moving to china for a bit

Lee

Lee

@ Thick Club
is a Top Team Rater Alumnusis a Community Leader Alumnus
so me and the gf got a placement in China where we'll be teaching english to chinese kiddies. all going well, we'll be in Beijing for a few weeks from the 21st August and then moving onto the Hunan province for 5 months. it's kinda open-ended after that but we're looking to travel around Asia. i'm half aussie and she went to uni in brisbane so there's a good chance we'll find ourselves over there at some point too.

so i'm kinda looking for some tips from the chinese folk? things to do, places to see, tips for adapting, things to avoid like the plague, language help, food reccomendations etc? thanks guys
 
i go to uni in brisbane and i'm currently visiting my family in shanghai. i've lived in china for like 11-12 years cumulatively.

definitely go to yang shuo or just do some research into some of the rural areas and see which appeals to you.

uh language, the tones are the hardest part, as english is atonal and chinese has four, so don't be surprised if locals have a lot of trouble understanding you. moreover, a lot of country accents make their mandarin extremely difficult to understand.

in terms of food, basically just go as adventurous as you want to be. some stuff might upset your stomach but if you like it you should eventually get used to it. another big thing is spicy food, for a lot of stuff you buy off the street you can get it spicy or not, so make sure you learn to say no spicy or less spicy if that's a big deal.

some mainstays of chinese street cuisine - stir fry (rice noodles, rice, specialty dishes), meat (and other things) skewers, baked sweet potato, cold noodles (summer), pancakes (with a variety of eggs, vegetables, sauces, etc), soup noodles, claypot glass noodles.

i know this might just seem like common sense but don't give / lend money to anyone who asks. there are a lot of swindlers who'll ask money for bus fare or claim that they lost their wallets or whatever. always lock your shit up like bikes / don't leave bags around.

when buying shit in markets be prepared to bargain, being a non-chinese speaking foreigner, vendors will try and charge you at least 200% their going price. immediately slash their offer in half (learn numbers or bring a calculator).

china is a really fun place, and while the expat culture is pretty obnoxious, it's also really fun depending on how much you embrace it (cheap things, no one cares unless you break something or hurt someone).

drop me a vm / pm if you have any other questions
 
yea the big thing is bargaining, if you offer a price and they say ok at first, then you know you can go even lower. i usually don´t buy anything until i can get it to at least 35-40% of the original price. Food is hella cheap and hella good, but dont go to the wangfujing night market, that shit food is overpriced and basically for tourists who dont know any better...
 
hmm, so I've never lived in China, but I've traveled there quite a bit and did live in Hong Kong for a while (though it's VERY different from the mainland).

I would say try and learn enough of the language to get around. No one is going to expect you to be fluent but I've done the living abroad thing a couple of times now to be able to say that it just makes the experience so much more enjoyable.

and re: the bargaining/haggling. I'm assuming you're not Chinese (or Asian), so basically expect the stall owners to automatically give you a higher price in general (I mean even higher than normal). the trick is to act very nonchalant even when you're just browsing. even if they have something you really want, don't let it show when you ask for the price because that's an automatic path to effectively ending the bargaining process. and even if you don't get the price you want, there may be another vendor that has the same item, so don't buy prematurely.

and just be careful with the street food. definitely try anything that interests you, but if the place/stall looks sketchy, stay the hell away. I got dysentery in Shanghai, but in retrospect the place we got the food from just looked downright nasty...I'm not sure what we were thinking. and I'm not trying to warn you away from street food because all of it is delicious. just use common sense and you'll be fine.

If you want suggestions for places to travel within China, then definitely make a trip to Yangshuo (people will say go to Guilin, but if you stay in the central Guilin area you'll probs be disappointed; Yangshuo is a smaller county in Guilin, but the most beautiful views by far are found there). Also Zhangjiajie has some nice scenery as well. I've never been to Yunnan but my friend went and she said it was amazing (in terms of nature, scenery, etc.)

If you prefer cities, there's obviously Shanghai. It was the only city in China I really enjoyed.

and if you want travel suggestions for Asia in general, you can message me or just say so here. I can also help a lot with Hong Kong.
 
I have lived in Hong Kong for more than 15 years by now, and I read Hong Kong news everyday.
Our newspapers often report a lot of controversies with China's food currently.
I personally suggest eating in places where a lot of people are already eating.

If you feel something weird about your food-- including meat and fruits, stop eating it and discard it.
Fruits that explode do exist and it is not a joke. They had been applying all sorts of chemicals onto their fruits to make it weigh more or to make it more aesthetically appealing.

As other people had already mentioned, they usually set a higher price for foreigners-- it is important to act as if you are not interested, even if you really like it.
Also, if they say you can have it 30% off, it usually means that locals get half price.
Do NOT touch anything unless you are about to buy them-- there are stalls which products are fragile or purposefully broken, and when you touch them, they fall into pieces-- and they will demand you to pay for it in full price.

