taken formal swimming lessons at the J or somewhere equivalent.

I never in my life would think I would teach kids swimming. I never taught my own kids. I did teach my wife a bit re: breathing or blow the water (suck in air and leave the water out via mouth). I don’t mind teaching kids one a while, but if every time I go to lap swimming, and I could not find an empty or semi-empty lap, I may have 2nd thoughts on this.

(Update 06-25-2025)

I am continuing adjusting the length of the pool on my Apple Watch. Today I set it to 31 yards. This thing puzzles me a bit: if the Apple watch can measure my swimming distance, why it needs the pool length. It seems it’s using the pool length to do some kind of calibration, so that it could come up a nice round number for the total swimming distance.

Categories
Saint Louis uber-and-side-hustle

I want to give money to you rather than giving it to the casino

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Back to Uber Driving

I took a long break and now I am back. I was back driving for Uber on still fairly limited basis, after my CHN trip. And today is Sunday, and I am happy to report I am doing reasonable well this week. The most import thing among it all (in addition to the extra income generated), is to be happy. And I am happy to report that I am happy now.

This morning I have an slightly unusual encounter with a passenger (let me call me S). I picked up the gentleman S in south county near the Mercy South Hospital, and he was using the walker. I assume he is old (meaning old as my dad, who is in early 80s). To be surprise he is only 61 🙁

Alcohol Use Disorder

He told me he left his car at the casino last night, and now he is going back to retrieve his car. The reason he left his car there was he was intoxicated (drunk) last night at the casino. I think he is a person with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Google: what do we call people who failed to quite alcohol

I helped his walker, and he can walk without the walker, although quite slowly. In the end, he gave me $5 tip in cash. We talked a bit during the trip, and I told him if money is tight, don’t worry about the tip. He said: I want give money to you rather than giving it to the casino. He drunk too much last night, lost some money and had to leave his car at the casino parking lot as he was intoxicated. Now he is going back to get his car.

He also told me about “One is too many, twenty is too little” – refer to google search and explanation here (I copied below from the google search => Search Labs | AI Overview):

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The phrase “One is too many, twenty is too little” is a common saying that highlights the nature of addiction, particularly to alcohol. It describes the experience of someone with an addiction where even a single instance of the substance (like alcohol) is considered too much, and yet, no amount of the substance is ever enough to fully satisfy the craving. This phrase captures the idea of a downward spiral associated with addiction, where the individual’s tolerance increases while the satisfaction decreases. Here’s a more detailed explanation: 

  • “One is too many”:This part emphasizes that for someone with a substance use disorder, even a single instance of consuming the substance can trigger a cascade of negative consequences. It suggests that the individual has lost control over their consumption and any amount can lead to problems.
  • “Twenty is too little”:This part highlights the insatiable nature of addiction. The individual may consume a large amount of the substance (20 drinks in this case), yet still feel a void or craving that is not satisfied. The tolerance of the individual has increased, and the substance no longer provides the desired effect.

This phrase is often used to describe addiction to alcohol, but it can be applied to other substances or even behaviors as well. It serves as a stark reminder of the destructive nature of addiction and the importance of seeking help for those struggling with it. 

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Other background with this gentleman

He told me he got accounting degree from the Mizzou (University of Missouri at Columbia). I think it was 1987. He worked and lived at Myrtle Beach SC: I first learned about Myrtle Beach from this video about 6 months ago. He also said he separated from his wife for about 5 years. Looking to quit alcohol, he came back to St. Louis where he attended Hazelwood Central High School. Note St. Louis is a town with less party (or drinking) atmosphere than Myrtle Beach. He also intended to take care of his aging parents in early 90s. But the alcohol issue alone sunk the whole plan 🙁

Picking up my next customer

Next ride is from Holly Hills to Ikea.

I gave $2 during my next trip to a guy who was peddling in a traffic light.

Btw, I saw very impressive buildings at Holly Hills (could be Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, could be anything else too), St. Louis between dropping off S and pick up my last passenger this morning.

Uber Rider App

I saw it on the car (the ride I took on 05/31/25 early morning from home to STL airport). And I just did a google search: uber driver provides ipad mini – Google Search 

I am guessing the driver is using this one Interactive tablets for Uber and Lyft drivers – Play Octopus “Drivers qualify for a free Octopus tablet if they are regularly driving rideshare trips. We ask that our drivers average more than 100 trips per month and have driven for at least two months.”

