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 China Megathread 1 2 - China LAN Thread - Chinese Language Thread - China Debate & Discussion - Taiwan Province Goons - Chinese Cooking  Keep all local discussion and general China Goon chat in the LAN thread. This thread is for T&T discussion only!Laowais! Welcome to the most recent incarnation of the China Megathread!  This FAQ (not the thread, just the first few posts) is for Tourism & Travel generally aimed at people coming to China on holiday or who are thinking about moving here and want to know about daily life. It's not all-encompassing, that's what a good guide book or even WikiTravel is for. Hopefully the FAQ will give you a good overview and answer the most common questions. Please give it a read through first, but feel welcome to ask our resident goons for further information. Don't hesitate to post a question at anytime. Note: Being an American, a lot of this FAQ is written from an American perspective, if you can't find the info you need based on your home country please ask, I'm sure some goon can help you out. Lurkers: if you're new in town or just a traveler SAY HELLO! we've got a lot of people in here that are more than willing to answer your questions or show you a good time if you just ask.  Goons in China & Contact Info (post in the thread if you want me to add/remove your name here)
Goon Contact Info: The Big List of China Goons contact info China Goon WeChat Group If the chatting in the LAN thread isn't enough for you, you love playing games on Steam or you need to goon it up in real-time, join us. click for big, then scan the QR code  A few General Questions
If you didn't already know China has more than 5000 YEARS OF HISTORY! There are some pretty awesome things to see and do and it's certainly a great experience. As far as coming to live here, this country is off to the races as far as development is concerned and becoming a booming market for investment and new sales opportunities. There are of course English teachers here as well, but if teaching English is what you want to do then you better be interested in China because the money in Korea, Japan, or Taiwan is much better. Many students also come here to learn Chinese as the tuition is pretty cheap as well as the cost of living in general. If you're interested in studying Chinese, check out the language thread posted at the top. Sheep-Goats posted:The first thing I tend to compare China to for people who ask me "What was it like?!?!?" is a goblin camp from Lord of the Rings. Once you get past the spitting, babies peeing anywhere they like, staring, inability to create and maintain a queue, sub-standard hygiene, moronic drivers, and apparent lack of logic you'll do alright. The culture shock, can be a little extreme in China just because outside the handful of major cities there isn't a lot that westerners can relate to here, unless you really like McDonald's or KFC. It's tough to generalize really, some people have the time of their lives for a few years and move on. Some find a significant other, put down roots and stay for a long time. Then again there are always the people that can't handle it and pull a midnight runner after being here for a month or two. Expect 30-60 days before you feel comfortable, but don't worry, there are still many surprises in store for you after that. If you're traveling through, and hitting up the touristy areas for a week or two, you'll probably be alright. Especially in cities like Beijing or Shanghai. But in the smaller cities and out in the countryside that's a definite no. You can point and make hand gestures, hostels and hotels will often have someone that speaks a little, and street stalls and merchants can communicate via hand signals or calculators, but once you want to do something slightly more complicated, you're in trouble. If you're staying for awhile, goddammit learn some Chinese! Learning Chinese will help you immensely and everyone will say "oh your Chinese is so good!" (it still sucks though, don't kid yourself). As far as taxis are concerned, until you know where you live or are staying, have a card with the address on it in Chinese (the hotel will usually give you one, or get one from a restaurant near your home) so you can show a taxi driver and get back to where you need to be. Short answer, yes. Especially if you're only here for a short while, be open and willing to try new things, you might find something you really like. Chances are the first couple weeks you may have to put up with a bout of diarrhea, if you encounter this a quick trip to the drugstore and some Norfloxacin should have you shittin' like normal in no time! The best point of advice I can give you is to eat in busy restaurants, if locals like it and it's busy, it must be okay for you too. The first time you try it, you'll have the same fear everyone else had of making GBS threads or pissing all over their pants and shoes. Don't worry, it rarely happens. Big fancy restaurants and hotels will typically have both squat and western toilets and possibly even have toilet paper (usually a dispenser outside the stall, take some before you go in). Public toilets however, may range from very nice and clean, to dirty and smelly, to a literal hole in the ground with slats of wood over it. Important: Good practice is to take a small pack of tissue with you at all times and maybe even hand sanitizer because chances are when that diarrhea creeps up on you there will be no toilet paper to be found. For the most part, yes! It's like 1950s America here; smoking is good for you and you can do it wherever you feel like. Just about everyone here smokes, it's just so ridiculously cheap and part of the culture, it's hard to avoid. Confused by all the colorful boxes at the cigarette shop? Check out this article for a few recommendations. There are of course places you can't smoke, but despite new "regulations" they are still few and far between. Note: this does not apply to Hong Kong, they actually take regulations seriously. Are you Chinese? No? Then for the mainland, yes you need one. Hong Kong, maybe not. See the section below for details as these are rumored to be changing soon. It's a matter of losing face, no one wants to be held responsible if they make a mistake and so they give