Probably your best bet is simply to make a friend and ask them if they would be willing to share their contact information with you. I wouldn't ask them immediately, though. Every time a Chinese person has done that with me, it has made me reluctant to do so. It would be better to wait until the end of a conversation, before saying goodbye. You might say, "Would you mind if I had your phone number or email address?" or "Can we exchange phone numbers?" Another method might be to invite them to join you for a meal to get to know them better or offer to help them with something they need help with. That would give you a good reason to exchange contact information. Most foreigners living in China are eager to make friends with Chinese students, but sometimes get a lot of requests from overeager students who don't take the time to have a conversation first.

talking to people and asking them directly

Why would you share YOUR friends contact info with the others? Your friend may get pissed if they get 50 requests from people they don't know & rapidly become your ex-friend.