China General
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You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
China General
Old thread is at: >>1007576
General info:
http://wikitravel.org/en/China
Hotels:
http://hotel.elong.net/
http://english.ctrip.com/hotels/
Buses:
http://bus.ctrip.com/
http://www.chinabusguide.com/
Trains:
http://www.cnvol.com/
http://www.travelchinacheaper.com/how-to-buy-china-train-tickets-online
Expat restaurants/supermarkets/bars:
http://listings.echinacities.com/
Apps:
Pleco (dictionary)
baidu maps/google maps
VPNs:
Astril/VPNNinja
4chan: get a pass or use a vpn or both (might be blocked now)
Is VyprVPN reliable?
Looking at traveling to and exploring Sichuan and Yunnan provinces next year, any hot tips or must see things for those areas?
>>1030728
>Sichuan and Yunnan
Those are some of my favourite places.
The backpacker trail in Yunnan is Kunming to Dali/Lijiang and up to Shangrila via Tiger Leaping Gorge. From Shangrila, you can either head back to Dali/Li Jiang, maybe whichever you didn't do the first time and then head on to Sichuan or go straight there from Shangrila.
protip: Shangrila isn't it's real name, it's Zhongdian, they just named it that for tourists. It's a nice Tibetan town even though half the old town burnt down a few years ago. Pic related, from before the fire.
Sichuan has Pandas in Chengdu which are cool (any hostel can hook you up) and Chongqing which I really like but which is kind of polluted. Still, one of the few places where every side of the building can have it's own street entrance on different levels. I love the underground arcades in Chongqing that link the tops of some buildings with the basements of others. The landscape is really dramatic if you stay in the central peninsula bit of it. There are a few hostels in both places, I recommend River View in Chongqing and Hump in Kunming.
If you do the pandas, make sure you pay extra for the 'training', it's a border-line scam but it's the only way you'll ever put your hands on an actual panda and it's not that much in real money.
Sichuan also has Ermai which is one of the big famous mountains in China and said to be beautiful in winter.
>>1030744
Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely check out Dali and Zhongdian.
What's the panda "training"? In what way is it a borderline scam?
>>1030755
>>1030755
>What's the panda "training"? In what way is it a borderline scam?
I'm exaggerating, basically, tours of the panda facility can hook you up with a deal that lets you pat panda cubs.
You pay about 5x the price and get a few hours 'training' and then you get dressed up in scrubs and get to wash the baby pandas down in the morning and maybe cuddle them a little. Technically, you're not paying to play with baby pandas, you're paying for training and then 'volunteering' as a zoo worker.
I can't remember the price exactly but I think it was Y500 or so. About $100. Probably more now.
So for people who don't speak a lick of Chinese, how do you get by in China?
how much are looking at paying for viagra in China?
I once bought some in shanghai at two diff. pharmacies and the prices varied depending on the district I was in, or maybe I just got ripped off by a cunt the second time. First time I paid 500 RMB for a fairly big box of pills, the next time I paid 500 RMB for like 3 or 4 pills.
are they usually cheaper in the tier 2 cities?
>>1030810
>how do you get by in China
>not speaking Chinese
I sure hope you guys...
You pick up a few words of course. Sign language. Dictionary apps. Translation apps. Spend a lot of time waiting for people to fetch their one English speaking colleague.
I've never been in China without speaking a little but I guess that's how you'd do it.
You can go a long way by pointing at something and holding up a number of fingers.
>>1030810
You're living in an age where travelling is by far the simplest it has ever been in human history. You can even translate words and phrases on your portable telephone now!
>>1030810
I make friends on interpals with qt chinese girls, then when I visit China, I do and hang out with them, and they handle the Chinese speaking.
>>1030810
you won't be able to get around efficiently, occasionally you can fuck yourself into a bad situation.
I had days where I was lost, my cell phone wouldn't work because I don't have a sim card or google maps is blocked, or the internet data is too slow to load a map on one of their PoS apps. Or I was low on battery power. Then you're trying to get a taxi home and they won't stop for you because raciss, or they don't want to drive to your location.
Felt like I was gonna have a nervous breakdown and kill someone.
And that was in big cities. I would never venture into the countryside without a local.
>>1030810
The same way you get by in any country when you can't speak the language!
Rural Chinese love foreigners. People driving (which was rare) would stop for me and give me lifts to the next batch of civilization.
One guy got me in his car, drove me to the four building center of his village (school/public bathroom/scrapyard/house) and over the course of two hours I had, like, a fifteen course meal. Everyone in the village came over the course of these two hours, and they brought food.
They got really drunk towards the end (I said I couldn't drink and then showed them my crucifix and they sort of got it) and dragged me out of the house where they showed me the biggest fucking pig I've ever seen in my life (picture doesn't give it justice. Thing was five feet long). I think they wanted to cook it for me, but nothing happened.
