Many things you are used to will be blocked or not working in
China, Facebook, Youtube, Google, Gmail, etc. As our government has some blocking in the internet service. So if you still want to use those things for business or work, please find a paid VPN supplier APP before arriving
China.
WeChat is largely used in China, and it’s very convenient for you to communicate with your family on the road, you can download it and install it on your phone, and then your wife can hear your voice or video with each other. So try
WeChat, it’s convenient and cheap, and forget about Skype for a while when you in China.
The enconomy in China develops very fast but we are still a developing country. Don't feel disappointed or strange about any changes or things happens in China because we are such a huge and amazing country with over 1.4 billion population now, the world in the past 30 years were changed dramatically and unbelievably. Therefore, you may see constructions for new house, new roads, new parks/shopping malls everywhere even in the countryside areas. For example, the High Speed Train in China system is now the most developed in the world and it chances the whole country and people's life and travelling -- roads are being built, remote villages are developing very fast with endless domestic Chinese tourists, etc.
Foreign cell phone with apple system will encounter more difficulties than Android system in China.
The FOUR GTEAT NEW INVENTIONS of Mordern China are: High Speed Trains, Alipay, Sharing-Bikes and Shopping Online.