Find Your Beijing Tribe With These WeChat Groups
Who needs more WeChat Groups in your life? Don't answer that -- we know you do!
OK so maybe you don’t really need that many groups, but what you need is well-moderated groups with a specific focus.
Rather than join loosely controlled general interest free-for-all groups that fill your life with distracting messages, you need to navigate to groups based on narrow fields of interest.
By joining niche groups and dumping the broadly defined ones, you’re then freed from the drudgery of wading through hundreds of messages you don’t care about every day.
We here at The Beijinger can vouch for the groups below – because we moderate them personally and do our best to keep them spam- and clutter-free.
Best of all, rather than weirdo “TubeMedia” accounts asking you to pay to join, our groups are free. We’re here for the community, not for the commodification.
But before we begin, let's go over a few rules of the game:
WeChat Group Etiquette
Mute the Group: We recommend you mute notifications for any group larger than a dozen or so, otherwise you are going to be inundated with message notifications.
Read the Group Rules First. Before you start posting what you *think* is relevant to the group, read the rules. It’s basic courtesy.
Participate, Don’t Carpet Bomb. Lurkers who don’t have anything to say but still find the group worthwhile are welcome, but don’t be one of those people who re-post something that's already been covered ten times over.
Consider the Group Size. Remember that in a group of hundreds of people, the vast majority are silent but appreciate the group and don’t wait to wade through idle chatter to find the meat. Thus extended back and forth between two users (A: “Really?” B: “Yes” A: “No, you mean it?” B. “Yes I do.” A: “Is that so?”) is not useful. Every single post should add value somewhere.
Don’t Be a Gracie. There’s a WeChat user out there who has joined every group I’ve ever created in and she lurks in there for a while before dumping her completely unrelated spam in the group. When she’s called out on it, she replies with a coy “Oh sorry, I won’t do that again!” before doing it again in another group. We've since learned our lesson: spam one of the groups and you'll be excommunicated from them all.
Don’t Be The Pasta Guy. One guy who used to frequent our promotion groups would post “fresh pasta today!” every single f—ing day, as if it was news. It's sort of like having Starbuck's posting to your group every day: "Coffee's a-brewing! Why not stop by and have a cup?" When I eventually called Pasta Man on it, he said each day he makes a different shape, so thus the posts were different. Come on, people. No one wants to see the same thing over and over again.
Don't Send Voice Messages. Just don't. Ever. Period.
How to Join:
All of these groups already have over 200 members, which means you cannot join by scanning a QR code (them's the rules, we don't make them). So instead what you need to do is add me, TBJButler (WeChat ID: TBJButler) and request membership.
Follow these steps:
1. Add me with a message mentioning specifically which groups (up to 3) you would like to join and why in your message.
Here's some examples of how not to do it.
The Spammer
You: Add me
Me: Sure, which ones?
You: All of them.
The Airhead
You: Add me to the groups!
Me: Sure, which ones?
You: Which ones do you have?
Mr/Ms Lonelyhearts
You: Pls Add me
Me: Sure, which ones?
You: I don't care, any of them, I am so desperately lonely and want to add random strangers from your groups
The Lost Soul
You: Pls Add me
Me: Sure, which ones?
You: New Restaurants in Beijing, Beijing Dads Group, Jobs for International Educators, International Educators in China, FamilyFriendlyEats, Students in Beijing, Beijing Pollution Fighters, Beijing Caffeine Addicts, Beijing Spicy Food Lovers, Kid & Family Events in Beijing and Cheap Eats in Beijing
All requests to join more than three groups will be ignored, so be choosy. You can always request to join more later.
Foodie Groups:
Beijing Craft Beer Lovers: For lovers of local brews (and craft beers that make it here)
Beijing Spicy Food Lovers: Restaurant recommendations, recipes, and more for pepperheads
Beijing Burger Lovers: Burgers and nothing more
Beijing Pizza Lovers: All about 'za in The 'Jing
Cheap Eats in Beijing: Recommendations for restaurants / eats that cost less than RMB 50 per person.
New Restaurants in Beijing: Tips and reviews for places that opened some time over the last few months.
Beijing Caffeine Addicts: For those that love coffee in Beijing.
Family Groups:
Third Culture Kid Parenting: For parents raising kids whose culture is different from their own
Jingkids Parenting in Beijing: A general group for parents in Beijing
Beijing Family Friendly Eats: Tips for where the kids would love to eat.
Beijing Dads Group: For Beijing dads (and their various concerns)
Kid & Family Events in Beijing: Family-friendly events only.
Assorted Other Stuff:
Expat Investment: The ins and outs of investing as an expat
The Beijinger Book Group: A Beijing-centtric book club for readers.
Best of Beijing in Photos: For shutterbugs who want to share their snaps of Beijing
Lifelong Learning in Beijing: A general group for adult education and other learning opportunities in Beijing
Mandarin Learners: For those attempting to increase their fluency, from beginners to advanced
WeChat Tips & Tricks: All about the inner workings of the app that controls our lives
Just Jokes: Silly stuff to help you de-stress!
Only Stickers: Just WeChat stickers. Nothing more.
Peking Pups & Other Pets: A group for pet owners to exchage resources (and their cute pet pics)
Sanlitun Stuff: All about the heart of Beijing's dining, nightlife and shopping scenes
Beijing Sports: Focused on news and information about participatory and spectator sports in Beijing
Beijing Explorers: A group for those looking to get more out of exploring Beijing as a city
Beijing Entrepreneurs: A group for budding and established entrepreneurs to share resources
Jobs for International Educators: Job listings only for K-12 education jobs around China
International Educators in China: A mostly Beijing-based group for general discussion of issues related to K-12 education, from a teacher/adminstrator perspective
Students in Beijing: A group for university students in Beijing
Beijing Pollution Fighters: Information, tips and tricks on protecting yourself against air pollution, water pollution, etc.
Safe & Sane in Beijing: For the occasional update on the Covid situation in Beijing
Safe & Sane Domestic China Travel: Concerns and discussion about domestic travel in China
Safe & Sane International Travel: Concerns and discussion about international travel from China
READ: Get Sporty in Spring: Football Teams You Can Join in Beijing
Images: Pexels