you very vague answers until they know for sure for sure, and even then, it's best to keep mum in case some head-honcho decides to change it on a whim. Also, planning more than a day in advance is almost unheard of! This will continue to happen for your workplace events, but the table below will at least tell you the official national holidays. Working Days. For some reason the government looks at holidays as a wasted working day, so you'll often find that your weekend days and working days get shifted around so that the holiday and the weekend all fall in line. It's kinda nice, but at the same time, leaves you with strange 6 day weeks or Saturday = Monday bullshit. Don't worry though, someone will tell you about it (a day before  )  The visa rules have changed recently but there's a good chance it doesn't matter for you See this FAQ for a breakdown of new visa rules here Pretty much everyone will need a visa to go to mainland China, that's just the way China rolls. And if you're an American, there's an extra "gently caress-you" tax included! There are 3 different kinds of visas most of you reading this will fall under, if you for some reason don't, take a look at the links below and ask away. Note: Visas are not my forte so if you see any glaring errors or have any corrections, feel free to let me know China Visas Explained Applying for China visas List of countries that receive free visas for Hong Kong First and foremost, unless you live near the Chinese Embassy (Washington DC) or a Consulate (Houston, Chicago, San Francisco) you'll probably need to employ the help of a visa service. USA: USChinaVisa.com <-- proven cheap and reliable despite the lovely website, office near Chicago consulate MyChinaVisa.com <-- Reliable, and a bit faster, slightly more expensive, offices near all consulates Beginning July 1, 2013 some cities (Beijing/Shanghai) started requiring certified background checks for Z visas, to be 100% certain it is recommended you get a Criminal History Summary from the FBI. FBI Criminal Background Check - $18 - Fingerprints - 2~3 week turnaround If you must obtain an Embassy Legalization, I feel bad for you. You then have 4 more steps. At this point, it's probably easiest to pay a service (~$100) to help you jump through the hoops. A suggested provider is Authxperts The document must be:
Other countries should have services as well, Google or ask in the thread.
This visa is pretty easy to get. Americans can apply for Single, Double or Multiple (6 or 12 months) Entry visas. The standard right now is apparently a 12 month / multi-entry visa. Fill out your paperwork (Visa Application Form) and send it to your visa service along with a passport photo, your passport, a letter of invitation, and a money order or check. A week or two later you'll have your passport with a shiny new visa in it. The number of entries is the number of times you can cross the border into China. Hong Kong does not count, for most countries, Hong Kong does not require a visa. However, going from Shenzhen over to Hong Kong is technically leaving China, so if you only have a single entry make Hong Kong first or last on your trip. Recently split into X1 (long-term) & X2 (short-term). Fill out your paperwork (Visa Application Form Q1), along with a Foreign Student Visa Application Form (JW201 or JW202) issued to you from your school, as well as the admission notice from your Chinese school. Send all of the required documents to your visa service along with your passport and a week or two later you'll have a shiny new visa. Recently split into Z1 (over 90 days) & Z2 (less than 90 days). This visa isn't tougher to get, just requires a few more steps. Your employer will send you a letter of invitation to come and work for them. You will then send your letter of invitation along with your application, passport, etc. to the visa service which will return a Z-Visa to you. This visa is only good for one entry, upon arrival you (your company) will need to take you to the PSB within 30 days to have your Z-Visa exchanged for a residency permit. This residency permit is good for 1 year and will allow you to come and go from China as you please. If this is your first time applying for a Foreign Expert Certificate or Work Permit you may need a background check as well, but it depends on the city. Visa-free sightseeing in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu & Guangzhou. Starting January 1, 2013, limited to 45 countries currently. See here for more details. All foreigners are supposed to carry their passports at all times. You'll need it for checking into hotels, riding trains, etc. Always keep a photocopy of your passport safely in your luggage as well in case something happens to yours. You may be asked to present your passport by police on the streets, which may result in a several hour detention while someone goes to get it for you. It really sucks, but you should keep it with you. Penalties have increased recently for immigration law Forget to register at Police Station - Up to 2000 RMB Overstay your visa - 500 RMB/day, up to 10,000 RMB. Worst case is deportation and blacklisting for 5 years Illegal employment - 20,000 RMB (max). Worst case is deportation and blacklisting for 5 years  What should I bring? Clothing1, shoes1, a big bag of nice thick socks, deodorant/antiperspirant, hard-bristled toothbrush, condoms2, sunblock, a laptop, camera, English books3, prescription drugs4, spices5
There is one caveat: anything Western you buy here, from clothes, to electronics to cereal will generally be up to 50% more expensive than it is in the US, even on things made in China. So buy it before you get here or when you're home on holiday. Can't find something in China? EVERY GOON IN CHINA posted:Have you checked Taobao? Want to buy stuff on Taobao but don't know how? Check out the Taobao getting started guide (in English) 
Your options are many; buses, trains, planes. High speed trains are quickly expanding and are very competitive with domestic flights for speed and convenience. You now you can book high-speed tickets online with your passport here. Depends which city you're in, but you've got a few options If you're staying for awhile... You can, but I can just punch you in the face for free; it'll be about the same amount of enjoyment. 