I think throughout this entire exchange all I knew how to say was "Correct, Not Correct, What is this (without understanding their answers), Rice, Tea, and Thank You." Hand-gestures and animal-like noises of cheer.
I did have a phrasebook which helped some. They ended up refusing payment for the food, which a friend later told me I really fucked them over on because in China you're supposed to refuse, but then two/three days later pay them back. Obviously, I didn't at the time. I had left.
>>1031016
> in China you're supposed to refuse, but then two/three days later pay them back
Don't worry, it's not true. It's polite to refuse a few times and then reluctantly accept eventually, but they wouldn't expect you to pay them back. If you actually lived there and one person invited you out, then sure, you'd invite him out in the future, but in your situation, nobody would have expected anything from you in return.
Chinese peasants can be some of the most frustrating people in the world at times, and they can also be some of the nicest. Foreigners often give them too much shit for the way they act in my opinion.
>>1031016
>>1031018
>some of the most frustrating people in the world at times, and they can also be some of the nicest
Yeah, about this.
>>1031018
>> in China you're supposed to refuse, but then two/three days later pay them back
>Don't worry, it's not true
Also this.
It sounds like it was a home cooked meal so nobody was expecting any money from you period.
>>1031016
>over the course of two hours I had, like, a fifteen course meal. Everyone in the village came over the course of these two hours, and they brought food
This may in fact be just what everyone does every night. Or maybe just nights when there's a decent excuse to bring over whatever you're cooking and break out some baijiu.
The big community hall is a common feature of quite small communities (if not, then someone rich with a big house might do the same job as the defacto leader of the community).
Even rural peasants, if they're not dirt poor, will still cook about five dishes for every meal. Plus rice, depending on where you are.
I stayed with a family in Hubei for two weeks (was friends with the son), most nights were like that, about a dozen dishes cooked by the son or his wife or mother, rice, usually either a soup or hotpot, his father would break out baijiu almost every night.
His friends or father's friends or wife's friends would come by and sometimes join in and sometimes just drink.
They didn't do this fourteen nights in a row just to impress the foreigner (the first couple were bigger though), it's daily life.
>>1031036
Are you that anon who thinks The Hump in Kunming shills itself on 4chan? It's a great hostel btw!
>>1030979
I have lived in china but havent had any of that overwelming taxi racist thing but i have had a couple of them trying to scam me eventhough i spoke the language. I lived in Xi'an which is a preety huge city but more "inland", if you know what i mean, and i had an average of 30 finger pointings per day, can't imagine not speaking the language...
but going back to the topic, getting the bus is always an option, you wont get scammed and it costs about 20c regardless of trip distance (just avoid rush hour)
https://youtu.be/0vpX3C_OxX4
there are always buses
>>1031040
>Hump shill detected.
>>1030728
Assuming you're in to nature and mountains you should proceed to Daocheng from Shangri-La. It's a horrible bus ride (10h-13h) but well worth at it!
Going there, you'll be travelling along the Schuan-Tibet highway (running from Lhasa to Chengdu). Popular places include Yading, Litang, Tagong, Kangding.
It's not really easy travelling if you don't speak mandarin or tibetan, but I didn't speak a word when I was there and got along fine.
Visiting western Sichuan is my best travel experience, so I can't recommend it enough!
I'll happily answer more questions if you're interested.
>>1030726
>>1030726
I've been using it and claimed my money back. Then I realized that HMA doesn't work much better either. Then I realized that there is no reliable VPN for China at all. It isn't really a matter of the VPN but rather a matter of the stability of the internet as I noticed that I could hold a connection in major cities like Guangzhou or Beijing for 2 hours straight but sometimes couldn't even connect in minor villages in the west around Xian for example. However, some porn sites did work without VPN and that's one of the reasons why I missed my $400 flight to Japan. Worst moments of my life.
Meta: I am amazed by how civilized this board is, we were talking on /r9k/ about the IQ distribution on several boards and someone recommended this one, quite interesting tbh. It's my first post here.
>>1031040
>>1031158
Well hey there, samefag!
>>1031192
>However, some porn sites did work without VPN and that's one of the reasons why I missed my $400 flight to Japan.
Please don't tell me you missed your flight because you were having a wank. I'm missing something here, surely.
>>1031214
Nope, but thanks for your post.
>>1031266
They won't let you on the plane until you are finished wanking.
>>1031293
Fucking commies
>>1031325
>Fucking commies
In communist China, only fucking commies are true commies. Wanking commies are capitalist running dogs.
Who else /English teacher/ here in the middle kingdom?
What are considered the "good" ESL jobs, and how do you get them? I've heard the training centers and kindergartens are hell.
Universities and international schools are supposedly the best, but pay is typically low. Still, you get a lot of free time to get privates and make money on the side, and you feel like less of a foreign monkey put on display for entertainment purposes.
Any truth to this?
>>1031362
Training centres aren't always that bad, but they do have a tendency to try to squeeze as many hours out of you as they can.
