A Letter to Myself When I First Arrived in Hangzhou-1 | Gut Talk Newsletter #26

✍️ Last updated: September 28, 2026

📮 A little secret for my followers

I've realized that I'm an incredibly thoughtful person. There are many insights about life beyond Knowledge Management that I want to share with you.

I will share first-hand updates about my workshops, AI automation, and Knowledge Management in the LINE group,Think of this newsletter as a little secret between you and me (?)

Today, I want to write this especially for the brave version of myself who first went to Hangzhou, to rediscover that original courage. If you feel any resonance or curiosity about my feelings or experiences after reading this,Feel free to reply and chat with me.～

✉️ To Dear Xiaochang, Just Arrived in Hangzhou

That day, you stood on the subway for several minutes without getting off.

It wasn't because the train was too crowded to let you out, but because,You were afraid to say "Excuse me."。

Those two words turned over and over in your mouth. Should you say "Sorry"? "Apologies"? Or "Excuse me"? As you kept thinking, the next station arrived, and you still didn't say it.

🛠️ The difficulties and troubles you’ll face in a brand-new environment

#01 Internet

You still don't know how to use LINE or Google in Hangzhou, do you?

At this point, you try to figure it out on your own, after all, you are a Knowledge Management teacher! But 3C software has always been your weak spot.

On the mainland, using LINE requires a VPN. I know you have never used one before, and you get very anxious whenever you lose internet access. After all, your career is in the Taiwan market; you need the internet to earn money, go live to help students, and stay in touch with family and friends.

You have no friends in mainland China. You absolutely need the internet to feel at ease. I understand. In the beginning, you chose torely on the only person you know around you, even needing tobother someone elseto verify your phone number when connecting to café Wi-Fi.

🌭 As I write this, my VPN node has broken again,Surviving here is really not easy RRR waaah waaah~

#02 Money

Payment QR codes, Alipay, WeChat Pay—you don't even know how to use the apps yet, but you have to use them constantly. It is indeed troublesome, and I see all of it.

You know that Alipay can use credit cards, but you don't know thata fee is charged for transactions exceeding 200 RMB。

You don't know how to convert TWD to RMB. You haven't even opened a local bank account yet, and you don't know that Fubon Bank can convert TWD to RMB (with a fee). So at this point, you can onlyask a local friend to transfer money for you。

And then there's buying from McDonald's. Everyone else is using Douyin coupons or Meituan, but you have no idea how to use them... So you're stuck with the most expensive option. Haha, doesn't that feel exhausting?

#03 Transportation

Subway (Metro)

What? You must have been shocked,Taking the subway actually requires a bag check.! The subway cards differ by region. Standing at the subway entrance, scrolling through your phone to find Alipay for transit is the norm. At first, you'll definitely feel anxious. But after riding it about ten times, you'll eventually be able to take the subway with your eyes closed.

Squeeze in and adapt to that riding environment where "physical boundaries" don't exist. I know you'll feel indignant when you see people cutting in line or not letting passengers off before boarding, but you'll get used to it slowly.Grab a seat and crush them all!!!

High-Speed Rail (EMU)

This is the situation that causes you the most anxiety.

In Taiwan, you can just mindlessly swipe your credit card to take the subway. In Hangzhou, it's not like that! It's like taking a flight: all luggage must go through security. Even after entering the high-speed rail station, you can't go straight to the platform. You have to wait for the time, scan your Taiwan Resident Travel Permit, and run to the platform to catch the train.

There were two times: once when I was left behind at the Yiwu High-Speed Rail Station by a friend, and another time when I was heading to Jiangsu and almost missed the train because I didn't know how to buy a high-speed rail ticket.

You must feel lucky to have someone who can catch your anxiety, but at the same time, you are indeed offloading and releasing that pressure tothe close people around you who are willing to help..

🌭 I suggest you "Take full responsibility for the decisions you makeIf you want to take the high-speed rail, learn how to handle it yourself. Stop relying on others!

