Eastern Asia
Video Chat with People from China
China keeps one clock for the whole country. Beijing time (UTC+8, no daylight saving) applies from Shanghai on the coast to Kashgar near the western border, so an 8 PM chat in Beijing lands around lunchtime in London and early morning in New York. Out west, that shared clock means summer sunsets can come surprisingly late in the evening.
Mandarin (Putonghua) is the language most people share, and you'll also hear Cantonese around Guangzhou and Shenzhen, plus distinct local dialects in places like Shanghai and Sichuan. English comfort varies a lot; some people read it more easily than they speak it, so the text chat beside the video comes in handy. Food is the easiest way in: Chongqing hotpot, Cantonese dim sum, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles and the friendly north-south debate over sweet or savory tofu pudding. Basketball, table tennis, C-pop, high-speed train trips and travel to Yunnan or Guilin come up naturally too. Our Chinese phrase guide helps with tones before your first hello.
China at a glance
| Flag | 🇨🇳 |
|---|---|
| Official name | People's Republic of China |
| Capital | Beijing |
| Region | Asia · Eastern Asia |
| Official language | Chinese |
| Currency | Chinese yuan (¥, CNY) |
| Calling code | +86 |
| Time zone | China Standard Time (Asia/Shanghai) |
How to say hello
A few words of Chinese make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 你好！ | nǐ hǎo (nee how) | Hello! |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 晚上好！ | wǎnshang hǎo (wahn-shahng how) | Good evening! |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 很高兴认识你 | hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ (hun gow-shing ren-shr nee) | Nice to meet you |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 你好！ | néih hóu (nay ho) | Hello! (same characters, Cantonese sound) |
Tips for chatting with people from China
- Chinese names usually put the family name first, so Wang Lei's given name is Lei. Some people also use an English name online, so just ask what they'd like to be called.
- Mandarin is tonal, and the same syllable can mean different things depending on pitch. Say new words slowly and laugh off mistakes; the effort counts.
- Ask about their home province rather than China in general. Food, weather and dialect change a lot between Heilongjiang, Sichuan and Guangdong.
- Type place names and tricky words in the text chat. Seeing 'Chengdu' or 'Hangzhou' written down saves a lot of back-and-forth.
- Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) and the Mid-Autumn Festival are big family holidays; asking how someone spent the last one is a warm, easy opener.
Only meet people from China
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from China, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for China and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from China, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from China are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
China borders 16 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: