Office Lunch Politics in Chengdu (Yes, It's a Thing)

Straight answers about Office Lunch Politics in Chengdu (Yes, It's a… — longer than a tip card, shorter than a manifesto.

Is this urgent in the first month?

If it touches housing, money, legal status, commute, or sleep — yes. If it's optimization, wait until you've slept properly and lived one ordinary week.

What's a decent first move?

Write the Chinese name in your notes the first time someone says it.

Practically, that looks like paying by QR before the steam clears near a late-night skewer alley, then adjusting once you have scars instead of theories.

What do newcomers get wrong?

Mostly never learning how to say 'less oil'. Also: treating Chengdu like a scavenger hunt instead of a place with laundry.

How do I know it's working?

You stop re-researching it every Sunday night. The decision becomes boring. Boring is healthy.

The useful details show up in ordinary weather: rain, overtime, and the week you don't feel like being a high-functioning expat.

Save screenshots and chat records for anything involving money, housing, or legal status. Boredom is a strategy.

What I'd ignore

Advice that assumes unlimited energy. Rankings that ignore your district. Anything that requires you to redo office lunch politics twice because you rushed.

Write your decision down with a date. Future-you will need it when WeChat search fails.