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Eat This Glob posted:Long shot, but is anyone here familiar with rural Hebei Provence? I'm going over for a trade conference between Iowa and the provence as the international correspondent for my (two person writing staff) weekly newspaper. My boss - the other writer - was originally going to go, but doesn't want to any more, so I'm off to China for a week to write about people talking about pork, soybeans, and corn. I don't have an itinerary yet, but if you wouldn't mind me bouncing some general questions off you, send me a PM, or let me know where I can email you! I've road tripped to rural Hebei twice. There isn't much there (I assume you're going to be in the south where all the farms are). And yes, it's amazing how polluted that place is.
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Aug 1, 2013 02:52
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BadAstronaut posted:Fine, GPRS then. Tin cans n' string. Packets chucked in the back of an overloaded rickshaw... s'all good. Let me just tell you some things. If you really depend on the internet, you'll be in for a shock. There are times when VPN's just don't work. There are times when DNS goes out. There are times when the firewall is being updated and you can't get decent speeds overseas. The firewall uses smart blocking to block sites. If it detects bad keywords it will randomly block sites. Google isn't blocked, but if you search certain keywords it will suddenly be blocked for minutes to hours. And you get stupid things happening too, like they shut off the router in the basement, guy's fixing electricity welded through the cable, water flooded the server room, etc. Cloud storage? Ha! I haven't touched it in the two years I've been here. It's too slow and too unreliable to use in China. 3g. As was mentioned there is no LTE in China. Only China Unicom uses international 3g equipment, all other networks are using some home built 3g system that won't work anywhere else in the world. The 3g speeds really suck to overseas websites and low data caps really limit usage. I used to do everything on my phone, now I keep it under 200mb a month.
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Aug 14, 2013 02:04
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Hainan was one of the (3?) 5 star rated skytrax airlines, although people say they bought their rating.
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Aug 23, 2013 09:44
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gwrtheyrn posted:Where is this? I'm also around 五道口, and that sounds like my kind of place Second this, I'm not far from Wudaokou. Also, because the pollution has been poo poo so far this fall.  This was from this past spring, 2 days in the 'Hazardous' range. I've got one looking dirtier than this one just from this past week. This is supposed to be the cleanest season in Beijing, winter is going to kill us all. Aero737 fucked around with this message at 14:04 on Oct 6, 2013 |
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Oct 6, 2013 13:53
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Winter in Beijing will be cold as balls and often windy. This kills the fun of most outside activities, but if you want to I always recommend the summer palace. It loses some charm during the winter when everything is brown and dead though (but is loving huge, it will take you two hours at least to make a circuit and see everything). Other things outside include Houhai area (a small lake) and Beihai Park. All will have a ton of winter activities and you can get dragged around the frozen lake by a goat. If you head here, check out the surrounding courtyard houses (Hutongs) for a taste of old Beijing. Otherwise, I recommend the Military Museum. A ton of old cool communist stuff and a room dedicated to shot down American stuff from Korea. Check out the Llama Temple to see one of the few working temples in eastern China. Stay away from Badaling Great Wall if you can. It's easy to get to, but will be covered in Chinese tourists and dangerously slippery from frozen phlegm. Instead try and get to the Mutianyu section. I haven't been to Ghost Street for a long time, but it used to be a cool place to get food. Also, Feb 14 is the end of the Chinese New year. Expect crazy fireworks on every street corner as it's the last day they are legal in Beijing and everyone shoots off the discounted fireworks.
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Oct 7, 2013 00:08
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Search for Taobao agents. They are a kind of middle man to get things from taobao to the west.
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Oct 11, 2013 03:09
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Woodsy Owl posted:loving hell. I think my ISP is China Unicom, and I think I'm routed through Zhengzhou first. Is anyone else getting this crap on China Unicom? Yeah, I'm in Beijing on Unicom and sometimes I'm routed through Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and loving Xi'An. The good thing is that if I renew my lease, I always get a new IP and chances are a better location.