China is still mostly a cash-based society. It's not uncommon for people to be carrying around wads of notes in their wallets. Department stores, other major stores, chain supermarkets and major clothing stores accept credit cards, but not everybody. Do NOT come to China with no cash, and expect to charge everything. Travelers' cheques can be tricky outside major centers. Not all banks can handle them. If you must use travelers' cheques, make sure you know where they can be converted before you come. But really, just don't.  If your card has one of the logos above you should be free to use most ATMs. Definitely get some money in the airport where there are many international ATMs. Once in the city, places like Bank of China, ICBC, HSBC, and China Merchants bank typically have 24 hour ATMs connected to the International ATM network. Nearly all ATMs also have the option to select English as your language of choice for the transaction. If your card is declined, don't panic, the international network connection may be down. Simply try another ATM down the street or come back a bit later, you'll probably have better luck. Do keep watch for yourself though, as pickpockets like to hangout around busy ATMs for easy targets. It's probably easiest to exchange money at an airport exchange booth for an okay rate just to make sure you actually have some cash on you. Otherwise you'll get pretty good rates out of an ATM machine, and the ATM fees aren't that bad. Don't bother with buying or selling RMB or HKD outside of China/HK, you will get screwed with terrible conversion rates. Need to exchange RMB for USD? Ask a trusted Chinese friend to help exchange the money for you. Those of us with foreign passports can only exchange up to $500 USD worth of RMB, whereas a Chinese can exchange up to $10,000 USD worth of RMB. Something to keep in mind. There are a few ways of getting your money out of China that have been discussed before, however the two easiest ways are: If you have a Chinese bank account with an ATM card, many world-wide banks support UnionPay networks, so going back to your home country and taking your money out through an ATM should result in a pretty good exchange rate and minimal fees. In the US, Western Union is known for scams and has a bad stigma surrounding it. However I've found that as long as you have someone you trust at home to send the money to, Western Union works pretty well. The fee is $25(USD) for any amount sent. There are two caveats: you must change your money to USD first (including the $25 fee), and you should expect at least 30 minutes at the bank waiting for the teller to figure out what the gently caress to do. You'll need to know your foreign banks transfer information. usually a SWIFT code or ABA code, your bank's main address, and of course your account number. Your bank probably has all this stuff posted online if you just do a quick Google search. Bank of China is good for wire transfers, but be prepared to pay about 200 RMB to send, and then get hit with a $15 fee for your foreign bank to receive. However, if you're sending a whole slug of money, this fee might be just a drop in the bucket. 
 Eating in China Rule of Thumb posted:If the restaurant is busy, it's probably good. If there are many other people eating it, it's probably safe for you to eat too.
SB35 fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Feb 20, 2015 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:31
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I can't read it!
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 "Where to stay" by caberham Bloodnose posted:Never judge anything by star rating in China. There is horrible star inflation. Never stay lower than four stars and you probably won't get a soft bed for less than seven. This this and this. The official tourism board have a ridiculous "A" grading system. Some places like the ORIGINAL HANG ZHOU West Lake are AAAAA, while the horrible knock off (but still acredited) GUANDONG West Lake are AAA. I don't even want to know what's A grade. Or a B grade  Finding a Place to Stay in China With it's high population density and cheap transportation networks, everyone is always moving around and going on some sort of trip in the country. Which means everyone trying to find a place to eat and ultimately a place to sleep at the end of the night. You have migrants looking for a job, rural students taking a toefl test, travelling business men, Teachers on a visa run, tourists, mistresses and adulterers, temporary relocation, etc etc etc. If you want to be a ~~**free spirited back packer**~~ and not get tied down with reservations then this part doesn't affect you. If you are looking for a place to stay in a city for a few days, read ahead. But during the major holidays, rooms can fill up in no time in China. It's not like Bangkok where there are a string of places for you to pick in Khao San. Hostels - Stay away from Green Tree Inn in Wudaokao That place scammed a goon. Western style hostels are great for first timers in China. The staff speaks decent English, you can meet like minded tourists and mingle around the common room. And the mattresses are soft. Prices are hit and miss. Book through hostelworld or other hostel portals. Pro
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Couchsurfing Are you non Chinese? Land in China is spacious unlike Hong Kong so maybe you can try couch surfing and meet some interesting people. But it's couch surfing so you don't want to be that guy who just uses a persons place for a free hotel room (some hosts are ok with that) - depends if you want to meet Chinese folks and do a cultural sharing experience. You don't spend money on lodging but you would probably be hanging out with a host and all. Pro
