English

As a Chinese language school rooted in Wuxi, we pay close attention to how this city treats the foreigners who live here. On 20 July 2026, Wuxi published version 2.0 of its facilitation measures for foreign residents — a substantial upgrade on the 1.0 edition that the city piloted ahead of the rest of Jiangsu.

1. Border clearance: from "seeking approval" to "already in place"

Version 1.0 said the city would "seek to implement the 144-hour visa-free transit policy". Version 2.0 is far more concrete: a dedicated 24/240-hour visa-free transit handling zone has been set up in the arrival inspection area, with temporary entry permits and border procedures completed in a single step — effectively on arrival.

An online pre-filling service for the foreigner arrival card has also gone live. Combined with self-service terminals, completion time has dropped from about five minutes to a matter of seconds.

2. Residence: from serving companies to serving people

Version 1.0 focused on one-stop service for foreign-invested enterprises. Version 2.0 shifts the focus to individuals:

• A high-standard immigration affairs service centre and a permanent residence ID service point, offering consultation, appointments and on-site issuance;
• A "Five-Star Smooth Passage" programme extending the use of the permanent residence card across transport, healthcare and social insurance;
• Exploration of wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and completion of more than 100 service windows or consulting rooms able to receive foreign patients.

3. Schooling: the clause that matters most to families

Version 2.0 states clearly that foreign students may attend ordinary public and private primary and secondary schools as well as kindergartens, and that children of qualifying high-end foreign talent are handled under the same policy as "Taihu Talent" families.

This addresses the most practical concern for many expatriate households: if you take a job in China, what happens to your children? There is a less obvious flip side — once a child enters a local school, bridging into Chinese becomes an immediate, concrete need.

4. Payments: no longer cash-only

Building on ten demonstration commercial districts in version 1.0, version 2.0 aims for full foreign-card acceptance across more than 3,000 key merchants citywide, plus a five-channel currency exchange network spanning bank branches, authorised exchange counters, ATMs and self-service machines.

The upgraded departure tax refund policy has also landed in Wuxi, allowing small-amount refunds without physical inspection of goods. Version 2.0 additionally proposes, for the first time, spending voucher packages for foreign visitors.

5. Why we are compiling all this

On the surface these clauses have little to do with learning Chinese. But for the learners we work with, every one of them points at the same question: how smoothly does daily life in Wuxi actually run?

How long a foreign employee is willing to stay in a city depends on whether seeing a doctor is easy, whether the children can go to school, whether a taxi accepts a card. The smoother the environment, the longer people stay — and only then does language learning have the time and motivation to happen.

If you or a colleague have relocated to the Wuxi, Changzhou or Suzhou area, you are welcome to a free Chinese level and needs assessment at Mandarin Edu. We will give you a workable course plan based on your industry, schedule and family situation — including how your children can bridge into Chinese.