I would not be able to qualify because I drove 204 trips in about 8 months so far.

Drinking cultures in Asia

Recently I talked to a teacher at the Ladue School and we talked about the drinking culture in Japan 🙁

As I recall the drinking culture in China when I grew up was not good – especially if we use today’s social standards or knowledge and science. You can refer to this blog post I wrote in year 2022 – Alcohol. I am happy to report that I did give up hard liquor (whiskey) recently. I still drink a bit beer or wine (both white and red) from time to time 🙁

Bonus readings (ordered chronically)

Drove for Uber the 1st time – 我在美国开优步

More Uber driving and tips I learned

Uber driving tips

More Uber Driving Tips

Categories
Business

Upgraded Netflix Subscription, streaming

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I started keep track of my monthly subscription on various things. Here is the google sheet for that. It’s $231.11 total per month. I also pasted below.

Subscriptionmonthly cost (updated 06-21-25)
Netlfix$17.99
Hulu, Disney ad tier$3.99
panera sip club$10.00
apple news$12.99
apple icloud$3.98
google drive$1.67
youtube$22.99
Peacock TV$6.67
AT&T$70
Medium$4.17
Strava$6.67
mint mobile$55
Amazon Prime15
subtoal$231.11
Xu household digital subscriptions cost – year 2025

Also, last night (or this morning to be precise) I noticed since I downgraded my Netflix subscription a few month ago to a Ad-support plan $7.99 a month, and I happened to watch the Virgin River show last night as I could not fell asleep. And I really disliked the interruption of the ads. So I went ahead and switched back to the standard plan $17.99 a month. Besides no Ads, it also allows more screens or allows for popup screen on iPhone.

Streaming

I noticed this stat from the newsletter from Morning Brew, and I will copy a bit below.

Prime number: Streaming overtakes broadcast + cable (this is the subject)

All those Hot Ones interviews you watch while muted and off-camera during companywide calls are adding up. For the first time ever, more Americans watch streaming services on TV than broadcast and cable combined, per the latest Nielsen data:

As of May, streaming accounted for 45% of all TV viewing, while broadcast + cable represented 44%.
When Nielsen started measuring in 2021, streaming made up only 26% of TV time, while traditional TV dominated at nearly two-thirds.


The popularity of streaming among the youths is well documented, but this latest surge away from regular TV and toward free, ad-supported apps like YouTube and Tubi is driven by the elders. The fastest-growing cohort watching YouTube on a TV set is viewers over the age of 65, the New York Times reported.—AE

Categories
Business Saint Louis

A cruise company I never heard about before

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I happened to meet the controller of the company yesterday evening. It’s a charter cruise company with a focus on music theme: jazz and country music in particular. The business is booming, apparently, America minted 1,000 millionaires a day in 2024 and it’s not slowing down helps too. I mean the older people, their main customer groups, are getting richer and richer 🙂

Also, this again reinforced my impression on the 行业细分 in the USA. I know there are large cruise companies such as Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, or Disney branded cruise etc. But this charter music cruise brings the specialty to another level. The mentioned cruise company (see below) has zero debt, and they survived the pandemic with 2 years of no cruise 🙂

Zero debt is a luxury and it’s something I am looking forward to see as well 🙂

LinkedIn: Signature Cruise Experiences

Official website

Portfolio website

Also Reddit: Best cruise lines for music

Categories
Music

Why some songs get popular while others don’t

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Or put it in another way, why some singers break out (to become superstars), while others don’t? I am just asking a legit question. Note I am not music major. But I watched quite a bit music videos recently, and sometimes I wonder this question in the title.

I think one important factor is famous lyricist/singer.

