Your Shanghai soft-landing partner
Land in Shanghai
without the chaos.
School, apartment, visa, and full relocation support — for families and professionals moving to Shanghai.
The problem we solve
Most relocations start in the wrong order.
Most families start with apartments. Then they discover the school they want is across the city, has a waitlist, follows a different curriculum, or doesn’t fit their child’s age, language, or transition needs.
School choice should drive neighborhood. Neighborhood should drive commute. Commute should drive the apartment. Visa timing should anchor the whole sequence.
We sequence it for you.
What we do
Four services, one coordinated move.
Choose the right school before you choose your apartment.
A 60-minute diagnostic call and a personalized 1-page Shanghai school shortlist memo within 24 hours.
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The right apartment, on your timeline.
Independent search across Shanghai — curated shortlists, accompanied viewings, negotiation, and lease review.
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Work permits and residence — without guessing.
Filing, document prep, and timing for work and residence permits — including spouses and dependent children. End-to-end.
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One person owns your move.
School, apartment, visa, and the first 30 days on the ground — coordinated end-to-end by a single point of contact.
Learn more →How it works
Three steps to a move that doesn’t unravel.
- 01
Tell us your situation
A 15-minute orientation call. Your timeline, family, work, and constraints.
- 02
Get a personalized plan
Within 24 hours: a written next-step plan tailored to your move, not a brochure.
- 03
We execute or guide
Pick the service you need — or let us run the whole move while you focus on work and family.
Why families and professionals pick us
Independent advice, on the ground.
Independent, parent-first
No school, agent, or landlord kickbacks. You pay us directly, so our advice stays yours.
Shanghai-based network
On the ground in Shanghai, building real relationships with admissions, parents, and operators.
Sequenced the right way
School first, then neighborhood, then apartment, then visa timing. We sequence it so you don’t resequence later.
Why this exists
Built by a household that's made every move you're about to make.
helloChina is led by a founder who grew up across six cities in China — Xiamen, Changsha, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai — finished high school in Canada, and graduated with a Math degree from the University of Waterloo. Years of running an export business out of China followed: shipping made-in-China goods to clients across dozens of countries, learning where cross-cultural information gaps cost foreigners real money.
When China started opening up to more international visitors, helloChina was built to send value the other way — to help foreign families land in Shanghai without the chaos that most relocations pay landlords, schools, and visa agents to amplify.
"Parent-first" comes from somewhere concrete: two kids, now 12 and 16, with experience in international, private, and public schools — in both Shanghai and Canada. Every school decision a relocating family is about to make has already been made in this household, twice, with our own kids on the line.
Independent. Paid by clients only. Honest about what we know — and what we don't.
What clients say
Honest reads. Quiet results.
The 1-page memo arrived 26 hours after the call. It killed two schools we were leaning toward and named one we hadn't found ourselves. Worth $299 ten times over.
Saved us from signing a lease on a Jing'an flat where the landlord had a fapiao gap that would've cost us ¥40k at year-end. Lease review alone paid for the engagement.
Two kids, three weeks to arrival. One person owned the timeline — school, visa, apartment, day-one logistics, all on a single shared doc. Felt like we'd hired a chief of staff.
Common questions
Before you book a call.
Do you guarantee admission to any school?
No. We help you choose the right school for your child and prepare strong applications. Admission decisions are made by the schools themselves.
Are you paid by schools, agents, or landlords?
No. Clients pay us directly. We do not accept kickbacks, referral fees, or commissions from schools, real estate agents, or landlords.
Do you work in cities outside Shanghai?
Not yet. Shanghai is our focus for V0. We will expand to other cities once we have built the same depth of network elsewhere.
Can I just use one of the four services?
Yes. Each service stands alone. Most families start with the School Fit Diagnostic or Apartment Finding, then add others as needs surface.
What if my move is more than 6 months away?
We can still talk. Earlier is usually better — especially for school applications and visa timing. We will tell you honestly when to start each step.
What does pricing look like?
School Fit Diagnostic is USD 299. Apartment Finding, Visa, and Full Relocation are quoted after a free briefing call so the scope matches your situation.
Not sure where to start?
Book a 15-minute orientation call — free. We’ll tell you which service fits your situation and your timeline.