The latest articles on DEV Community by gerrad zhang (@chinaneighbor). https://dev.to/chinaneighbor https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3882195%2Fcfbdc2df-c374-4a6f-bd4d-31f6af975797.png https://dev.to/chinaneighbor en gerrad zhang Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:16:48 +0000 https://dev.to/chinaneighbor/i-built-a-site-to-help-foreigners-navigate-life-in-china-as-a-local-who-sees-the-struggle-every-27ac https://dev.to/chinaneighbor/i-built-a-site-to-help-foreigners-navigate-life-in-china-as-a-local-who-sees-the-struggle-every-27ac <h1> I Built a Site to Help Foreigners Navigate Life in China — As a Local Who Sees the Struggle Every Day </h1> <p>I'm Chinese. I work at a foreign company in Wuhan. And I've watched too many foreign colleagues struggle with everyday life in China.</p> <p>WeChat Pay that doesn't work with their foreign cards. Hospital registration systems they don't understand. Insurance that turns out to be useless. Getting around a city where most signs aren't in English.</p> <p>I started <a href="https://chinaneighbor.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">China Neighbor</a> because I kept being the "helpful neighbor" — explaining things, translating, figuring out solutions. I thought: there should be a place where all of this is properly documented. In English. For foreigners.</p> <p>That someone ended up being me.</p> <h2> Why "China Neighbor"? </h2> <p>The name came naturally. In China, there's 邻居 — your neighbors, people who help each other out. I wanted to be that for foreigners coming to China.</p> <p>Not a corporate medical tourism site. Not a generic travel blog. Just... a good neighbor who knows the local stuff.</p> <h2> Where We Are Now </h2> <p><strong>The site</strong>: Built with Astro + Cloudflare Pages. Lighthouse 95+. Fast, clean, actually useful.</p> <p><strong>The content</strong>: About 20 articles covering:</p> <ul> <li>How to pay in China (WeChat Pay, Alipay, cash — what actually works for foreigners)</li> <li>Healthcare guide for expats</li> <li>Hospital recommendations for international patients</li> <li>Emergency medical services in China</li> <li>City-specific guides (starting with Wuhan, more coming)</li> </ul> <p><strong>The SEO</strong>: Used SEMrush to find real opportunities:</p> <ul> <li>"is healthcare in china free" — 210 searches/month, KD 39%</li> <li>"how to pay in china" — medium competition</li> <li>"expat medical insurance china" — 30 searches/month, KD 22%</li> </ul> <p><strong>The backlinks</strong>: Just started. Submitted to Launching Next yesterday. Doing dev.to and velog.io this week.</p> <p><strong>The traffic</strong>: Honest answer? Modest. A few organic visits per day. Starting from zero is hard.</p> <h2> The Honest Challenges </h2> <p><strong>1. Content production takes time</strong><br> Writing real, useful articles about China requires current, accurate information. Visa policies change. Hospital procedures change. Payment systems evolve. Getting it right matters.</p> <p><strong>2. The backlink chicken-and-egg</strong><br> You need backlinks to rank. You need traffic to get natural backlinks. Starting from zero is a slow climb.</p> <p><strong>3. Staying relevant is hard</strong><br> China moves fast. What works today might be outdated in 6 months. I'm constantly updating content to keep it current.</p> <p><strong>4. I'm learning SEO as I go</strong><br> Google Search Console shows impressions, but I don't always know what to make of it. Figuring this out in real time.</p> <p><strong>5. Monetization is unclear</strong><br> I have ideas, but nothing concrete. Feels right to focus on building something genuinely useful first.</p> <h2> What I'm Planning </h2> <p><strong>Content</strong></p> <ul> <li>Expand to 50+ articles by end of Q2</li> <li>Build interactive tools (cost calculator, hospital finder)</li> <li>Start collecting real expat stories</li> <li>City guide series: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu</li> </ul> <p><strong>Backlinks</strong></p> <ul> <li>Submit to 50+ directories this month</li> <li>Start genuine community engagement on Reddit, Quora</li> <li>Explore guest posting opportunities</li> <li>Build relationships with expat forums</li> </ul> <p><strong>Growth</strong></p> <ul> <li>Set up proper analytics</li> <li>Maybe experiment with video</li> <li>Open to collaboration</li> </ul> <h2> What I'd Love Your Advice On </h2> <p>If you've built a content site from scratch, dealt with SEO from zero, or navigated a similar journey — I'd really appreciate your wisdom:</p> <p><strong>1. Content prioritization</strong></p> <ul> <li>Go broad (cover everything) or deep (own one niche)?</li> <li>When to update old content vs. create new?</li> </ul> <p><strong>2. Backlink strategy on a budget</strong></p> <ul> <li>Proven tactics that don't require expensive tools?</li> <li>Quality vs. quantity — where's the balance?</li> </ul> <p><strong>3. Monetization timing</strong></p> <ul> <li>When did you start thinking about making money?</li> <li>Non-obvious revenue streams for content sites?</li> </ul> <p><strong>4. China/Asia-focused content</strong></p> <ul> <li>Communities I should be in?</li> <li>Anything I should know?</li> <li>Want to collaborate? 🙂</li> </ul> <p>This might fail. But I'd rather try and learn than wonder "what if."</p> <p>Thanks for reading. Would love to hear your thoughts.</p> webdev buildinpublic contentsite beginners