Calling the US from Shanghai
 

Hi

I'm leaving for China on Tuesday and would like to know what the best way to call to and from the US would be. I called Travel Cell and they are expensive ( I wouldn't be
talking long at all though ). The rate is 3.48 a minute to call from China to the US and 1.50 to receive calls from the US to China.
Does this seem unreasonable? What if I used
a phone card? Do they work? Another question.... Are internet cafes easy to find in Shanghai? natjgc

Hi,
My daughter lives just outside Shanghai and I use a phonecard to call her from the US. I found one that was less than one cent/minute. She can't call us for that little, but we can call her for next to nothing. Look for a good phonecard in your area and have your party in the States call you.

When I am in Shanghai I buy international phonecards at the post office to call the US, don't remember the exact cost but less than those sold at the newsstands, never buy them from guys on the street corners. There are internet cafes every other block in city center, and large hotels may offer you limited free usage.

Anncat -- what phonecard do you use in the US? I have PennyTalk which is still 2 cents/minute.

In Shanghai I always get mine from newsstands or a guy sitting in front of my local Lawson's! I didn't realize post office sold them, but then again I've never been to the post office. I pay 30 to 35RMB for a "100 RMB" card that gets me 41 minutes talk time to the midwest US which is about 10cents/minute. I have seen westerners pay 100 rmb for one card though. I usually use skype which is maybe 2 cents/minute. Another option is to send text messages via your mobile phone.

Lots of places have wifi if you'll bring a laptop. Here's some internet cafes, but I've never been so I can't say if they're still there. Suggest you ask your hotel.
http://www.world66.com/asia/northeas.../internetcafes

suggest you to use chat software and you only page internet charge and chatting is free.

I pretty much use skype exclusively these days, but back in the old days i used to buy cards from firstphonecard.com. They always had good China-US prices.

Visit China 5 times a year. Call US each day. SKYPE is the way to go since I have my computer with me. Approx. 2-3 cents per minute.

Thanks for your advice. I hope to be able to call easily with a phone card that i bought at Costco. A friend of mine has a phone she purchased in China that she wants me to use but I'd have to go into a China Mobile store and that might take too much time and effort since our time is limited in Shanghai. Has anyone had good luck with phone cards? I'm sure I'll get to an internet at some point also. natjgc

Many, but not necessarily all, US phonecards can dial from international to home. It's just that the charges will be many times that of a local Chinese phone card.

It just depends on your need. If it's for a few short call and/or for emergency, then yeah. But if you're going to talk for over a minute at a time, few times a day, then you need to look at local alternatives.

Does your friend's China Mobile phone still have the Chinese sim card in it? If it's a prepaid sim, all you have to do is buy a recharge card (similar to a phonecard) available at many newsstands and at China Mobile stores. The automated system has prompts in both Mandarin and English. Since you're concerned about time, I'll say that I didn't find it took much time at all when I was there...

I know a few people have mentioned it, but have you considered SKYPE? If the person on the other end is a SKYPE user as well, you can talk to them for free, or alternatively can pay very cheap rates (a few cents a minute) to call their landline or mobile numbers.

My husband and I will be in China in April.

We have Verizon wireless, so I had planned on just buying a cheap phone when we arrive in Beijing. But $40 (phone) + $20 (Sim) + Minutes will probably be around $100, and I, most likely, would not have use for the phone after this trip.

But recently I stumbled across the Nokia n800. It is a small PDA that you can use as an internet phone thru a Wi-Fi connection.

I am thinking this sounds perfect for travel. Has anyone used something similar in China? Will I find it difficult to find Wi-Fi hot spots? We will be in Beijing, Guilin and Yangshuo.

Do you think this would totally eliminate my need for an unlocked GSM Phone?

Any experience, thoughts or advise?

Thanks