For example, this one, 當時的月亮 (KKBOX), personally I like Ayen何璟昕 當時的月亮 – 王菲 Acoustic cover a lot. I noticed the lyricist is Lin Xi 林夕。 But honestly I still don’t understand much about the song. This is even after reading the explanation at Baidu. Quote some:

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《当时的月亮》可说是一剂降温的凉茶，免得听者未完成半张唱片便兴奋得爆炸。词意上不但延续《开到荼蘼》的不外如此世界观，更回应邓丽君的《月亮代表我的心》。即使“当时的月亮，曾经代表谁的心，结果都一样”。《当时的月亮》那淡淡的清凉，跟《过眼云烟》的寒气迫人，是两种绝对不同的感受。前者是甚么都无所谓的姿态，“当时如果没有甚么，当时如果拥有甚么，又会怎样。”。后者着力营造出凄凉的感觉，带点决绝地谈到解释、权利和义务，结尾一句“都是眷恋才让爱情危险”，说明自己不再眷恋的立场。

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Other 小众歌 examples

at17 —- Lost In L.A. (Original) || (Ayen cover) 安利一首小众好听粤语歌#2《Lost In L.A》cover at17

Many other Ayen cover songs, e.g., Leslie Chueng’s songs

叨叨冯： 平庸的音乐，优秀的配乐：《周处除三害》插曲《新造的人》为啥洗脑？ (this reminds me almost the same thing in the US politics, and US consumers)

Also by 叨叨冯:【会员专享】第72期：如果音乐行业存在金字塔，塔底的人是如何生存的？(member only, membership starts at $2.99 a month)

A related question is why some singers got famous while other good singers didn’t get famous: assume their singing skills are comparable.

PS: actually, today I talked to my 15-year-old daughter about “why some pop music stars or singers” break out and become famous. And her comment is both interesting and to the point: basically, she mentioned luck. This seems to be the case for singer such as Sandy Lam.

PS:

伍珂玥父親身份曝光！家庭背景太驚人，難怪那么多導師力挺伍珂玥，也只有金星敢說出真相！網友：這樣我們有了答案了！娛樂名星 (since this is a somewhat critical video, I would caution and listen/watch it with a grain of salt).

Also – 周笔畅 (Wikipedia) – quoted below, please note I didn’t mean to pick on her.

1985年，周笔畅出生于湖南长沙的一个音乐世家，其曾外叔公是第一任中国音乐家协会主席吕骥，外公外婆和妈妈都从事音乐或音乐教育工作，而爸爸也是音乐爱好者。周笔畅的父母希望她长大后能成为作家或记者，所以给她取名“笔畅”，寓意“文笔流畅”。

她6岁跟随父母定居广东省深圳市。[19]她曾就读园岭小学、岗厦小学、福华小学及深圳福田中学。[20]

2003年，参加高考，由于深受粤语流行音乐及00年代活跃的陶喆，周杰伦等音乐人影响，有意往此行业发展，并以艺术生总分681分的成绩(广东卷900满分)考入广州星海音乐学院。

Why is that?

Unlike hard science or engineering, arts or music could be subjective sometimes. Pop music is even more subjected to consumer taste and social trend, both are more fickle. Or subject to some sort of manipulation. SingChina 中国好声音 is a good example of all this – go to 争议 – 李玟现场质疑赛制不公被羞辱事件 and you will know.

Categories
Investing

Some thoughts re: Apple’s growth and profitability

Reading Time: 2 minutes

AAPL: they are not famous for leading edge on everything, basically. I recall in year 1997 to 2000, when I was at Rolla, I used the Mac at (eMac? Those colorful Macs Steve came up with his return). After that it’s the iPod – again at that time there are many mp3 players in the market including those from Samsung and iRiver. After that it’s iPhone – I was skeptical they can beat blackberry but I was wrong – I realized it in year 2009 too. Their AirPods and iPad are also good. They probably take most profits in all the categories they compete: smartphone, tablet, laptop and desktop, earphones and they are number 2 in music (behind Spotify).

Their recent notable failures include Apple car, and to lesser extent, Vision Pro.

Many street people perceived they are lagging on AI and gen AI, which is a bit premature to call, I think

Thoughts when I was driving: US companies such as Apple has the most profit and also shareholder friendly.

Bonus points: Apple iPhone sales in China

Btw, in China there are so many choices of smartphones, and also Apple service doesn’t stand out as it does the in west.