If you smoke, I suggest you to bring your own cigarettes.
I don't mean that you should totally rely on your own cigarettes, but in case if one day you really really can't cope with the low quality Chinese ones and want to smoke the one you are used to, you still have some chances, maybe like once a week you can smoke this nice cigarette of yours.
(I don't smoke, but my boyfriend does)

Now, the following is for safety--
If you see someone lying down seemingly hurt, DO NOT HELP.
They are mostly tricksters who would then blame you for hurting them.
They might also ask you to pay them a price because stuff like "when you lifted me from the ground, you crushed one of my bones"
Even if it's an old woman, DON'T.
 
If you have a chance/money/interest you could try to go to (Lijiang) Yunnan Province and take a tram up to the mountains. Lijiang was important on the Silk Road and it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are also some good walks along a river that goes to Tiger Leaping Gorge. It's a very beautiful area. When I went, I was able to briefly (like 2 or 3 hours) enter Tibet and go to a small Buddhist monastery which was cool. The Shanghai museum has a shit ton of ancient chinese coins and other cool stuff so if you get to Shanghai check that out. Also in case no one has warned you, chinese wine is really very bad.

Don't drink the water from the tap obviously, but I can pretty much promise that you will have a gastro-intestinal issue at some point or another, it's kind of unavoidable so just use common sense and don't be too surprised when it happens.
 
Be prepared for the general uncleanliness of China, especially large cities like Beijing. Also, be prepared to haggle in local markets. But I would suggest buying in large supermarkets first- even if they are ridiculously expensive, the foods are usually safer and at a fixed price. Beware if the crazy ass cars too- some of the drivers are fucking blind.
 
I'm going to be there starting next month too (though in Guang Zhou).

Party in China 2013-- be there or be square

lol
 
Ah teaching english in China, it pays quite well especially if it's geared towards SAT prep and such, so great choice. Hmm, as for tips, well I went to China as a foreigner not too long ago. Most of the things have already been covered but I just want throw my support for the comments about visiting Yunnan (temperature is absolutely delightful there plus bathing in springs was nice, great scenery in general) if it isn't too out of the way and Shanghai (Nanjing Road ftw and the Bund and Yu Garden were nice). Also be sure to try some of the exotic fruits! (Mangosteens, Dragonfruit, Longan, etc)
 
bring toilet paper EVERYWHERE, get used to pooping in dirty and uncomfortable holes in the ground.

like ppl have said the ppl there are gonna try to rip u off on a lot of stuff from merchandise to taxis etc so just be careful with money etc.

my dad's from changsha in the hunan province, and they REALLY like spicy food. there's a funny saying he told me regarding hunan cuisine: there's some people who 'bu pa la' which means u don't mind spicy food, there's some people who 'la bu pa' which means even if it's spicy you're not afraid of it, and in hunan the people 'pa bu la' which means they are afraid if the food ISN'T spicy. shit's good though after you get used to it, but ya you're probably gonna have a bout of diarrhea and indigestion for a couple days during ur stay. pretty sure like 70% of food is unsanitary but it's not gonna kill you and your stomach adapts after a while.

from what i've seen the state of english in china is still pretty crap, even in many large cities the average person isn't going to be anywhere near fluent so you should consult the internet to learn to say, understand, and read important phrases to help you find stuff u need.

driving is f*cking crazy. i would strongly advise against trying to drive at any time during your stay. just trust me on this one. the weather might be better by the time ur in hunan, but at least in the summer it's really f*cking humid and don't expect air conditioning.
 
Blkmage0253 said:
and re: the bargaining/haggling. I'm assuming you're not Chinese (or Asian), so basically expect the stall owners to automatically give you a higher price in general (I mean even higher than normal).
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What if you are Asian but your language skills suck?

我从去年的九月学中文，但是对我的中文水平还没有自信。虽然我是华人（一般华人，一般日裔人），但是孩子的时候不用了汉语。因为，我能会说日文，所以汉字不难，我觉得阅读中文不太难了。但是，说的，还有听的很难。中国人的说言速度真快啊。对自己的听力没有自信。中文很难！请你们别笑我的中文！囧

我非常喜欢这个“囧”字吧。哈哈
 
Chou Toshio said:
What if you are Asian but your language skills suck?

