Connection in china and general advices

Hello! I'm going to start studying in china next month, for a period of a year or two. I'm mainly going to be in Chengdu but also plan to travel when I can. I can't get a straight answer about VPNs and sim... Is it the best option to arrive with esim and VPN, and get a local sim for the long run? Which VPNs are you using that actually work? I already connected to WeChat, are there any other apps I should know about? And any way if you have advices for someone who's never been to china I'd be happy to hear Thanks!