Phone numbers with many eights are considered lucky, but can be expensive. [Provided to China Daily]

No matter what brings you to China, you're going to need to pick up a phone. There are a lot of options, but it's not nearly as confusing as it looks! Choose the plan that's right for you.

不管你是谁，在中国你一定会用到手机或电话。怎么挑手机号，怎样选择套餐，怎么使用公用电话?就算这些事琐碎复杂，但恐怕你非学不可。

Everyone seems to be coming to China these days. One thing that they all have in common? They need phones. If you're here - or on your way - you'll need one too. Here's how you can get connected.

First you'll need to buy a local SIM card. The best way is to find a China Mobile (Customer Service Hotline: 10086) or China Unicom (Customer Service Hotline: 10010) office - they're the two main service providers.

China Mobile offers GoTone (全球通 Quánqiútōng, tailored for business people who travel abroad a lot), M-Zone (动感地带 Dònggǎn Dìdài, targeted to younger users, and provides discounted text messaging and Internet use) and Easy own (神州行 Shénzhōuxínɡ, less discounted for text messaging, but usually cheaper for making local calls). For expats who just need a phone number to get by in China for a limited time, we recommend M-Zone or Easy own.

China Mobile

Zhōngguó Yídòng

中国移动

China Unicom

Zhōngguó Liántōng

中国联通

Where is the nearest China Mobile office?

Zuìjìn de Zhōngguó Yídòng yíngyètīng zài nǎlǐ ?

最近的中国移动营业厅在哪里?

I'd like a plan that doesn't charge for incoming calls.

Néng bāng wǒ xuǎn gè miǎnfèi jiētīng de tàocān ma?

能帮我选个免费接听的套餐吗?

But if you're only here for a few days, weeks or months, and need a quick-and-easy solution, you can pick up a SIM card for just a few kuai (yuan) at most magazine or snack kiosks in any city in China. If you're somehow unable to find a kiosk, there's also a world of small shops (you'll find one in any mall) that sell them as well.

Do you have cell phone SIM cards here?

Nǐmen zhèlǐ mài shǒujī hào ma?

你们这里卖手机号吗?

Which network would you like to join?

Nǐ yào rù shénme wǎng?

你要入什么网?

The price for a SIM card will vary greatly, from as little as 20 yuan ($3.2, 2.3 euros) to as much as 300 yuan, or maybe more. Unlike in the West, though, this depends little on the provider or plan that you select - instead, it's determined entirely by luck. Or, rather, the luck of the number.

According to Chinese numerology, some numbers bring good luck, and others bring bad. Eights are lucky because ba sounds like fa, "fortune". For that reason, buying a phone numbers full of eights can be expensive. Meanwhile, phone numbers full of fours will be cheap because si sounds like "death".

Do you want to save some money - and risk an unlucky number - or spend a little more with the assurance that your life will be full of fa?

Mr Chen, our neighborhood phone number vendor, assured us even foreigners should care about how many eights their phone numbers have. "If they want to be lucky, they should care," he said.

Help me pick a lucky number!

Bāng wǒ tiāo gè jílì de hào ba!

帮我挑个吉利的号吧！

I'd like a number with many eights!

Wǒ yào yí gè yǒu hěn duō bā de hào!

我要一个有很多8的号！

I don't care about the numbers.

Shénme hàomǎ wǒ dōu wúsuǒwèi .

什么号码我都无所谓。

How much is this number?

Zhège hào duōshǎo qián?

这个号多少钱?

You'll find phone shops on any main street, or in any mall, in China. They will be able to install your SIM card for you there.

The plans vary a lot in different cities, making it hard for us to summarize here. But generally, with China Mobile, local calls will cost 0.12-0.4 yuan a minute. Domestic long-distance is a little pricier, at 0.7 yuan a minute, but dialing "17951" or "12593" before each number, will reduce the rate to a dirt-cheap 0.2-0.3 yuan a minute.

Can I make discounted calls by dialing 17951?

Wǒ jiābō 17951 néng shěng qián ma?

我加拨17951能省钱吗?

In Shanghai, to make international calls, you'll need to buy your SIM card with your passport. But make sure to ask about the discount numbers, as calls to Canada or the United States with the dialed prefix will cost only 0.4 yuan a minute - pretty affordable! It's a bit mysterious why dialing this magic number reduces your call's cost. China Mobile says it has something to do managing its "ever-shifting cellular systems and networks" (whatever that means).

What number should I dial when I make a long distance/international call?

Wǒ dǎ chángtú / guójì chángtú gāi jiābō shénme hào ?

我打长途/国际长途该加拨什么号?

Add money

chōngzhí

充值

I'd like to buy a 50 yuan voucher.

Wǒ xiǎng mǎi wǔshí kuài qián de chōngzhí kǎ.

我想买五十块钱的充值卡。

Can you charge it for me?

Máfan nǐ bāng wǒ chōng yíxià，kěyǐ ma?

麻烦你帮我充一下，可以吗?

If you don't want to be saddled with a phone, International phone cards are also a cheap alternative for making overseas calls.

I'd like to buy an international phone card.

Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì zhāng guójì diànhuà kǎ.

我想买一张国际电话卡。

How much does it cost to call England with this card?

Yòng zhè zhǒng kǎ wǎng Yīngguó dǎ duōshǎo qián?

用这种卡往英国打多少钱?

One kuai a minute.

Yì fēnzhōng yí kuài qián.

一分钟一块钱。

But if you want to get off the map, or at least halfway off the map, don't buy a personal phone in China. Just make your outgoing calls on one of China's make-shift payphone shops.

Is there a pay phone nearby?

Qǐngwèn fùjìn yǒu gōngyòng diànhuà ma?

请问附近有公用电话吗?

I need to make a local call.

Wǒ yào dǎ shìnèi diànhuà.

我要打市内电话。

How much per minute?

Yì fēnzhōng duōshǎo qián?

一分钟多少钱?

Can I make an international call from here?

Wǒ néng yòng zhè ge dǎ guójì diànhuà ma?

我能用这个打国际电话吗?

Courtesy of The World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com