You're right about most universities, but wrong about international schools. International schools usually pay very well, but you usually need to have actual teaching qualifications and not just a BA and a TEFL cert to teach at them.
International schools are private schools, and they have the best salaries, but are the most competitive.
Universities are "lower" pay, not "low" pay. If you aren't living like an American in China, you have a salary (wherever you teach) that is triple your coworkers.
I work at a university, and I am paid 1,000 RMB more than one of the Chinese teachers who teaches English. I eat at the university for free, use the university wifi, and generally save 3/4 of my salary while living well.
In three years, I'll find work in the Middle East where I'll get paid 50k/60k at a university ONLY BECAUSE I'll have five years teaching experience at a university.
Only in China was I qualified to teach at a university. This is going to change as the country develops, so I would get in here quick so you have the experience and can apply it wherever you go.
im an exchange student in shanghai at a university what are some ways i can make money on the side?
>>1031400
Unnofficial English tutoring to Chinese students.
>>1031385
>china
>develop
not gonna happen any time soon m8. too many people holding them back.
but yeah, I plan to apply for a university position for the Spring term, as I think it's too late for the Fall term.
>>1031411
>>develop
>not gonna happen any time soon
You haven't been paying attention.
I've been travelling to/in China on and off since '97, it's developed enormously in that time.
I just bought a month subscription for VPN Ninja and it's been working flawlessly so far. Would recommend it to anyone looking at vpns to use.
>>1031266
well kind of. It was my last day in Beijing and I've been at some $80/night hotel where I bought the only breakfast ever for like $15. I hate so fucking much and instead of walking around again I felt so sick that I did nothing but reading a book on my kindle. I then realized I could go for a wank instead of doing some research before leaving the room and then it was like 12am. My flight was 2pm and I thought the airport won't be longer than 30 minutes away. I asked for a taxi and they told me it takes 7 fucking hours to the airport and that the underground/train is faster. When the train drove half-way parallel to the highway I realized there was actually a huge jam on the streets. In the final train I noticed that there are 3 different terminals so I asked some lady which one to take. She ofc lead me to the wrong one and the next bus to the other terminal took like 30 minutes.
I would continue the story but my eyes started to wet writing this but that was most of the story anyway. My only hope was some upper class qt to notice my fate taking me with her flight before spending a few weeks full of expensive partying and intense sex without actually paying a dollar but that obviously didn't happen.
Never fap before leaving to the airport, plane faps are better anyway.
>>1031645
*I hate so fucking much
>>1031411
>I plan to apply for a university position for the Spring term, as I think it's too late for the Fall term.
This week is the week to apply. The thousands upon thousands upon thousands of teachers universities have contracted in the earlier months?
A couple hundred of them will be insane and the university will fire them. A couple hundred of them will never show up. There are plenty of openings right now and the universities are panicking to fill them because the semester began in most places.
What you do is just Google <Chinese Region + colleges> and there will be Wikipedia page with a list of all of them. Go to all of their websites, find an email, and send them your resume.
>>1031655
thanks for the tip. I figured stuff like that would go down, but I didn't know to what degree. I applied to one university last month by sending an email directly, never heard back.
I guess I will spend my morning sending out resumes and hopefully get a hit.
do you mind if I ask more about your job? does the uni supply you with lesson plans, or do you do all that by yourself? if so, is it easy to develop lesson plans and can you do whatever you want with them? is the job pretty cushy and easy?
I've read that basically the unis don't even keep track of you and you can do whatever you want as long as you show up. basically they just show you your class room and say "good luck."
>>1031645
what the fuck
>>1031410
any advice on how to find people that are interested?
>>1031666
>mind if I ask more about your job?
Someone, I think the same anon, has answered all this in pretty considerable detail in this thread: >>1031369
Read that, I think it covers almost everything you want to know.
>>1031679
>what the fuck
4 chan.
Also, I think anon is taking the piss out of themselves to save you the trouble.
>>1031680
Word of mouth, Weibo, Wechat to a lesser extent.
Put "English tutoring" in your Wechat profile (in Chinese I guess) and walk around with your "share with nearby people" turned on.
>>1031666
I mentioned it in another post, but the Business English department gave me two resources. An awful textbook that I have not looked at in two years for General English and a loose binder of probably fifty pages scanned from a dozen textbooks and just word documents for English for Accounting which I never looked at.
I arrived a week into the semester, and when I asked them what they were at (because they told me the Chinese teachers were handling the class in my absence), I was told "translations" and when I asked what part of the book I should start with (General English), the dean laughed and told me they had been waiting for me (start from the beginning of the book).
Well, both resources were such shit I used my own. While the university didn't give a single fuck about my General English lesson plans, but they were very 'eager' to have me submit my English for Accounting plans. I later learned that it costs money (SHOCK) for a school to design lesson plans, especially when it is for another language's study. Taking foreign teacher's plans is a very easy and affordable method. Fortunately, my lesson plans are so fucking vague (I just play it by ear) that they eventually stopped asking for them (demanding them) a ways into the semester.