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Goon couch It's worse than staying at a couch surfer's home, it's encrusted in cheeto dust! Actually you are lucky if there is an extra couch, most of the time it's just sleeping on a unsweeped floor. They will make forum references, show you their hentai collection, or wake you up after a long night of goon drinking and watch a stuttering football match with their lovely VPN. Then they make you cheer for the hurricanes when you just want to sleep a bit more  Serious talk, all goons in person I have met are cool and I appreciate their hospitality. Afroninja has a swank Bachelor pad that just oozes with cool.Air BnB I don't have experience with this. From what I have heard from my friends and the people I have hosted, it's basically just renting a room from someone. Great for large families on a budget or people who just want to try to stay in different places. Can't tell you much on this. Hotels - Chain - geared towards the China goon, or people living in China One important note for all places. Rabelais D posted:Pick a newly opened one (2011 or newer), any hotel more than two years old in China tends to get hosed up with mold, weird stains on the furniture, etc. During the day time there are 4-6 hour specials that ranges from 40~80 rmb. The noise is never bad though, I'm the one who is always noisier These are no non-sense chain hotels for you to sleep. Really plain and boring with hard mattresses but are plentiful and all over China in different locations. They all have a hot water kettle for you to cook your instant noodles and some of the rooms allow smoking. The rooms them selves may be renovated old housing blocks or new buildings. What's cool about them is that the rates are pretty much locked in year round and can get much cheaper than your average hotel or small time fake 3 star hotel. What's not cool is that some of them are just fronts for people to bring prostitutes, or places for people to meet up and gently caress. But I suppose that's what people do in hotels anyway. And if you want to book online, it's only available in Chinese. So that's a bit of inconvenience. If you don't want to pay a deposit, check in lasts until 6pm, but you can call the hotel ahead to hold onto your room. So which one to pick? It's really a personal preference. They all have hard mattresses.
Under the huazhu group, they even have bare basic single rooms with shared bathrooms for an even cheaper cost. But do note that the older/seedier places might be badly kept, cigarette burn holes, moldy floors, CRT tv's - Pro
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But wait goons, there's the best option to staying Caberham's pick : Hanting All seasonsThis specific chain is an upscale version of hanting. It's super comfortable with wifi inside the rooms, rain type showers, soft mattresses, individual packaged soaps and shampoos, flat screen TV's, and just rocks. I stayed there so many times to gain Platinum status and have reduced discounts, 2pm late check out, free breakfast (  ). If any goons need a place to book and have trouble, PM me and I will see how I can assist. But that means giving an internet stranger your personal details and passport number. Since I know and met half of you guys in person it should be ok Only problem with all seasons is the number of branches. You can't choose as many spots as the regular chains.Caberham's pick : Hanting All seasons"Nicer international chain hotels" I'm super jealous if you have a corporate rate.  It's priced internationally but you better expect top dollar service. Some of the Branches like the Jing An Hilton or the hotels in the older buildings are not as good and to me are a bit pricier but I think this hotel talk is more along the likes of trip advisor/booking.com or whatever real hotel talk. Internet
You may have heard of the "Great Firewall of China", well it does indeed exist. Typically internet access isn't too bad, social websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are blocked along with many porn sites. You'll know you've hit the wall when you receive an "ERROR_CONNECTION_RESET" error. For the most part, you can "scale the wall" by using a VPN service. It's recommended you purchase VPN service before arrival because you won't be able to access the site once you've arrived. If you're traveling, your best bet to deal with the internet problems is to take physical copies of things if you're traveling, flight itineraries, passport copies, travel guides, etc. and don't rely too heavily on the internet because it may not work for you when you need it. Google is pretty much blocked in China right nowBefore it was "sometimes Gmail/search works, sometimes not", but for the last couple months it's been "nothing works ever". This includes Google Maps (which was poo poo for China anyway) and Google Play. My Android phone can literally not update or even search the store without connecting to a VPN now. Mobile Phones If you're staying for awhile in China, especially studying, a smartphone is very highly recommended. Easy to type and receive messages in Chinese, easy to look up that address on a map, built-in Chinese/English dictionary, easier to meet with other goons, and so on. caberham posted:Just get a Xiaomi, half the cost of flagship phones, RMB 2000! You can use your foreign phone here actually, but it must be "unlocked". Your best bet is an unlocked, quad-band phone. If you're here for only a short time, you can often find people selling SIM cards outside in large shopping areas, in front of phone stores, or at the train station. Otherwise you can buy a SIM card the official way with your passport at a phone shop. As far as buying a phone, China has something like 1 phone store to every 100 people, so you can probably find something. Check out GSM Arena to see what your phone supports. Check your country's frequency here.
          Electronics China uses 220V with practically "universal" outlets that generally look like the pics below. Do you really need that voltage converter? Probably not; your laptop, iPod, phone chargers all say 110V~240V on them, so you can plug them in without an issue. The only thing you might need would be a plug adapter.    Awesome places to visit or live Post a quick write-up of your city, some cool place in the city, or a great place you've traveled to complete with some nifty pics and we'll bookmark it here.
