I live in Suzhou and if there is one App that I use more often than any other, then it’s WeChat (also, Alipay). WeChat is a very popular Chinese messaging App – almost every one in China uses this App. In fact, if you are in the mainland China (or even outside China), and you want to connect with the Chinese people, say for making friends, you need to use WeChat mobile App (or WeChat for Web). In Chinese Pinyin it’s called Weixin (微信). You can download WeChat using the Google Play. There is no difference between WeChat and Weixin, and I will use these two names interchangeably in this article.
Related post – TanTan (Chinese Tinder) Scams.
Over a period of time I am of the mind that when two Chinese people meet for the first time, they don’t ask each other’s phone number, they ask for the WeChat. It’s really that popular in China. This might sound different to a non-Chinese person, but WeChat has become part and partial of the life of the mainland China. As a responsible foreigner, if you connect with the Chinese people using WeChat, you might remain connected forever. 🙂
However, many a times when I need some information about certain functions of the WeChat in the English language, I can’t find them correctly. WeChat has several awesome functions and I, in a very light mood, will share some points/tips/suggestions here as I have learned from my own adventures.
Update – I’ve just covered comprehensive reviews of the Chinese dating market (WeChat, TanTan, mindsets) in my books available on Amazon, feel free to stop by:
- Online Dating in China (Paperback Edition),
- Kindle Edition (same book – Online Dating in China).
- Dating Chinese Women (Paperback Edition),
- Kindle Edition (same book – Dating Chinese Women ).
Scanning a WeChat QR code
The biggest thing I have a strong dislike for is asking someone’s (say a girl’s, for example) phone number or the contact details. It’s quite weird request someone to key in a phone number or a Facebook name/ID. Using WeChat, in China you can say something like – “hey do you have Wēixìn”. In China it would sound really funny because everyone has Wēixìn. So you are most likely to hear a “yes” as an answer to your question. Then you can just say – “do you wanna scan”. And you become friend so fast. The idea of scanning a QR code sounds much better to me than to ask phone numbers. Mind you – girls are fed up with guys asking their phone numbers. The moment you (a guy) ask a girl’s phone number, she knows what’s your agenda. But again, I understand that its part of the evolutionary process. 🙂
Type of posts on Weixin
Weixin allows three kinds of posts (officially called moments)
- Photos – you can share one photo or multiple photos in a post. However, only a maximum of 9 photos per post is allowed.
- Videos – you can share videos on WeChat, although with certain restrictions. For example, you can capture some event happening in front of you and post it on WeChat immediately. The maximum duration of such a video is 10 seconds. Once you capture the event, you can either post it or discard it. You cannot upload an old (previously taken) video file from your phone memory. Although you can share video from other web sources, such as YouTube files.
- Text– you can also share a long text post using WeChat.
Editing WeChat post/moments
You cannot edit your posts on WeChat (unlike Facebook). For the photos and video posts in your WeChat moments, you can either delete them or make them private/public. The text post can only be deleted (you can’t even change the privacy of a text post).
WeChat translator
This is one of the coolest feature of the WeChat. You can translate a WeChat message using the WeChat translate function. Just press longer on the text message that you want to translate. For example, I have some Chinese friends who always message me in Chinese, and I always message them in English. But we can interpret each other’s message using the translator. WeChat seems to be using the Microsoft Translator. Many a times, my Chinese friends message me in English, and I request them to message me Chinese (if that seems to be a better option to me).
WeChat is a serious business in China
People in China take Weixin related issues very seriously. For example, if you delete someone from Weixin, it’s a lifetime memory for them. It’s really difficult to reverse the damage done, or to befriend again. Deleting someone from your Weixin seems to be a very formal way of telling them that they are no longer required in your life. The only exception to this is – until you are a foreigner. But even as a foreigner, you need to explain to them clearly and convincingly that why did you behave like that. 🙂
Paying bills using WeChat
You can pay bills using WeChat. I remember, once when I was on a meet up with a girl and she was treating me. She just flashed her WeChat to make the payments. When I personally go to eat out in China, I pay the bills using cash or credit card. But I have never paid the bills using WeChat. You can also pay bills using WeChat at a convenience store –such as FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, etc.
WeChat Privacy
This is another cool WeChat feature. You can create a group of friends (officially called tags) and share your post with them (or hide from them). A tag can include any number of friends from your contact list. Hiding moments – you can hide all or some of your moments from someone (or a group of persons using WeChat tags). You can also hide your friends moments from displaying in your moments feed.
List subscriptions
Most of the Chinese organisations (e.g. multinational companies) are now available on WeChat. You can subscribe to them using your account. Then you can receive regular updates from them.