With my university it was just as you described. A woman from the university sat in on my General English for like three days and then never showed up again, but for a while with English for Accounting.
I've taught at the same univ for two years, and last year it really felt like I didn't exist. I was rarely told about meetings which I knew were going on. Nobody asked me how the lessons were going (the dean and chinese coworkers, my foreigner coworkers are great). A lot of foreigners don't teach English at uni, and the school doesn't expect them to. There are Chinese teachers teaching English. You are just being hired because the government legally requires schools to have a native speaker.
I teach, though.
>>1031696
I should specify that: most universities don't expect foreigners to teach English. They are handed a General English class in which the foreigner is supposed to teach "modals of conversation" which equates to talking with the students for an hour (ie. free talk).
I was actually told during my first year (never explicitly) that I should stop teaching the students. The exact hint was more like, "You have some absences in your class. Maybe if the lessons were a little more fun. Less booky!"
>>1031700
>>1031696
Hahaha. Wow. Thanks for the breakdown of that. Really appreciated.
So I could basically do whatever I want, like sit back and just assign them games or essays to write, or have them watch movies in English, and no one would complain? I'd still get paid?
All you normally do now is 'lecture' for one hour every day?
>>1031727
It depends entirely on the school. Most of the time, however, the Chinese teachers are responsible for teaching grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading skills, ect. ect. The foreign teachers are hired because there is a law that requires them, not because they are valued.
However, that is not always the case. Considering how large China is and how many schools there are (not to mention I have only taught at one school), I cannot tell you that you can fuck around and do whatever you want.
I can tell you, however, that you can assign them pretty much whatever you want, but know that if you assign stuff they don't like and the students stop showing up, the uni will step in. I love Kurosawa, but I would never assign a Japanese film. I also like anime some (haven't watched a new show in at least five years, but I still like it), but I would never have my students work on it.
Also, I do not lecture. With CELTA, you are taught, "fuck lectures." You try to speak as little as possible. Let the students talk and practice their English for 40 minutes and you instruct for 20. I create handouts for whatever I need (steal from Google). I won't get into specifics, but there is a process CELTA teaches, and I follow it. It is student-centered which is probably the only reason the uni allows me to 'teach' instead of do an hour of free talk. Also, free talk is not a lecture. It is having a conversation with your students for an hour. Opposite of lecture. Again, I just try to incite arguments and speak as little as possible.
One lesson (relating back to games or movies, whatever) I did was on adjectives for appearance and because I have a class full of horny college students the lesson revolved around the perfect woman and man. The freer activity (free activity is like... open ended discussion problem activity with no specific right or wrong answer) was to practice flirting with your ideal match. The rest of the lesson built up to this.
>>1031727
>So I could basically do whatever I want, like sit back and just assign them games or essays to write, or have them watch movies in English, and no one would complain?
Like the other guy said, it depends on your university. I work at one too (along with 2 other foreigners), and mine is similar in some ways (95% of the time I'm just left alone), but I'm also expected to carry out a few assignments and examinations. The students also give anonymous feedback to my supervisor at the end of each semester, so if I just did what you did, I probably wouldn't keep the job longer than one term.
I'd encourage you not to do what you said though, since English teachers do already have a bad reputation among many people in China, and your students WILL look down on you if you're a lazy fucker (although not to your face of course). I've talked to lots of English students from other universities and about half of them say that their foreign teachers are lazy sacks of shit when I question them about it.
Any advice on visiting Tibet? How to get there, best way to tour etc. Wanting to go there but all the initial information about traveling there seems very complicated.
>>1031742
>Tibet
>traveling there seems very complicated
A little bit. I haven't been but what I keep hearing is that you go to somewhere nearby like Chengdu or Kunming and then arrange a group visa/tour via a travel agent or the hostels in those cities.
As far as I know, independent travel in Tibet is more or less illegal.
>>1031735
They'd probably say the same about you. Chinese and Asians in general are two-faced fucks.
How exactly do they expect you to be a good, engaging and fun teacher, if, like the guy above you said, they don't want you to go by the book and be a genuine teacher? They're fucking morons.
>>1031763
>How exactly do they expect you to be a good, engaging and fun teacher, if, like the guy above you said, they don't want you to go by the book and be a genuine teacher? They're fucking morons.
Well yes, you're getting a higher salary than almost any other employee in the whole country, so they do expect you to be some kind of wizard.
>>1031742
Check ahead about whether it's open to tourists. I met some travelers in Kunming heading from Shanghai to Tibet and they found out only then that it was closed at the time. They were really disappointed as it was their primary destination on their trip. Kinda funny in retrospect, but it pays to check ahead about getting the tourist pass to go there.
>>1030719
Has anyone been to Urumqi or Xinjiang in general? Would it be advisable for a white American to tour this region? I can't help it, Urumqi seems like an interesting city and the Uyghurs might be bro-tier friends amongst foreigners.