Along those lines, I think it’s possible that in China Apple makes less money than say Coca Cola company. (Update) I think I am likely wrong on this one as I just googled “how much money coca cola makes from china each year” –

Below is Search Labs | AI Overview

“While specific annual revenue figures for Coca-Cola’s operations in China are not consistently reported in a readily available format, it’s clear that China is a significant market for the company. Coca-Cola’s overall revenue from the Asia Pacific region, which includes China, was around 10.3% of its total revenue in 2023. Specifically, Swire’s Coca-Cola business in mainland China experienced a 5% drop in revenue to HK$24.72 billion in the last reported period. However, the company continues to invest in the Chinese market, indicating a long-term commitment and potential for growth.“

Categories
advice and tips Life Life Tips

China trip: quick recap and some thoughts

Reading Time: 6 minutes

这里有一个谷歌翻译的中文版。请注意，在国内有可能访问不了这个网站。

Boeing 787

I took a quick trip to China in last 2 weeks and just got back. I left STL on early morning of 05/31 and came back late last night 6/14. The flight route is STL => DFW => PVG: one stop at DFW. I booked the flight back in January 2025. The DFW to PVG flights (both ways) were full. A side note is on the June 12/13 night (post mid-night) the Air India 787 news came. That was unsettling to say the least. Note Air India 171 used 787-8, while AA 127/128 used 787-9 (which is slightly bigger than 787-9).

DFW

I have been to DFW in the past (a while ago), it seems the terminal E is new addition since I was there last time. If my memory is correct, they used to have a rectangular kind of arrangement with terminals A, B, C and D. I did notice DFW has quite some eateries and stores, it could also be because last time I was there, I was in a hurry and didn’t have much time too look or check out. This is actually a valid point I like to emphasize – don’t forget the sceneries on the road, when we were buried in our daily grind. Sometimes I intentionally take a local route instead of highway when I was not in a hurry, so that I can slow down, and look at the two sides of the road.

The re-entry into the USA was pretty easy. There is a line for US and Canada permanent residents, and it was a short line. The immigration office took a quick look at Green Card and let me in.

Uber rides

I took Uber to airport and back to home. The 1st driver (I reserved the ride because it was early morning), is a part-time driver, his day job is a medical translator. But he works extra shift driving for Uber because he has a 17 month old and a new baby on the way. The 2nd driver is a young immigrant from Philippine, he came to the US in year 1995 (when he was 5), so he is about 35 years old: he drives for Uber full time (as much as Uber allows in terms of hour, and at his own choice as well). He did mention he makes good money on New Year’s Day and Mardi Gras.

Phone

A phone number is handy for 网约车 (Didi, Gaode or WeChat 微信出行服务), because you cannot always find Taxi in some places. I got my phone SIM card at Amazon. I activated the SIM before the trip, and insert it to my old iPhone 12 (for iPhone, only iPhone 13 and earlier has the physical SIM card slot).

I used Uber, 网约车 and Taxi 出租车 for the most of my trip: with one exception. I used an “unauthorized” vehicle for my trip from my hotel in Beilun to Ningbo railway station. You may call it 黑车，but it’s a nice Camry (probably SE and XLE with leather interior/seat). And the driver told me he used to drive for 外企，got laid off, and started driving for guests in the hotel, because some guests prefer something nicer than a taxi or a 网约车. There are always opportunities in today’s world – even in China which is considered much more competitive than in the USA. He told me his car is only about 140,000 Yuan which is about $ 20,000 (USD) – I told him his car would cost more than $30,000 in the USA (now I think it could be about $ 40k). Car industry in China is ultra competitive nowadays.

For the record, I paid about $28,000 for a certified preowned Camry LE in year 2022 (my tweet here).

trip.com

I booked the air ticket via expedia.com (I did this for last year’ trip too). I used trip.com for the HKG to NGB air tickets last year. This year I used trip.com for my Beilun hotel and Gao’tie (high speed train). I compared the trip.com with the HHonors.com (Hilton family hotels reward website) price, it seems trip.com is slightly cheaper. For the Gao’tie, it charges a few dollars of fees, but I felt it’s worth it because the ticket is tied to my CHN passport and it allows me to check in manually and board the train before the general boarding – which comes handy as I have two luggages, I mentioned the luggages and elevator below in Odds and Ends). Also: I 1st heard trip.com from an old friend last year.

Stay

I stayed at the same hotels: they are the Doubletree Beilun (as I talked about it here), and Hyatt Place Shanghai Hongqiao CBD. I noticed some small changes at both: at Doubletree Beilun, it appears they didn’t keep up the maintenance as I saw two things – one is the card reader in the elevators are not very reliable; another one is the chair in the room is worn out, and the small refrigerator is broken. At Hyatt Place Shanghai Hongqiao, they no longer offer the breakfast for free to rooms/guests redeemed via points or free night awards.