Scale of distance

“Your place is so close to mine! It’s only an hour by subway!”
I said, “………😂”

The concept of “close” in Taiwan is worlds apart from the mainland. Yes, even the sense of space and perception of distance are completely different.There are so many differences. It’s perfectly normal to feel anxious.

#04 Food & Drink

Heavy on oil, salt, and spice

If you dare to eat mild or medium spice in Taiwan, I recommend ordering mild spice for everything on the mainland.Having stomach discomfort every day is the normWhether you eat at a restaurant or order delivery, it’s the same! Every dish is glistening and covered in oil!

Two instances of food poisoning

You’ve never experienced this in your life before—vomiting all night and having watery diarrhea all day. I counted, and you had to run to the toilet at leastfifteen times…

What medication should you take on the mainland? You have no idea at all, and you have toIt’s a hassle to ask someone else to buy medicine for you.I know you didn’t want to either! Family education emphasizes self-reliance and independence—don’t rely on others for everything. But this time, it was truly impossible. You didn’t even know which medicines to buy.Stop pretending to be tough!

But you learned to cook healthy meals yourself. That’s an alternative and wonderful ending~~Congratulations to you🎉 You’ve acquired a skill you’ve always wanted to learn but couldn’t.

🌭 Latest Update: Three instances of food poisoning! As I write this, I’m in Changsha, Hunan, and eating street food immediately led to diarrhea…

#05 Accommodation

Haha~ The part where I cared least about myself was the accommodation. The only option for my residence wasclose to the person I was relying on at the time, and comfortable to live in, with zero consideration for my commute, social life, or daily conveniences. After all, you had no idea what other needs you might have in mainland China besides being with him!

The purpose of moving was to shorten the distance with my closest relationship,but it’s good that I’ve learned to prioritize myself now.。

Want to attend an event to network about AI? Sorry, it takes at least an hour to get to the venue in the city center. Want to meet a new friend for a meal? Sorry, you live too far out; even a taxi ride takes over half an hour. Most of the time, you’re stuck alone at home, which completely contradicts your personality.You really didn’t think about this enough back then!

You even wanted to live a bit more comfortably, with a kitchen to practice your culinary skills, space to host guests, and extra beds just in case,You considered so many things for others that you forgot to consider yourself.。

But it’s okay! Because of these experiences, I’ve become someone I like more, prioritizing my own feelings and well-being,I probably won’t be a 'love brain' (obsessive in love) again in this lifetime~ Hahaha。

I learned that being a 'love brain' is truly not a healthy behavior.I prefer both parties to be mature and self-respecting.

#06 Weather

Winters in Hangzhou drop below freezing❄️ and it even snows! It’s really cold enough to drive you crazy.

But I was also happy to experience Christmas. You’ve always loved Christmas super duper. The first time you attended a Christian Christmas celebration, you were incredibly happy. Actually, every year you wanted to attend the church’s Christmas event, but you were always too shy to ask (nobody invited you🤣)By chance, I was taken along, and although I didn’t feel much at the moment, interestingly enough,half a year later, I became a Christian! Hahaha!

Even though it was really cold, I enjoyed it. During the snowy days, I just sat on the bench, zoning out,The snow was truly, truly beautiful ⛄️。

#07 APP

Stuck on filling out the profile

Apps in mainland China are completely different from the ones we're used to in Taiwan! Just trying to order food delivery (calledwaimaiin China) is a nightmare when it comes to entering your address. On top of that, you absolutely must verify your phone number,making it impossible to quickly get the hang of even the simplest software.

All the apps are too complex

Although the apps are packed with features and convenient once you master them, when you first arrive, just trying to find information or click a button often leads to constant misclicks.

Especially when others can get super cheap McDonald's discount vouchers from Douyin, Taobao, or Xianyu,you might spend 20 minutes at McDonald's and still fail to redeem them 😭 It really is tough on you!

You have to remember which app to use for what

There’s no LINE, Google, or GPT here; you have to adapt to everything from scratch!