>>1031793
>Uyghurs might be bro-tier friends
You should be fine, I've known a few English teachers who did tours there.
They said they had a great time, loved the Uyghur people but that the Uyghur were terribly oppressed.
>>1031793
>been to Urumqi or Xinjiang in general?
You do need to check whether you'll be able to get in, I think it's sometimes closed to foreigners like Tibet.
Any documents or guides on learning Mandarin like in the Japan threads?
>>1031793
Urumqi is actually pretty boring, but that hot hell-hole place that is just south-east is fantastic,hottest place in china, but has some of the most amazing scenery,food and culture.I found the english speaking ability of the locals in the region to be a surprise, they are better at it then anywhere outside shenzen,beijing or shanghai.
>1032127
>hot hell-hole place that is just south-east
Are you talking about Gansu or somewhere in Xinjiang?
>>1032427
I'm talking about turpan.
>>1031689
everything I said was perfectly true I swear
>>1031016
>they showed me the biggest fucking pig I've ever seen in my life
this is the real subconscious reason why i go traveling
>>1032945
>giant pig
>subconscious reason why i go traveling
Can you explain that last part?
>>1032942
>perfectly true
I wasn't meaning the "only a fool would believe" thing, which is a good thing to keep in mind but what I meant was that there are a lot of "what the fuck" people on 4chan. We're a weird lot.
By taking the piss, I meant your comment about finding an upper class chinese qt meme etc.
It's all cool anon.
Hey /trv/,
I did some cycling in Mt Taihang Canyon yesterday.
>>1034127
Taihang Shan is in Henan province, near a large town called Linzhou.
It was developed to be a huge tourist attraction but it never succeeded so there are all these massive hotels here which are almost empty, lots of bit hotels that are closed or resorts that only got half built.
The hostel probably has about 200 beds but I think there are only about 10 people staying here, I have dorm to myself because it's 1/3 the price of a private room. The place is massive but feels deserted.
The canyon here is the main attraction, there are paragliding schools nearby too.
>>1034128
There are parks here and there where you can climb mountains too, I did this one yesterday, took about three hours and included a few peaks like this one.
>>1032119
Google is your friend, otherwise an app called ChineseSkill has been very helpful.
I love this thread :)
I've been dating this Chinese woman for two years now and we're probably going to travel to China for like 6 months when the time comes, I think I'm lucky because I can visit places I otherwise couldn't with my Chinese speaking best friend by my side.
I do web development for a living but I'm not sure if that's a marketable skill over there for a foreigner, I was thinking that if I go there I maybe set up a website offering private lessons or something.
Why the fuck is leaving Shanghai for a flight to NA so fucking expensive?
>>1034154
>web development ... a marketable skill over there for a foreigner
It's not but you wouldn't be the first one to work on the road. Post a throwaway email.
What's a good phone data sim and VPN for china?
>>1034321
What's Google?
>>1034321
>What's a good phone data sim and VPN for china?
>>1034325
>What's Google?
Fuck google, what's this thread?
Anon needs to fucking read.
>>1032976
>Can you explain that last part?
I can
It's hyperbolic reaction syntax in the context of "that was random"
我在北京留学,我和我朋友们要趁国庆节去旅行,可能去蒙古,去比较近的俄罗斯城市,也可能去香港。不过,我们必须申请签证吗?
>>1034127
hey how much did you get for that bike
>>1034504
>我在北京留学,我和我朋友们要趁国庆节去旅行,可能去蒙古,去比较近的俄罗斯城市,也可能去香港。不过,我们必须申请签证吗?
> Do I need a visa to go to Russia, Hong Kong or Mongolia?
Depends on your nationality. Probably for everything except Hong Kong. Ask the embassies. Visa advice varies between countries and passports.
>>1034505
>hey how much did you get for that bike
Haven't sold it, what are you talking about?
Are you implying I stole it?
>>1034504
Depends on your country. Some nationalities can visit China without a visa for example. Most can't. Just search "visa requirements for [your country] citizens" and check the wikipedia page, or check the the respective embassies.
Also, why did you even ask in Chinese lol.
>>1031362
>>1031365
Pretty much. My friends at international schools make more, and work more. Usually they work 9am to 6pm Saturdays and sundays, for the working students.
I got a job with a reputable company. Pay is average, but I only work about 10 hours a week. I'm in a big enough city that the opportunity for privates is decent. I could triple my salary and still work 30 hours a week.
>>1031727
I teach in a high school, I could literally put on a movie in every class and still get paid. Most school officials ignore me completely.
However, I'm not an asshole, I care about the students. I set up lessons that help them practice their vocab and speech (conversationally, I don't care about grammar as long as I can understand them), and I make sure it's always fun. These kids are in school 14 hours a day, they deserve some fun classes.