Sharing your location
For each post WeChat allows you to add a location. This feature is similar to the Facebook. However, you cannot share a WeChat moment while adding a very distant location. For example, if you are posting a photo album when you are in Singapore, you cannot use a location in Beijing (doesn’t matter if the photos were taken in Beijing). This feature confirms that you are presently visiting the place mentioned in your post (or at least nearby).
Remembering a person
In Weixin, you can also save a bit of the history of a person in your contact list. Weixin gives you 800 letters for this. For example, suppose you are meeting lots of new people every now and then, then after a month you may find it difficult to remember their whereabouts. So keeping some basic information is really good. I am surprised that how come Facebook doesn’t have such feature yet (or maybe I am yet to find).
Saving a Weixin contact’s photo
You can also save one photo per contact – to remember how they look like, for example.
message successfully sent but rejected by receiver
If you message someone, and WeChat displays a message saying “message successfully sent but rejected by receiver” – that means you have been blocked. Sorry to say this, but that’s the reality. Your message has not been delivered to the expected recipient.
Only 10 posts visible
If you can see only 10 posts from a person in his/her moments (who has more than 10 public posts) – that means you have been deleted. Similarly, if you delete someone from your Weixin contact list, they can only see your 10 public posts.
Online and the message reads
(un)fortunately, in WeChat there is no way to find out who is online (unlike Whatsapp) when, or who has read your message. But again, Chinese people check their Weixin every minute (if not every second). So if you didn’t hear from someone (or hear after long-long time), you may conclude that the things are not going in the right direction. 🙂
Number of likes and comments
Suppose you see a post (moment) from your friend. You can like and/or comment on that post. However, as a friend, in Weixin there is no way to find out how many total number of like/comments that particular post has (unlike Facebook). The only exception is – you can see likes/comments made by a mutual friend.
Mutual friends issues on WeChat
Suppose you are a guy (say Mr. B), and you have a female friend (say Ms. G1) in your WeChat contact list. There is no direct way for Mr. B to find how many mutual friends he has with Ms. G1. However, you can find some mutual friend information in certain very indirect ways. For example, suppose Mr. B posts something in his WeChat moments, and Ms. G1 likes it. So, all the mutual friends (between Mr. B and Ms. G1) are going to see the like by Ms. G1. Even if Mr. B adds a third person (say Ms. G2) in the future, and Ms. G1 is still a mutual friend (between Mr. B and Ms. G2), then Ms. G2 can see all previous likes, comments by Ms. G1. There are absolutely no issues if Mr. B and Ms. G1 have cordial relations.
However, if Mr. B had any issues with Ms. G1, then Mr. B can be exposed soon. However, if Mr. B had deleted Ms. G1 before adding Ms. G2, then Ms. G2 certainly won’t know about like’s comments by Ms. G1. The rule of thumb is – you can see likes and comments by an existing mutual friend. So be careful about social circles on WeChat. You are always under the radar. Although the WeChat radar is less powerful than the Facebook radar.
Sharing your current location
Weixin comes with a very good integration of GPS services. Using Weixin message feature, you can message your current location to any of your friend in your contact list. You can also start a real time location sharing session. For example, if you are going for a meet up, you can start a location sharing session, and then both of you know each other’s ground movement.
Sending red packets
In china red packets seems to be representing some kind of good luck. During Chinese New Year (also called the Spring Festival), Chinese people send each other red packet. For each such packet, you basically send them some amount of money. The amount can practically be anything, say CNY 1 or 100. You can use WeChat to send the red packets. WeChat allows you to select the right amount of money. You need to connect a credit card with your WeChat account.
For example, in Singapore, you can use DBS bank’s VISA card to connect to the WeChat payment system. This feature is termed as the WeChat Wallet. Similarly, you can receive red packets in your WeChat account. I remember a girl from Chongqing sent me a red packet for the very first time, followed by a text message –“send you good luck”. However, I had no idea how to open that red box. Then I set up an account using my VISA card. When I opened the red packet, it turned out to be CNY 3.8. 🙂
No Facebook, Twitter, Google
Since use of other social media platforms are anyways restricted in the mainland china (except with the VPNs), you really don’t have much option to connect with the Chinese people. Moreover, Weixin can be used in English, so why not give a try to the new App?
I think that the Weixin craze is here to stay in the mainland China. In fact, after travelling across China, even I am more and more in love with WeChat. I am gradually moving out of the so called English social media platforms.
That’s it for the post. If you find the write-ups useful, buy me a beer!
You may also want to refer to the Xiamen Review – Part 1, Part 2, other posts about China, or the other countries. Here is the YouTube playlist of the videos that I have taken in China. You can also find more about me!
Comments and suggestions are always welcome!
I’ll keep this post updated as I learn new features. So do stop by once in a while. You can also subscribe, and I will keep you updated. 🙂
That’s all in this post about WeChat!
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Last updated: Saturday, June 6, 2020