我从去年的九月学中文，但是对我的中文水平还没有自信。虽然我是华人（一般华人，一般日裔人），但是孩子的时候不用了汉语。因为，我能会说日文，所以汉字不难，我觉得阅读中文不太难了。但是，说的，还有听的很难。中国人的说言速度真快啊。对自己的听力没有自信。中文很难！请你们别笑我的中文！囧

我非常喜欢这个“囧”字吧。哈哈
Click to expand...

lol, 我也喜欢那个字。意思跟标志还是很贴合的。根据你的中文水平来看，抢价什么的还是微微困扰。因为那些贩子都能莫名其妙地辨别你是哪里的中国人／外地人。

Even if you're Asian, they can tell you're not from there so prepare for them high starting prices. Even other chinese people get ripped off. Also, if you bargain in the major city areas, some of the vendors can speak a little bit of english to cater to the growing tourism trend.
 
yo smogon,

for the next four and a half months i'm going to be in the Sichuan province, just outside Chengdu.

China is magical yet frustrating, wildly different yet comfortingly similar. The people are incredibly friendly and seem utterly captivated by the sight of a westerner. there seems to be a culture among the women where westerners are the height of attractiveness and that has led to much ego inflation for me and a great deal of frustration for my girlfriend. tip for all - go to china, you'll be fighting off the chicks.

I'm still struggling with the poor national hygiene, the fucking mentalness of the roads in general (yes I get it, you have a fucking horn on your car), and the hit-and-miss cuisine that ranges from 'omg that was amazing' to 'wtf did i just eat???' and the lack of fresh produce is a bitch (the fruit is heavily GM'd and there is no such thing as fresh bread or milk) but in general, I'm falling in love with this country.

i'll probably be in Shanghai and Hong Kong early next year, so hit me up if you want to hang out. And Glen, I'm gonna try and get to Tokyo!

i'll throw up some pics in the photo album later.
 
Chou Toshio said:
What if you are Asian but your language skills suck?

我从去年的九月学中文，但是对我的中文水平还没有自信。虽然我是华人（一般华人，一般日裔人），但是孩子的时候不用了汉语。因为，我能会说日文，所以汉字不难，我觉得阅读中文不太难了。但是，说的，还有听的很难。中国人的说言速度真快啊。对自己的听力没有自信。中文很难！请你们别笑我的中文！囧

我非常喜欢这个“囧”字吧。哈哈
Click to expand...
You seem to learn quite quick then. This looks quite advanced already.

I can only find one very minor mistake, but still know what you mean.

（一般华人，一般日裔人）
I think should be
（一半华人，一半日裔人）
if you want to mean "half Chinese, half Japanese" (guess you would need to keep that as a secret if you go to Mainland China though)
what you currently wrote meant "common Chinese, common Japanese"
般 has the first tonation, whilst
半 has the fourth tonation.

Don't worry, even Cantonese speakers have problems telling these 2 tonations apart.
 
Chou Toshio said:
What if you are Asian but your language skills suck?

我从去年的九月学中文，但是对我的中文水平还没有自信。虽然我是华人（一般华人，一般日裔人），但是孩子的时候不用了汉语。因为，我能会说日文，所以汉字不难，我觉得阅读中文不太难了。但是，说的，还有听的很难。中国人的说言速度真快啊。对自己的听力没有自信。中文很难！请你们别笑我的中文！囧

我非常喜欢这个“囧”字吧。哈哈
Click to expand...
Change 不用了 to 卖用过。other than that, your Chinese paragraph looks fine!
 
Chou Toshio said:
I'm going to be there starting next month too (though in Guang Zhou).

Party in China 2013-- be there or be square

lol
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Hey so I know this is literally a month late but I went to high school in Guangzhou and you will for sure enjoy it there a very awesome place to live. Close to HK so I would recommend doing that. Lots of things to do there and it isnt as touristy as Beijing/Shanghai
 
Hmm... are you guys interested in battling in tournaments in Hong Kong at all?
 
Last edited:
Lee said:
so me and the gf got a placement in China where we'll be teaching english to chinese kiddies. all going well, we'll be in Beijing for a few weeks from the 21st August and then moving onto the Hunan province for 5 months. it's kinda open-ended after that but we're looking to travel around Asia. i'm half aussie and she went to uni in brisbane so there's a good chance we'll find ourselves over there at some point too.

so i'm kinda looking for some tips from the chinese folk? things to do, places to see, tips for adapting, things to avoid like the plague, language help, food reccomendations etc? thanks guys
Click to expand...

If you're gonna end up in Australia, my protip is for you to come visit me
 
Lee said:
China is magical yet frustrating, wildly different yet comfortingly similar. The people are incredibly friendly and seem utterly captivated by the sight of a westerner. there seems to be a culture among the women where westerners are the height of attractiveness and that has led to much ego inflation for me and a great deal of frustration for my girlfriend. tip for all - go to china, you'll be fighting off the chicks.
Click to expand...

lol should kinda go both ways if she's a westerner as well, unless you did a pretty good job fending them off. For my group photos when I went to beijing, there were always other guys standing nearby taking our pictures. Some of the natives (from what I noticed it was more guys than girls) would even request to take a few photos with certain individuals from my class......it's really a scary obsession.
 
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