>>1034518
>Pay is average, but I only work about 10 hours a week
What is average pay for 10 hours a week?
How many days is that? 2 hour classes/five days a week?
And what city is this?
I am currently studying in Zhejiang, and my friends and I have been starting to plan for travelling outside the city for the golden week holidays.
I know most attractive places are gonna be heavily crowded. Our two contenders right now are Huangshan Mountains and Shanghai.
Does anyone have experience of travelling to these destinations or just generally in China during the holidays? Is it tolerable, or is it better to just stay at home? What kind of price may we expect for a 2-3 day trip?
Thanks in advance
>>1034990
Shanghai is a nice city, especially at night with all the city lights. Why city are you in? I was in China around this time two years ago and it was really nice, decently warm weather. I went to the Lingshan Buddha near Wuxi on a clear day and the view from the top was amazing -- but it's sort of a tourist trap and isn't really "authentic".
>>1034512
>Depends on your nationality.
>>1034514
>Depends on your country.
I have US passport, friend has Indonesian passport. I already paid 1150kuai to change my visa from tourist to student, so unless I can get by without a visa, then I suppose it's useless to go.
>Also, why did you even ask in Chinese lol.
Because it stands out in this thread, and the people who actually know Mandarin and live in China are more likely to respond.
Also getting easier for me to write/speak. Still can't 听懂了 for shit though.
>>1034512
>Are you implying I stole it?
Implying nothing. How much did you buy it for?
>>1034990
It's not worth it to travel. A billion chinks all travel during this holiday. The trains will be jam-packed, airplanes will be a fuckin nightmare. Remember the news stories about chinks that opened emergency doors as the plane was taking off, or old grannies throwing scolding hot water on stewardesses? Parents letting their kids shit in the aisle?
It'll be like that except times 50
I just want to advertise Hunan and Guangxi itt. Nicest people, really.
>>1031793
I'd like to relay a message from a half Han half Tibetan guy living in Guilin:
"Don't go to the East, there's only people in the East. Go to Western China, it doesn't have people!" [a few seconds pass] "And beautiful landscapes."
>>1034990
>starting to plan for travelling outside the city for the golden week holidays
You've left it a bit late but I guess you can still manage something.
It probably won't be too hard to get a room somewhere but you might not get your first or second choice. Don't be too choosy and expect everything to increase their prices for that week.
>>1034990
>Huangshan Mountains and Shanghai
I wouldn't go to either place during Golden Week tbh, the Bund and Huangshan will both be packed. The Bund will be wall-to-wall tourists and you'll have to fight through crowds, Huangshan will be constant streams of people up and down the stairs all day. It is normally but you have quiet bits here and there, especially once you get away from the cable car stations and there won't be any quiet parts during Golden Week. Also the dorms on top of the mountain, which are already really expensive, will be completely full, so you can only do a day-trip there anyway.
This is doing the rounds on wechat:
"10 places in China you MUSTN'T visit during the National holiday"
http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5NjAyODgyMg==&mid=209832990&idx=1&sn=4cccb5f3f120bb2fc6e67556a4652df8
It's memerific but relevant to your interests.
Find somewhere second or third tier that is under-appreciated. For my money, I'd try Linzhou in Henan, I just got back from a week of cycling, climbing and flying Taihang canyon and I think it's great. Also the YHA hostel right next to the nature and aviation stuff and is ridiculously good value, it would be the best hostel for facilities anywhere and it's also cheap.
>>1034127
>>1034128
>>1034129
This is Taihang Canyon. I also went Paragliding over it too, the hostel can hook you up with tandem flights if you can afford to splurge a bit (700RMB/flight). You could spend a week and learn to paraglide but it would set you back 5k RMB.
Thinking about Zhejiang province, most of the places I've been would still be packed.
>>1035011
>Implying nothing. How much did you buy it for?
Then you mean "how much did I get it for".
"How much did I get for it?", is asking how much I sold it for. Which makes it sound like I stole it to sell and was just joyriding it or something. Same words, different order, opposite meaning.
Anyway, I bought it for 2000RMB in Shenzhen. Just walked into a random bike store and asked for their biggest folding bicycle that still had 20' wheels, because that's what is allowed on most metros (not Shanghai though). It's also about the biggest that can be bagged up and taken on high speed trains.
>>1035011
>US passport, friend has Indonesian passport
Both of you probably don't need a visa for HK, or for Mongolia. You should both double-check though, /trv/ can only give suggestions about visas, it's terrible to ask here instead of an embassy.
>>1034990
>Zhejiang
Places to see in Zhejiang:
Hangzhou (which you probably live in)
Suzhou
Wuxi (Jiangsu actually but close)
Ningbo
Putuoshan
Wenzhou
Places that might not be packed with people:
Wenzhou
In Wenzhou, you can go hiking up in the mountains around the city, that would be cool and probably not have many tourists doing the same thing. If you go, there are two expat hangouts, one in a dive bar beneath a dodgy arcade and one in a Canadian pub, I think the wiki has both places. The dive bar is more popular and much cheaper.