Both obviously are in cost cutting mode: but I felt the former’s action (lack of maintenance and upkeep) seems jeopardized guest experience. I understand the hotels are having a hard time nowadays due to the economy and the competition, but at the same time, I still feel there are something in hotel that had to be maintained or kept, and unfortunately the card reader and the chairs are in that category. And the refrigerator too.

Now I am thinking about switching my hotel in Beilun next time: DoubleTree Beilun does have 2 features I like – they have an indoor warm water swimming pool, and the room is very spacious. I will keep both in mind. Talking about swimming pool, I just learned Hyatt Place Hongqiao CBD has swimming pool too – “Take a break from the Shanghai sun and make a splash in our rooftop pool, located on the 11th floor, adjacent to the 24/7 fitness center.” – I will check it out next time.

VPN

Please refer to my blog post here – update 06-18-2025: this post is password protected now. Email me at minjie dot xu at gmail dot com for password, no spams please 🙂

Tattoo

I maybe a bit slow, but this time around I noticed many younger people in China now have tattoos, on their arms. My quick thought is the younger generation want to express themselves 🙂

A side point I want to make is: even amid China/US tensions, the top country many Chinese students/youth want to visit or study at is the the USA.

Douyin

I explored Douyin 抖音 a bit. Please note Douyin is the No. 1 video (short video, and live broadcasting) platform in China – as I just realized recently – I talked a bit about the video platforms here.

第19集｜任素汐《亲爱的你啊》完整版 #无尽的尽头主题曲 # 任素汐 # 治愈歌曲推荐 有人22岁结婚生子，有人40岁读研，有人追求稳定，有人拥抱冒险；可以允许自己偶尔”掉队”，但要永远保持重新出发的勇气；在不确定的世界上，做一个温和而坚定的行动者。 “我们不需要完美，但需要完整”

If you read Chinese above, this also sort of echoes my earlier point of “slow down, enjoy the sceneries on the road while you can”.

Common question from my friends

I saw quite a few friends this time as I was going solo and have a bit more free time.

When do American people typically retire? I think I just saw a flight attendant a gentleman at the returning AA flight, and he is likely in his 60s.

Have prices gone up in America due to tariffs? ……

How do you think about the LA protests? ……

I have my own political opinion and belief – but I am going to keep them mostly to myself and my family for now.

Odds and Ends

Because I carry large luggages sometimes, I prefer elevators. But sometimes finding elevator (instead of escalator) is not easy. And once, I almost fell because a young guy tried to pass me on the escalator, and I think he pushed me a bit. I am almost 54 and was holding my two bags. This made me to think – maybe if I am 65 I would ride the elevator. I am not saying Chinese people are rude. I think there are nice and rude people everywhere (China and US). But at the same time, there are likely more nice people on both sides too. Look at the brighter side.

This can probably apply to the two questions above too: both the tariffs (trade) and the immigration too? I would look at win-win instead of win-lose in both cases.

A second point is: treat others like how you like to be treated.

PS:

You may be interested in:

2024-07-21 My new favorite hotel in Shanghai 近年来我在上海住的旅馆

A quick review of our summer 2024 China trip

Some random thoughts during my recent China trip – 我2024年夏天中国行的一些观察

China Trip Spring 2023 – observations and thoughts

China Trip Spring 2023 – logistics

Flash back – Back to St. Louis 10/28/2007

Videos

Below 2 are YT videos, by yours truly

上海嘉里中心 Shanghai Kerry Center June 12, 2025

Morning walk trail beilun Ningbo June 2025

YT Shorts – Jing’an temple plaza 上海静安寺广场 苹果店 6/12/25 evening

YT Shorts – My childhood home beilun baifeng Xiaomeng June 2025

YT Shorts – At Shanghai Hongqiao the Hub #虹桥天地

YT, by Essential Craftsman, this one is a bit deep – Why Most People Are Never Satisfied

Categories
Career

Protected: Don’t work too hard (again)

Reading Time: 4 minutes

This content is password-protected. To view it, please enter the password below.