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Oct 14, 2013 04:45
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Ceciltron posted:Today I met with my boss and was told that, because no other previous teacher had complained that they had not been paid their overtime, there was no problem. I then explained I simply wanted to be paid. The conversation went in circles until my boss asked me "when does your visa expire". Is your visa through that company? Careful, a lot of schools issue visas through agencies which makes your contact technically null and void. You could sue them, but that's a long drawn out process that no foreigner can navigate. The police will do nothing, they will tell you to sue them. Source: I worked for a lovely school which issued my visa through an agency, and then extorted me for 2000 for my release letter at the end of my contract. Police in Beijing told me I had to sue to do anything about it.
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Jan 16, 2014 16:53
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VideoTapir posted:And what happens if your visa expires and you can't get another one right away while you are suing? That's why they get away with it. I had no time to try and sue them. Also, don't hit kids and make a video. You'll become the next scapegoat anytime there is a problem in China. Just like that guy who hit the lady on his motorcycle, the "rape guy" in Beijing, etc..
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Jan 17, 2014 15:48
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Hi Hong Kong goons, I'll be in HK from the 18th to 23rd for the Cards and Payments Expo. I have free time pretty much all day on the 21, 22, and 23. Anyone want to meet up during this time? Caberhelm keeps talking about good steak sandwiches and such. Also, our company has us in South Pacific Hotel in Central. I'm staying one extra night at my own cost, any recommendations for a good hotel that wouldn't be too difficult to get to and also has good connectivity to the airport? Also any recommendations for a prepaid 3G mobile SIM card?
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Mar 11, 2014 06:03
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Bloodnose posted:Rationalizing is a fun thing for cool people to do. If you come to China to make money, then you're not ending up with that kind of salary. If you scrape together a couple of part time jobs, then you can easily make more than double that in a first tier city.
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Mar 16, 2014 14:14
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Just use JingDong. Just be careful not to buy from a 3rd party on JD though. I bought everything I needed on JD for much cheaper than newegg.cn. It helped that their distribution warehouse in Beijing is also within walking distance (I almost always can get same day pickup). Also, cash on delivery!
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Mar 26, 2014 10:52
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It takes me like 40 minutes just to go 4 stops in Beijing on a bus.
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Mar 27, 2014 05:21
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Considering most teachers are not legal, they cannot be paid out of the company account. Most of the time the company pays the boss and then the boss pays you from his personal account. Direct deposit and auto pay from company accounts need to be explained to tax officers and that brings trouble.
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Apr 5, 2014 03:50
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Facepalm Ranger posted:She took the job because she's friends with the head and wants to build a career out of it. Which is fine by me. She's sleeping with the boss. But if she's not, she's putting her job above your relationship and that seems pretty lovely. Why don't you sever and find someone new?
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Apr 5, 2014 08:06
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systran posted:My favorite new bullshit airline thing: I like to purposely board late so I can check my carry on. United does have that new satellite wifi on their airplanes. I'll take that over an in flight entertainment system any day. Also loving stay away from most all Chinese tourist agencies. They are huge scams. Friend took one to Thailand (flights were dirt cheap through the agency) and enjoyed every meal in shady Chinese restaurants and shopping in Chinese owned establishments. They even fine you if you don't follow the agenda. I was looking at them because they had 4 night trips to Korea at 3000 all inclusive, but gently caress that, it was 3 hours a day visiting a tourist sight and 6 hours being dragged around to lovely shops for "Korean Shopping".
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Apr 15, 2014 03:42
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I've been having a poo poo ton of internet problems as of late, mostly DNS related both on and off my VPN. The two errors I get are 'DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN' and 'DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_BAD_CONFIG' I assume this is having to do with the GFW interfering somehow. I've tried using my ISP's DNS (hah), google DNS, and open DNS. It's only started within the last few weeks, anyone else running into problems?
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Apr 17, 2014 05:08
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Ah yes, two days of old ladies hocking loogies into plastic bags, people spitting sunflower seeds on the floor, instant noodles, and people smoking in the bathroom. Sign me up.