>>1035007
>Lingshan Buddha
You mean the one built for the Buddhist convention a few years ago? Yeah, not that great I don't think. Wuxi is kind of polluted too so I'm not sure how good the view is. That park north of the one hostel and next to the restored old town has a good view too, might be cheaper. pic related.
I liked the Three Kingdoms park. Obviously not 'authentic' but cool. It's a theme park built on the sets for a TV show of Three Kingdoms from the 70s or something. The 'sets' are basically complete buildings, palaces, estates, a small fishing village, even a prison.
>>1035086
Not him, but assuming English isn't your first language, often times sentences are simplified in idle conversation, relying on context for the meaning to be accurately conveyed. As your selling the bike was not mentioned anywhere, it was assumed you would understand he was asking how much that bicycle cost you.
>>1035093
>English isn't your first language
I think he was the one with non-native English.
This was his quote:
>>1034505
>hey how much did you get for that bike
In English, that clearly means "For how much did you sell that bike?". There isn't an alternate interpretation of that sentence structure in English.
It's not very good English but the meaning is fairly unambiguous as to a reference to receiving money in exchange, not in giving it. To provide the buying interpretation, the sentence structure needs the preposition to be at the start of the 'sentence', which begins at 'how' if you punctuated it properly, though the formal correctness would make you sound Indian or maybe private school. You could also end the sentence on the proposition for a casually correct sentence that might make some English teachers twitch: "How much did you get that bike for?".
It would be way clearly if anon used some punctuation and the word 'buy'.
"Hey, how much did you buy that bike for?"
>>1035093
>selling the bike was not mentioned
Neither was buying it, there was no context.
>>1035101
Considering the context of your post and the picture, it is assumed you own it or are renting it. In colloquial English, "how much did you get" can refer to deals. What kind of deal did you get for that bike?
Nobody thought he was asking you about selling the bike because, despite the 'ambiguity' of the post there was no indication that you had made money off of the bike. One could wonder, however, how much the bike cost simply from the picture.
In short, I have no idea why you would think he would think you had sold the bike.
>>1035011
Your Chinese visa has no effect on your visa in other countries. Tourist visa, work visa, business visa, marriage visa - it doesn't matter. All that matters is your passport. Mongolia/Russia etc don't care if you're working in China or studying there. Just make sure your Chinese visa has multiple entries, otherwise you'll need to reapply before coming back to China.
>>1035086
>Wenzhou
Are you here too?
It's alright living here but I wouldn't really recommend visiting as a tourist. There's very little here other than a bunch of average/not bad mountains.
You could also try Linhai, which is an old town near Taizhou (close to Wenzhou) and Shaoxing (which I haven't been to, but is meant to be like a quieter version of Suzhou).
>>1034990
Stay away from any mountains during holidays. Mountains suck during weekends and are absolute hell on earth during holidays.
Shanghai would probably be fine if you stay away from the bund/museums etc. Lots of people will visit there, but lots of people will leave too, and Shanghai is big enough to absorb huge numbers of tourists. It wouldn't be a bad idea to just go there, avoid sightseeing and just hang out for a few days.
I got an offer from my professor to spend the spring semester in Beijing, to progress my Chinese language development as rapidly as possible before I graduate.
Tuition I can cover, nbd, but is cost of living high in Beijing? For reference my current rent is $545/mo and I probably spend about ~$200/mo in food.
>>1035128
It would probably cost more in Beijing than that. Even if you live away from the city center, you'll just end up burdened with transportation costs.
I'm wondering if I could become a fake psychologist in China. I know you can fake almost anything there if you have a decent-looking white face. My dream is to have my own little office in a major Chinese city (and a couple sexy Chinese secretaries) and diagnose people's problems and help them, but I don't have a psychology degree, lol.
Are psychologists even in demand in China/Asia? I guess Asians aren't really comfortable venting their problems out in the open like Westerners are.
>>1035119
>>1035007
>>1035012
>>1035079
>>1035086
Thanks for the responses guys.
Yeah, I'm living in Hangzhou. I am well aware that the planning is a bit late. We were originally intending not to do anything, but a friend of mine had a few ideas.
From what I've understood, it is close to inevitable to find a not-so-crowded place during the holidays. It might be better to just stay at home and try to travel during non-holidays instead. It's not like we want to pay for expensive accomodation/food/travelling costs just to stare at chinese persons neck for 95% of the time.
>>1034520
I'm supposed to teach a small class of chinese high school students on the side.
I'm going to be given a book, but other than that I don't have a clue about what I'm going to teach them.
Any advice for me? I was just gonna go over some lessons in the book and maybe throw in a movie to kill a good chunk of time.
Why do chinese girls use me for sex but won't become a steady or girlfriend
>>1035119
>>Wenzhou
>Are you here too?