Categories
Career Software development

Imposter syndrome

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I recall in year 1999, probably in that fall, once I met a gentleman who is the founder and president of a small IT outsourcing shop based in Peoria, IL. He was coming to Rolla to interview students for potential positions at his company. His questions are more interesting, I vaguely recall both he and I attended pretty good engineering schools in India and China respectively, but we didn’t attend most prestigious engineering schools such as IIT or Tsinghua University. He asked: do you feel you are inferior to the Stanford graduates? I said no and he agreed. He emphasized this point a bit: and the usual external perception and internal confidence comes with a degree from a prestigious university.

I have seen this phenomenon many times over the years. For example, in the IT/software industry, many people didn’t have formal education in computer science or computer engineering, and some of them will feel they are imposters or feel they are not qualified or confident. In fact my wife will joke with me re: this a lot. My degree is in mechanical engineering. I recall that gentleman I mentioned above majored in ME in college too. But we don’t need to feel that way. Formal college education is nice. At the same time we can leverage what we learned in our formal education, some overlaps with computer science and engineering; plus we pick up or learn from work, in the end we can do our job well and gain new knowledge and experience too.

This is applicable to other fields too. For example, I noticed a girl who didn’t take the traditional route of a singer or musician, in the end got a master’s degree in composition and in my opinion did quite well in her music (and creator) career. She also joked she is 野路子。That’s also one reason I wrote this post. In my opinion everyone is 野路子 – even those who went through all the so-called formal training. Because in today’s day and age, one has to learn or pick up whatever needed and not necessarily taught at school. Improvise. Adapt. Somewhat like the improvisation in jazz. It’s not easy as I observe last year my old daughter was so nervous when she was told she needs to improvise on vibraphone in suburban jazz band concert. In the end she did okay.

PS:

I wrote the above fairly quickly in early morning, on my phone. I just realized that my better half (my wife), though sometimes she jokes that I am not Comp Sci major, has similar doubts about herself in terms of career. She is a quite shy and self-conscious person, so I won’t dig deep in it if I could.

Reference:

Is Impostor Syndrome Holding You Back From Living Your Best Life? (VeryWellMind)

Categories
advice and tips Life Tips

eSIM app for travel

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I am aware of two right now. They provide cellular data for travel. I haven’t personally used them yet, but may try out later on as I see fit.

MobiMatter (official website; reddit)

Sally (Reddit; heard it from Teacher Mike YT video 1st)

And one to avoid: I bumped into this junk 易博通 eSender last summer, when we were traveling in China mainland and HK. We were hoping to get a mainland mobile phone number for 网约车 rider share car services. After spending some money and back and forth with the customer service, we realized it’s a scam. We found it because they advertised heavily on WeChat.

Other choices:

International roaming

T-Mobile roaming: heard good things about them. Quite a few friends used their international roaming in CHN.

MintMobile International Roaming (minternational pass): their price is quite competitive. Last year I used their pass for my summer trip. This year I may not need it as I am not going to Canada and HK this time. (Update 06/02/25) I still bought the 10 day pass with data due to technical difficulties of connecting to gmail via other means. One thing to note: it cannot be used as hotspot for the MacBook. So in other words, I still need to find other ways if I need to use Gmail on my MacBook (not super critical if I have Gmail on my iPhone).

And I already got a China SIM card. Btw, MintMobile made Canada roaming free since summer/fall of last year.

Side note: from iPhone 14 on, the iPhones sold in the USA no longer have physical SIM card slot (they have eSIM instead). Meanwhile in CHN, a physical SIM card is still needed for a mobile phone – that’s one reason you may consider bring an iPhone 13 or older if you travel to CHN. The reason you may need a mobile phone number is it’s required if you plan to get a Uber 网约车 in CHN. Taxis sometimes are not available and many taxi drivers drive for 网约车平台 too. In that case the two eSIM apps may not be sufficient for you. Because all you have is a mobile phone number outside of CHN which will not work for 网约车。

Note: I still receive spam calls on mint mobile when I travel – and they call during the night, the carrier could not mark them as “spam likely”. This is true for China Unicom SIM card too (the spammers call during the day).

Verizon TravelPass: much more expensive than MintMobile

Note for all the options above, you can get to Google etc. without doing anything special, just like you are in HK.

VPN: obviously you still need your own internet, usually it means Wi-Fi. This may be handy if you need to get to YT or Netflix, because you would likely burn through whatever your data plan fairly quickly if you stream.