What's Going on in... How do you find out what's happening in your city? Check here and let us know to add it here.
SB35 fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Jul 16, 2014 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:31
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English website has a listings of Chinese hotels.
- 850 MHz & 1900 MHz
- 900 MHz & 1800 MHz
- 900 MHz & 1800 MHz
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预留 停车
SB35 fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:32
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Now that we've got a new thread, make sure to update your information on the Google Docs contact list. I've been updating the goon list in the OP from this list as well. If there's goons you know aren't in China anymore, or any I've missed in your city let me know. Time to update your goon city post... or at the very least move it over to this thread. SB35 fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 02:41
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It is true. It is not a happy everyday. edit: I'm going to meet up with TWM in the next few days and we're going to do a new goon city for Tianjin. I haven't told him this yet but we'll include pictures. For goons that don't have archives, a lot of those links will be lost in the old thread.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:05
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Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:33
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Woot, new thread! Great job SB35. The pictures help a lot to break up the  , as Bloodnose suggested.What follows is mostly for non-tourists, though I suppose it could be useful for travelers too, to a degree. At any rate I hope it's useful for someone. Commence   Freshly-minted and prospective China goons take note: this thread, and its predecessors, can be invaluable if you come on over to glorious 中国 (are we keeping characters out of the megathread now? I can't remember). Beyond having done a lot of reading about Chinese history and whatnot, I was a complete and utter China noob when I showed up in Beijing in 2012. Now, a year later, I am admittedly still a noob, but one much more at ease with and able to enjoy the hilarious/bizarre clusterfuck that is living in China, and the goon community did have a lot to do with that. Ask questions if you have them, no matter how silly. Share stories when you get them. As for pictures (except babies making GBS threads; we see that enough every day, thanks),  .You will almost certainly go at least partially insane while you are here. Don't worry, though -- it's temporary.  Culture shock can be serious business to some folks, and it definitely got to me after the initial honeymoon period of three months or so. This is a pretty common reaction to living in a very different culture, of course, and well-documented in sociological research -- and, even better, previous China megathreads. Here's my advice to anyone who is a total noob and is having difficulty adapting, as I did for a while: stick it out. Trust me. It's worth it. If you're here working, know very little or no Chinese, and are having a hard time finding the motivation to fit studying around your professional life, take this advice too: do your damndest to at least learn basic stuff, even if it's arduous. Having simple communication skills is a huge relief here. It's even more true than it is obvious.Life here can be wonderfully eye-opening and enlightening (though not in the sense that you will magically become a Buddhist sage or esoteric Taoist philosopher -- and if you're pursuing some EAT PRAY LOVE ORIENTAL FANTASY, come anyway, but prepare to have your preconceptions get  ). It has been for me. I would recommend it to anyone who has even a modicum of adventurousness.As many of my students have told me (sometimes after knowing me for months, which is, sadly, less puzzling now than it was a year ago), WELCOME TO CHINA.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:35
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao. Man, I don't know. I think B-rad or Magna or gbm has done it. Obviously Pro-PRC has, but he's pretty much Chinese anyway so I don't think he counts. I'm almost positive it's doable. I always just had MY GIRLFRIEND order the stuff for me and use my bank card to pay. Some goon will enlighten us.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:46
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao. It's been a long time since I set up an account, but where do they even ask for any ID at all? I have multiple accounts and they don't know anything about me.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:47
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About culture shock, I never really experienced it much. Sometimes I feel like Fry from Futurama, like maybe I'm just too stupid to really care about the differences so I usually just accept stuff as is?
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Jun 20, 2013 03:51
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Not everyone does. I never had any real issue adjusting to Korea, and poo poo that bothers me like never planning or the medieval medicine isn't culture shock, it's just dumb.
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Jun 20, 2013 03:53
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blinkyzero posted:Culture shock can be serious business to some folks, and it definitely got to me after the initial honeymoon period of three months or so. This is a pretty common reaction to living in a very different culture, of course, and well-documented in sociological research -- and, even better, previous China megathreads. How long before new-thread-shock wears off and we can stop being helpful and start being cynical. I wrote a thing for another place about culture shock and teaching in China. People often associate "culture shock" with silly things like day-to-day problems, strange food and people smelling different, but if you are coming to China to work then it is in your "professional" persona that culture shock is going to kick you. Here's A Thing posted:
In case you weren't already aware of this, moving from one environment to another can be fairly stressful. If you fancy a good read about this try Phiona Stanley's article Performing Foreigners, a conference paper version of which can be found here: http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/ccg/events/pdf/mpn%20028.pdf She overcooks the issue a little in my opinion but the general direction is certainly accurate. Further information about educational practices in China can be found here: http://www.sdaw.info/lecturers/practices_china.htm As a bunch of people might drift into this thread because they are thinking about teaching in China I will maybe keep this post and add information to it as time goes on. GuestBob fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 03:54
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GuestBob posted:How long before new-thread-shock wears off and we can stop being helpful and start being cynical. It may not be a happy everyday, but at least the first page of the thread can be, right?  And yeah, I should have clarified what I meant by culture shock. Mostly it has to do with your professional life. I can only speak about Chinese universities and high schools, of course, but they tend to treat teachers and curriculum very, very differently than we do in, say, the U.S., and by "differently" I mean "holy poo poo this is terrible." Ultimately, though, a teacher's job is to teach students, and if you can do that -- and are interested in doing that -- I think many of the, uh, differences melt away. Not all, but many. We do have some corporate folks in this thread. From past posts, I'm assuming that the non-education fields in China are similar in their frustrations. True or not?