• Online Shopping
  • Taobao (for buying everything)
  • JD.com (for buying branded items)
  • Pinduoduo (for buying cheap items)
• Grocery Shopping
  • Dingdong Maicai
  • Pinduoduo
• Maps
  • Baidu Maps
  • Amap
• Payments
  • Alipay
  • WeChat Pay

#08 Identity & Accent

Because you are a girl from 'Taiwan,' you are considered a rare species on the mainland. Whether you are participating in events, having dinner, or even just taking the subway or calling a taxi, you will be hit on and watched with strange looks.

You want to keep a low profile, but your accent gives you away the moment you speak!Every day is anything but peaceful.

When you eat, the uncle next to you asks if you want to have dinner together next time and offers to treat you. The taxi driver asks if you just got off work? Do you live here? Your voice as a Taiwanese girl is so nice! So sweet! The taxi driver keeps looking at you through the rearview mirror...

These are all the norm. I hope you can slowly get used to it.Changing environments is never an easy thing.

🌅 Part 1 Summary

(Returning to the present) I've been writing this on and off for several days; I can't manage to write too much at once.

Whenever I recall my bravery, freshness, unease, anxiety, and pain back then, I feel grateful for this period of transition. Being able to trace my own path of growth, knowing that I have records, can output content, receive feedback from readers, and have loved ones accompanying me,is truly a blessing!

Stay tuned for the next post~~ I hope this sharing can offer those who have just started living on the mainlanda bit of inspiration and a bit of help.

🎉 Master Heptabase in 7 Days Workshop | Selected Assignments

YM | Day 7 Reflections

Day 1 | Navigation Map 🗺️

YM, department manager, expects Heptabase to integrate into my life and work, organizing my team, managing my projects, sorting out my thoughts, and optimizing my life.

Day 2 | Vision Board 🌏

(No assignment reflection submitted for this day)

Day 3 | Inspiration Pack 💡

There are many things I want to do, but each project is vague. I rely solely on my brain's memory, and the shelf life of these ideas is very short.

Day 4 | Gratitude Journal 🕊️

Let every day begin with gratitude and end with gratitude.

Day 5 | Organization Chart 📈

(No assignment reflection submitted for this day)

Day 6 | Reading Notes 📚

It's getting difficult.

Day 7 | AI Summary 🤖

I can feel the level of care Xiaochang put into this. For this 7-day workshop and the email content received, I believe it would be impossible to complete without a high level of passion.

The 7-day content is actually quite simple, but what I received wasn't just a 7-day operational workflow; it was 'concepts' and 'cognition.' Only with concepts can we build cognition. Once cognition is established and correct, we will naturally move in the right direction.

I have always wanted to use digital notes to optimize my life. From Evernote years ago to handwritten notes in Goodnotes, then to Notion, and now to Heptabase. Honestly, I haven't truly achieved the goal of optimizing my life. I think the problem lies in seeing others' Goodnotes notes that are so amazing—beautiful handwriting and lovely illustrations—while my own handwriting is so ugly that I can't continue. Similarly, seeing everyone's personal homepages and sub-pages in Notion, I realize I simply can't create such a great Notion setup. After watching Xiaochang's 7-day workshop, I realized that Heptabase doesn't need to be like Goodnotes or Notion, where you have to spend a lot of time on structure. Heptabase's Whiteboard, Journal, Cards, and #Tags have already completed the basic structure. You just need to focus on the content. Notion and Goodnotes often require focusing on layout settings and structure.

Thank you, Xiaochang. I hope I can achieve the goal of optimizing my life this time.

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🌭 Welcome to the Gut Community 🌭

Thank you for reading this letter.

If you are also holding on in a new environment,
Remember, you are amazing.

See you in the next letter.

Xiaochang is meticulous about typography; if you spot typos or formatting issues, please reach out to Xiaochang's IG Contact! All articles come from Heptabase Xiaochang's Second Brain🧠 Content is purely human-written, never AI-generated.

If you have any questions about the article content, or if there are any parts you'd like me to elaborate on, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know～
Some links in the article are "Affiliate Marketing" links. If you click through and make a purchase, Xiaochang receives a tiny little bit of commission (it won't affect the price).




by Knowledge Management Mentor Xiaochang🌭