Talk to strangers in China

Five time zones, one clock

China is home to about 1.4 billion people, and its territory stretches across roughly five geographical time zones. Since 1949 the whole country has kept a single official time, Beijing time, eight hours ahead of UTC. In the far west the sun can rise after 9 am by the clock, and in Xinjiang many people also use an unofficial local time two hours behind.

Mandarin, and much more

Standard Mandarin, Putonghua, is the language of school, television and most conversations between strangers, and it is what most people in China will speak with you. It is far from the only one: Cantonese, Shanghainese, Hokkien, Hakka and many other varieties are spoken at home, alongside the languages of China's 55 recognised ethnic minorities. Many younger people have studied English for years and welcome a chance to use it out loud.

If you are learning Mandarin, say so at the start - most people are delighted, and patient with tones. If you are a Chinese speaker practising English, our guide to practising English speaking is for you, and the whole app is available in Chinese.

What to talk about

Food is the safest and richest subject there is: northern noodles and dumplings versus southern rice, Sichuan spice, Cantonese dim sum, and the long-running online debate over whether tofu pudding should be sweet or savoury. Then hometowns - everyone has one, and everyone has an opinion on it - the Spring Festival and the travel rush around it, the gaokao, basketball and table tennis, C-dramas, games, and the cities that have changed beyond recognition in a decade. Politics can wait until you know each other.

Privacy and safety

Keep your full name, ID number, address, workplace and social accounts to yourself in a first conversation. Never share a payment code, bank details or a verification code. Telecom fraud often starts with someone claiming to be from the police, a court, a bank or customer service and asking you to move money to a "safe account" - no real authority ever does that, so hang up. Be wary of anyone who asks for photos or money, or wants to move to another app at once; our guide to chat scams covers the rest. Every call and chat has Report and Block, and TalkLive is for adults 18 and over only.

Getting started: open TalkLive in your browser (no app, no sign-up), prefer China in Filters if you like (two preferred countries are free), and Tap to Talk or Tap to Chat. Our late-night chat guide is for the hours after midnight, and the Journal's Southeast Asia feature covers the neighbours to the south.