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Jun 20, 2013 04:11
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Well, I'm a corporate folk here. Yes, stuff is terrible but honestly I didn't like corporate culture in the US at all either so it sort of feels like a wash to me.
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Jun 20, 2013 04:22
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I'm leaving China for good (I think) in ten days, so you might want to take me off the Beijing goons list. I just lurked anyhow!
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Jun 20, 2013 04:29
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao. I'd like to see this too. I've bought things on Taobao a few times, but damned if I can remember how. I always get lost at the payment part.
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Jun 20, 2013 04:44
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A tip: don't get a VPN as soon as you get here. Don't even worry about it. Instead, explore the native Chinese alternatives to the websites that you think you need a VPN for. These include: www.youku.com Their version of youtube which often has the same stuff as youtube. www.weibo.com China's Twitter/Facebook hybrid. Not nearly as useless as Twitter, because you can say a lot more with 140 Chinese characters than you can with 140 letters. v.360.cn Pretty much any TV show in the world, quickly streamed and at your fingertips. mp3.baidu.com Stream just about any song in the world for free. If you need help, ask one of your students or a friend to help you figure these out. They will usually be overjoyed to help you understand the Chinese internet, which is becoming more and more integral to understanding Chinese culture and language. If you just want a VPN to torrent videogames, cut that poo poo out and go outside.
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Jun 20, 2013 05:10
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Great post, just to add a few things that I hope don't come across as too preachy. In a nutshell - The teacher you are replacing more than likely fell into the following categories and left your School/University with a less than stellar view of foreigners:  the first graduate of the english cambridge university in harvard usa (Lagos Campus). Failed Frat boy. In China, he's sort of a big deal. Neck bearded sweaty hambeast. Have flashcards will travel. Single foreign female. WHERE DO I GET MY MEDS?  That kid from Ohio.  Deported from Cambodia. IN CHINA ALL FOREIGNERS ARE THE SAME Your employers will generally expect you to share redeeming features with the characters above. As Guestbob points out, do yourselves (and the rest of us) a favour by going above and beyond what is minimally expected. Don't ask to do it, just do it. China does not have a culture of taking pride in your work purely for the sake of taking pride in your work. This is why so much of the workforce here is bored and unmotivated. Do not fall into this trap. At first getting paid for having to do very little seems very cool and edgy. The novelty soon wears off and when it does it can be hard to break that mindset. Hit the ground running. Do not expect any help in fulfilling extra duties but management will be appreciate the extra effort. Whilst they won't openly acknowledge it, you will be given a lot more freedom and responsibility in your job role. I would suggest anyone wanting to come to China to teach, contact some of your local schools and ask to do some volunteer or TA work for a least a month before you make the decision to come. Teaching is hard work and with the added stress of adapting to a whole new way of life, it is not something that should be approached with a half arsed attitude. I am the Principal of an International School (Chinese Owned) in Beijing so if anyone has any problems or advice on how to deal the Chinese management in an Education setting, or looking for jobs/advice etc feel free to PM me on here.