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May 9, 2014 10:56
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I use China Construction Bank and I always get good rates wherever I pull out local currency from my RMB account (USD, HKD, SGD, THB, CAD) They do have a foreign transaction fee, but that can get waived if you have over a certain amount and gain VIP status.
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May 12, 2014 03:47
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Trammel posted:More visa talk. So it turns out the company that I'm contracted to decided they didn't need to pay social security insurance, because foreigners never stay longer than a year, and don't need visa renewals (where they ask for tax receipts and insurance receipts). I don't know. I went three years working on a Z/residence permit and until now I have never paid anything in taxes or social insurance. Never had any issue with renewals. Sounds like you are already in a situation because you can't legally work on the premises of another company other than the one your Z visa was issued to. What city are you in? In Beijing there are still a few visa agents offering Z visas. I had a friend just buy one for 13000.
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May 12, 2014 17:09
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VideoTapir posted:The problem with that job isn't the pay, it's the uncertainty. 25 actual teaching hours per week is kind of a lot, especially in a situation where that's 25 hours with 10 or more different groups of students (at my peak, I had ~40 different classes). About a year ago I had something like 42 teaching hours scheduled a week across 3 different schools. Just about killed myself by the end of that semester. Money was nice though. Also, I like it when high schools don't give you a curriculum to follow. I was at one in Beijing and they just said try and follow the structure of the Chinese teacher's class (which was poo poo). I ended up doing a history of the universe that semester with each lesson about a different stage in history (big bang, stars galaxies and space stuff, early life and dinosaurs, early hominids, different stages in world history). They really liked it except for the hopeless ones, but then again, not much you can do with those during your 40 minutes a week.
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May 14, 2014 02:38
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Speaking of cars, I sure wouldn't mind having one if it wasn't loving impossible to win the Beijing car lottery. Also parking in Beijing is ridiculous.
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May 15, 2014 02:26
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Yeah I wouldn't want to take it to work (the subway is just too fast and convenient). But after 3 years in Beijing, the city starts to run out of things to do. Would be nice to have a car for weekend excursions to surrounding areas. Also, someone has got to race PPL across town in rush hour!
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May 15, 2014 02:36
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Gulluoglu posted:I'm going to be staying in Beijing for about a month for part of my master's research, not far from Beiwai / BFSU on the west 3rd ring road at a Jinjiang Inn. I should be arriving the 26th, but I have a week or so where I'm mostly free to sightsee and meet up with people if anyone would like to get a beer and/or dinner. That's not far from where I stay. Weigongcun is the hangout over there, and PBD Pizza isn't bad. That area is still a bit of a pain in the rear end to get around as it doesn't have a subway line yet. Cuatal posted:So the guy wants me to give him how much I want by the hour, by the day, and for overtime. I did this once before. Took a guy and his kid to Canada to see some universities and see what life was like in Canada (they got declined for their US visa). I had all expenses paid for, and I got about 2,000RMB a day plus an iPhone but I still felt I got ripped off. Always translating menu's, trying to explain that you can't order this, trying to stop them from throwing their chicken bones on the table/floor, trying to get them to leave a tip, trying to explain how to rent a car, trying to explain not to go take a photo of two contractors sleeping in their big F350 pickup. Never again. By chance, however, we did go to Vancouver during the gay pride parade. I think they got more than they bargained for. Aero737 fucked around with this message at 02:33 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 19, 2014 02:28
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I don't know. The Chinese family I took to Canada kept trying to eat pine needles. I think they watch too much Man vs Wild. He was the kind of guy who wears a full suit of North Face, full hiking gear, all weather emergency supplies for going for a walk in the park.
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May 19, 2014 03:49
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MeramJert posted:Pine needles are also edible. More or less edible than human hair?