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Jun 20, 2013 06:05
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao. You don't need Alipay, you just need to set up online banking with your bank. Do that and they'll either give you a USB dongle or a token you then use when checking out. Making an account on Taobao is 100% independent from Alipay, and just requires your email. I'd also suggest inputting your cell number and verifying it it when they ask for it after you sign up.  Click there to make a new account.  For non-moon rune readers. The page after that asks for an email address, after which you're done. It'll probably ask you to fill out some personal information like name and address after you finish making the account. When you want to checkout, you'll see some option with a lot of bank logos and the characters 网络银行, click on your bank logo and go through their checkout system. The check-out process will differ based on what bank you use, but a few things a relatively constant throughout: 1. You need to use an old-rear end browser like IE6 or Safari 2. Input 200 passwords 3. The dongle will screw up somehow Luckily, most banks are switching to tokens which are way better and easier. They look like little calculators and the way it works is while checking out you need to log in to your online bank account and use the password from the token. To confirm the purchase you need to input some code in to the token and then put what the token spits back out to the website, and you're done. ASAIK, most banks have switched to tokens instead of USB things. You do need to go to your bank and ask for 网络银行, though. This usually requires filling out one form that they will largely fill out for you (A lot of it is just choosing how many levels of security you want and what accounts can access it) and doesn't really take that long. When I used CCB they charged me 20rmb for the USB thing, but ICBC didn't charge anything for their token. Ailumao fucked around with this message at 07:35 on Jun 20, 2013 |
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Jun 20, 2013 07:26
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Hey SB35, can you add the Chinese cooking thread to the OP? http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3401971
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Jun 20, 2013 08:38
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Longanimitas posted:A tip: don't get a VPN as soon as you get here. Don't even worry about it. Instead, explore the native Chinese alternatives to the websites that you think you need a VPN for. These include: These are good websites, and I have a few to add: www.xiami.com and www.1ting.com are streaming music sites with a pretty surprising selection. These are also great if I want to show a certain song to a coworker. www.verycd.com Originally I used this site for eMule downloads, but now the site is pretty great for streaming both Chinese and foreign TV shows and movies, since the linked videos will usually have Chinese subtitles so you can watch with your friends! Another trick is to use this site to find the Chinese name of a show or movie, which you can then paste into video.baidu.com to watch. club.pchome.net If SA is down for updates or something, you can check out KDS for your forum needs. It has a lot of goony Shanghai dudes and an overwhelming number of boards, but some of the posts are pretty funny and you can learn slang to impress your students or something (for example, this old HOLY CRAP I SAW NICHOLAS CAGE IN SHANGHAI thread http://club.pchome.net/thread_1_15_7618466.html). Even with these websites, I'd suggest finding a VPN option. Certain news websites, blogs, and imgur links won't be available without one. It can also make Google searches slow or impossible. You'll also need it if you want to access Google-cached pages.
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Jun 20, 2013 08:44
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Arglebargle III posted:Seeing as there's a Taobao recommendation in the OP and I am still an idiot tourist despite living in this country 2 years, is there any way we could get a guide on how to register an account on Taobao/Alipay? When I've tried it seems that not having a Chinese ID number is an impassible barrier to using Taobao. After many, many failed attempts, I think I have a working Alipay account. I created the taobao account first. The I registered on Alipay using my phone as the login/username, and as being on the mainland (didn't try registering as a foreigner in Singapore/Malaysia/HK etc.). I also used 111111111111111 (15 x 1) as the ID number. A colleague chatted with the tech support, and they told me to use 15 ones. After setting it up, I couldn't login again, the password refused to be recognised, and resetting it twice via the "Forgot my password" link, which said it worked, but my account was still locked. A friend chatted with tech support, and asked wtf was going on, and within 10 minutes it just started working. I can't link my bank account, because it's a China Merchant Bank, and they only support authentication/linking through the national ID card number. My colleague showed me a help-page that seemed to say other banks supported link's using other ID, including passport, and I think Bank of China had the most options. Once that was setup, I could link the taobao account to Alipay. I can't read Chinese, so Chrome's automatic translation, and patient friends were essential. Their patience wore thin though... the pure inconvenience of not having an ID and having to repeatedly explain that to tech support, the website's being horrible to navigate, the plugins that have to be installed and then freeze the browser, the sheer randomness of failure and success...
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Jun 20, 2013 10:54
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Spotify also works fine in China without a VPN or anything, so if you want music there's always that.
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Jun 20, 2013 11:21
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Magna Kaser posted:Spotify also works fine in China without a VPN or anything, so if you want music there's always that. I've had mixed results with Spotify: Download to PC it plays fine. Unable to download on Apple unless your store is set to a different country (ie: not China) Try to stream from Website it say not available in your country Trying to join/activate free trial/subscribe needs to be done whilst connected to a VPN or you get the same message as above. But once set up you can then log in fine on a PC without a VPN. Blackberry doesn't work at all but I am complete technotard so probably something I've done wrong.
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Jun 20, 2013 15:09
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Ah, I use it on my Mac fine, but I did make my account while living in the states. I've never had any issues logging in or using it on any computer while in China, though.
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Jun 20, 2013 17:50
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I dunno if this is the right thread for this anymore, but it's basic China-stuff so, The Color Run is coming to Beijing for August. https://www.facebook.com/TheColorRunChina?hc_location=stream Facebook is the only English language resource I can find (I originally found them via weibo which is predominantly in Chinese). Anyone going to take part in this? Will the CCP turn on the weather machines to make it clear that day? Will the admission fee include a gasmask?! I kind of wish it was anywhere but Beijing cause it's a silly thing I'd want to do.
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Jun 21, 2013 05:26
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Is the Apple Cloud blocked in China? It has all of my sweet, sweet music on it.
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Jun 23, 2013 07:04
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Cloud services get blocked randomly in China. Dropbox was blocked for like two years but it's been working fine since January or so. Wesendit and a few other file transfer sites are hosed up at the moment as well. I'd give it a week, or just get a vpn.