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May 19, 2014 03:55
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Gulluoglu posted:Yeah, I remember I used to always walk down to Weigongcun to take the subway after I discovered buses were pretty inconsistent and taxis may or may not stop for me. Not too familiar with that spot otherwise, I just remember some shopping, but I am willing to meet up with people around there. I'll be looking for a place to host a few decent dinners over in that area anyway since I have about fifteen native Chinese students to pay with food for being part of my research team. Well, I like Tube Station Pizza if I'm in the mood for pizza. Way better than Kro's Nest and they have a bunch of locations around Haidian. There is one right at that big intersection.
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May 20, 2014 06:53
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Arglebargle III posted:My friend summed the guy up as looking to aggressively monetize anything, and not really caring what exactly the business does. For what it's worth, I worked for a school that sounded like that. School started off small and good because they had good teachers and he listened to us. As the school grew and he opened more and more branches stuff started getting shittier and shittier. We were given more and more content to cover in class just because 'I charged the parents for it, the parents want it, so you teach it' without and concept of how it fits into the class or curriculum. Started to try and send students to the USA to study, but only wanted to get as much profit out of it for him, and didn't listen to any suggestions given by foreign staff. Last I heard the students have a novel to read a week, teachers are supposed to analyze it in class, and go through two chapters of National Geographic...all in 3 hours. He chose this because he can sell the books at a huge markup, the parents think their kids learn more (they don't) so he sells more classes, and he can put more on the sign outside the school to attract more students. He lost all his good foreign teachers (because he refused to pay them anything extra for the extra work he was requiring outside of class) and is now stuck with Russians and Nigerians. I give it about one more year before he implodes.
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May 20, 2014 09:52
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Woodsy Owl posted:Are mainlanders permitted to travel to Hong Kong without a tour group? Depends on Hukou. All the big cities, plus some provincial capitals can travel without a tour group. Once you start getting into smaller cities and rural hukou then you need a tour group to go to Hong Kong. quote:8
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May 23, 2014 09:12
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Oakland Martini posted:Conference is at Tsinghua university, staying at wenjin hotel near there. Both Qinghua and Peking University have very beautiful campuses that are tourist destinations in their own right. You're in the far north western part of the city, I would recommend The Summer Palace （颐和园） as the best sight in that part of the city. Stick to the northern part (by the Beigongmen 北宫门 Enterance) for the most to see for your time. As for food, you have to try Beijing duck. This place is the real deal (old Chinese style building) in the middle of all the skyscrapers in ZhongGuanCun (China's sillicon valley). http://www.dianping.com/shop/2401177 Sorry the link is only in Chinese. Its called 羲和雅苑烤鸭坊 (Xi he Ya Yuan Roast Duck). I've seen it featured on some TV shows, and it really is good. If you're in ZhongGuanCun, you can always take a look at the electronics markets that are around there. You won't really find any deals, unless you're looking for a Xiaomi or Oppo, but it's fun just to see an endless sea of electronics vendors. It's a true nerd market. Oh, looking at your hotel, you're right in WuDaoKou, which is the student hangout area of Beijing. There are some bars around there and some nightlife if you're into that thing. There will be street food, but only in the morning (egg pancake) or late at night (meat kebobs, malatang, and such). Beijing has cleaned up most of it's street food, but if you walk up and down that street you'll see some stalls that sell popcorn chicken, sausages, and other things throughout the day. As for museums, don't know what you're interested in. Beijing has a museum for everything (literally, everything) but most are on the other side of the city and not worth traveling to.
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May 27, 2014 06:43
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You see, since nobody else has brakes, having brakes poses a greater danger of someone smashing into you.
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May 28, 2014 08:10
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The disposable 3M N95 masks have gotten good reviews in some studies. Avoid anything Chinese, most are poorly fitting or do nothing at all. I've liked HostVPN, except recently it's been hard to connect.
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May 29, 2014 16:00
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computer parts posted:So I have an invitation letter with all of the relevant information for my Tourist Visa. Do I also *need* a travel itinerary in my application, or is that just a suggested item to make approval more likely? It depends. Sometimes its required, sometimes it isn't required. I would have one made out just to be safe. They don't actually check your reservations out, so I would assume if you get a refundable hotel reservation or even just photoshop a reservation. LentThem posted:Astrill has been pretty good for me (stability-wise) except for the part where they are price-gouging jerks and I'm paying $70/yr for just a web browser VPN. Paying extra for StealthVPN sucks, but without it I can't connect to most public bittorrent trackers to get a peer list. Have you tried https://www.yyets.com ? This is the biggest torrent site I've found in mainland china. They have many different download options including Thunder and torrent magnet links. I've never tried to setup Thunder (always too worried about getting a computer full of "features" like iOS style desktops and a thousand different media players) but it is by far the most popular P2P application out there.
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May 30, 2014 03:09
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I literally dont think a chinese person can use their phone without 360 on it. I'm always uninstalling 360 from our work test phones and they put it back on the next day.
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May 30, 2014 10:39
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There have always been a lot of security checkpoints but never have I been asked for an ID when going to Tiananmen. The only time anyone has ever asked my passport are the old people who roam my housing complex.
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Jun 5, 2014 02:45
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I don't know, they had a list of everyone who lived in our housing complex and a big Hammer and Sickle stamp on it and were asking everyone for registration. I was nice and gave them my passport and now they bring me 饺子 from time to time.
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Jun 5, 2014 06:30
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For what it's worth, I've taken both the high speed train to Tianjin and a flight to Shanghai, checked into a hotel, registered with the police all with my yellow residence permit receipt. But the banks, gently caress that, they don't know what the gently caress. Actually, nobody knows what the gently caress at first. There are always many phone calls made when I first give them my receipt. But again gently caress ICBC for just giving up instead of trying anything to fix my problem.
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Jun 11, 2014 14:30
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I wonder if Google services will ever come back. I can't ever remember everything being 'blocked' for such such a long time period.
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Jun 13, 2014 04:19
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Zophar posted:Alas, I do not have insurance that will cover wisdom teeth extraction. Part of the reason I've had to put it off. There's a big International Hospital in Qingdao too, apparently. What kind of insurance? Most teaching jobs will lure people with insurance which just turns into lovely "accident" insurance or nothing at all. If they give you the government insurance, then you're stuck going to one or two public hospitals (No international hospitals on the government insurance). Not to try and scare you away, but I was present for a wisdom tooth extraction at one of the better hospitals in Beijing (China Japan Friendship) and it went something like this. The operating room has seats for 6 people, their are enough staff to handle 4 patients. The tools are all sanitized, but nothing else seems to be. You hop in right after the person in front of you got done. There is always an Ayi sweeping the floor in the middle of the room kicking up dust. You sit down and a heavy cloth is placed over your face with an opening for your mouth. The seat reclines back and you hear the muffled screams of an old grandma having her last tooth pulled out. Oh, no gas allowed, they don't keep a general anesthesiologist on hand, you only get local anesthetic. They pry open your mouth and start sticking you with the needle. You hear someone in the background trying to push their way into the operating room to skip the line, while another kid is running around the room screaming while his mom just smiles and encourages him. They clamp onto the tooth and begin to pull it out but suddenly stop half way. What's the matter? Why would they leave a half extracted tooth painfully jutting from your jaw? Oh, the 90 pound Chinese girl isn't strong enough to pull the tooth out so they need to wait for the only male oral surgeon to finish with his patient (or leave that patient part way) and come over to finish pulling your tooth. When it's all done you get a piece of gauze and 6 tylenol and you're on your way. On your way out, you see the Ayi digging an armful of trash out of the bio-hazard trash bin. Hope that helps. Holy loving poo poo was it cheap though. The whole thing was 800RMB for 3 teeth, and that's before insurance!
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Jul 3, 2014 02:36
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TheBuilder posted:Delta has free beer and wine in economy. Delta now has free booze in economy class. Actually, I think most carriers have free booze trans pacific now to compete with the Asian carriers.
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Jul 4, 2014 04:25
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