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Jun 23, 2013 10:20
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I've arrived here and am set up with China Unicom. Is it just my luck or is prepaid data here just terrible? I signed up with a prepaid card that was like 96 yuan (with 30 for the sim) and I went through the data allowance in an afternoon.
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Jun 25, 2013 00:54
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william567 posted:I've arrived here and am set up with China Unicom. Is it just my luck or is prepaid data here just terrible? I signed up with a prepaid card that was like 96 yuan (with 30 for the sim) and I went through the data allowance in an afternoon. How much data did that get you? If you just started your account you probably had to pay the monthly fee too, so maybe 20 RMB. Right off the bat. At the very least pay as you go is pretty common in China, just head down to the nearest phone shop and put another 50 RMB on your phone. Honestly, I treated China as mostly offline. My phone data was good enough for email, maps, and reading SA. Pretty much everything else, including RSS feeds I just downloaded over wifi and read offline. Granted I had China Mobile 2G data so it was balls slow and I'm cheap. edit: where are you located? SB35 fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Jun 25, 2013 |
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Jun 25, 2013 01:33
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If you want to save money sign up for a block of data plan by texting the carrier.
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Jun 25, 2013 02:12
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william567 posted:I've arrived here and am set up with China Unicom. Is it just my luck or is prepaid data here just terrible? I signed up with a prepaid card that was like 96 yuan (with 30 for the sim) and I went through the data allowance in an afternoon. How much data did you use? You should have had 300-500MB for that much money. That's not a HUGE amount, but using that much in one day is a bit crazy.
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Jun 25, 2013 02:16
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william567 posted:I've arrived here and am set up with China Unicom. Is it just my luck or is prepaid data here just terrible? I signed up with a prepaid card that was like 96 yuan (with 30 for the sim) and I went through the data allowance in an afternoon. Did you buy a used card? Also, was it a China Unicom store or some hole in the wall store that advertised itself as China Unicom? Sounds like you just got someone else's sim card with their data usage tacked on.
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Jun 25, 2013 03:23
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I'm actually buying internet service for the first time after living in China for two years so I get to post in the thread like a stupid newbie. How do I bought internet?  A Chinese friend advises me that the community service is the best price:performance deal but neglected to mention where to go to actually buy internet and how they hook it up and do I need my own wireless router or will they provide one?
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Jun 25, 2013 03:33
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william567 posted:I've arrived here and am set up with China Unicom. Is it just my luck or is prepaid data here just terrible? I signed up with a prepaid card that was like 96 yuan (with 30 for the sim) and I went through the data allowance in an afternoon. I used China Telecom and 100 kuai would last about a month or so, but I almost always used wifi, so most of that money was texts and phonecalls. Argle, when I bought internet in China it was always from the guys around the street. Besides sites being blocked and stuff, download speeds were pretty decent. So I guess just go to whoever is down the block from you. I've heard if you get lovely speeds they'll fix it for you, which is all you can really ask for I suppose. It was one of the few things I never had a problem with there, I'm actually getting much slower service in the States right now fwiw. I had my own wireless router but they provided the modem. You'll be downloading torrents in no time!
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Jun 25, 2013 03:40
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SB35 posted:I had China Mobile 2G data so it was balls slow... Oh God, I decided to get a 2G SIM for my 3G Nexus 7 when I went travelling for a week in order to get some work done on the road, in the remote villages of Guizhou where wifi is but a legend. Pages were loading so slow I just couldn't do my work, so I had to go to the nearest decent sized town and check in to a nice hotel with wifi for a couple of days.
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Jun 25, 2013 04:18
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Rabelais D, you in Hong Kong? We are setting up a DnD group or bi weekly gaming group in HK, you should come hang out with us. my email is [username][dot][spam] Gmail We are planning on going Thursday night fill in the blank http://www.fillintheblank.hk/ in wanchai 7pm. caberham fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jun 25, 2013 |
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Jun 25, 2013 04:25
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Arglebargle III posted:I'm actually buying internet service for the first time after living in China for two years so I get to post in the thread like a stupid newbie. How do I bought internet? Your friend probably doesn't use the internet the same as you. Pro-PRC will back me up on this, just go with China Telecom. They have storefronts all over the place in every city. Just walk into one and ask about signing up for internet service (you'll need your passport). You'll have to fill out some info, then within a couple days some guy will come to your apartment and set it up. They'll provide a wireless router, but I've found that their routers don't tend to do PPPoE on their own so I prefer to get an additional router that actually logs in, so the devices that connect to it can just get on the internet right away.
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Jun 25, 2013 04:46
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caberham posted:Rabelais D, you in Hong Kong? We are setting up a DnD group or bi weekly gaming group in HK, you should come hang out with us. my email is [username][dot][spam] Gmail Yeah, I was fully set to go to Bloodnose's DnD session at the end of last year, but had to go to Shenzhen at the last minute. My China visa just expired so I am landlocked in HK at the moment, Thursday sounds good. Add me on wechat? 95442028
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Jun 25, 2013 04:58
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