No, I just visited a few months ago. Had some over-priced poutine in the Canadian pub but I preferred the weird dive bar under the arcade in that circular business mall place.
Met a loli who talked a lot about Wenzhou with me and asked for my wechat but I couldn't convince her to teach me any Wenzhou-ese :(
>>1035245
>won't become a steady or girlfriend
Probably because you're too embarrassing or disrespectful for them to want their friends or family to meet you.
>>1035286
embarrassing how?
>>1035346
Why don't you tell us?
Do I really need vaccinations if I'm only visiting Beijing and Shanghai?
>>1035382
>Do I really need vaccinations if I'm only visiting Beijing and Shanghai?
Only the ones that everyone should have for everywhere.
Get Hep B, Hep A if you don't already have immunity, stuff like that. Those are good even if you never leave your own country and will help if you just eat dirty food some time.
You don't need anything else for those cities.
>be me
>be booking a hostel
>read description
"Welcome to DengfengShaolin international youth hostel. Our hostel is located at downtown of Dengfeng, which is adjacent to Mount Songshan and just two kilometres away from Songyang College. With Chinese classical decoration style, to some extent, our hostel is comfortable and gorgeous rather than safe and clean."
>With Chinese classical decoration style, to some extent, our hostel is comfortable and gorgeous rather than safe and clean
>comfortable and gorgeous rather than safe and clean
o.0
Truth in advertising I guess.
>>1035410
>comfortable and gorgeous rather than safe and clean
RealTraveller approved.
What are the smaller cities like during the National Day holiday?
I know Shanghai/Beijing empties out during this time because all the farmer fuckin hicks go back to their shitholes to see their families... Does that mean all the tier 2 cities will be crowded like crazy and tons of activity/noise will be going on all night and day for the entire week?
Anyone here live in shanghai? Its so hard to get a reading of what rents are online...
What are the rents in inner city, i dont mean like inner inner nangjinlu, and what about more outside? I think its doable to live some 15km away as long as you are near a subway line...
Anyone ever got a sleeper train from Shanghai to Hong Kong? what's it like? think i'd rather do that than get the fast train to Guangzhou and then have to go through the Guangzhou metro and another train after that.
or is Guangzhou itself worth stopping off for a day?
I teach English in Beijing and want to design a (thoroughly drunken) scavenger hunt for myself and some of my co-workers who are staying in the city through the holiday.
What are your best suggestions for inane things to photograph or acquire? Proximity to a metro station is a huge plus.
>>1035526
>Guangzhou worth stopping off for a day
I think so.
It's not amazing but there's definitely things to see. There is probably the best yumcha in the world, I could point you at some places.
pic related but before most of the yumcha stuff arrived.
>>1034737
I make 6500/mo, that's the high-end of average, a lot of companies start you out at 4500-5500 for the first year. I know people working in Uni's that make over 10k/mo. But the average job is actually 25 hours a week. I guess I lucked out, because my friends in the company work more hours than me (I don't tell them that, lol).
The China school schedule is kind of weird. I teach grade 1 (15 yr olds) one week and grade 2 (16 yr olds) the next, alternating every week. Grade 1 I teach 4 days a week, 2-4 classes a day. Grade 2 I teach 6 days a week, 1-4 classes per day. My classes are 40 minutes each.
>>1035231
It depends on what you want to help them with. If you want to help them with actually speaking and listening English, you can probably skip the book. From what I've seen, Chinese textbooks on Oral English suck, because there is no Oral component to them. I rarely use mine. The students will also find the textbook boring.
I try to mix it up. The schools here are like prisons, the kids deserve to learn in a fun environment. I set up lessons that focus on talking, and are centered on what they actually want to talk about and will actually talk about in English-speaking countries. Topics include dating, food, and entertainment. If you talk about these, classes should be energetic and smooth.
Besides that, google some blogs from other TEFL teachers. They have much more experience than me.
I don't recommend movies. They won't get anything out of it, because you have to speak slowly for them to comprehend, movies don't do that.
>>1035760
Any teacher worth his or her salt will be supplementing 'official' material with their own on a regular basis.
How do you differentiate great girls wanting to have sex with you from scammers?
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnomKWGvsVJ3QKGC4PUxwRlIAbXl_HJOG
>>1035796
How do you do that at home?
>>1035161
I am an actual psychologist willing to open a private practice in China.. your post made me laugh.
But I like the spirit.
>>1035161
who would be your clients; Chinese or expats?
and how would you find them?
>>1035245
because you can't buy them a house
>>1035815
No one tries to scam me at home.
>>1032119
/int/ wiki has a pretty extensive one.
I know because I wrote a good chunk of it.
Probably a bit outdated now though, haven't looked at it in a while
>>1035346
>>1035245
Goddamnit it happened again, bros
I met a young university student, fucked her, she spent the night at my apartment. She even said "I love you, I really like u"" and held my hand all night while we fell asleep. Then when I walked her out in the morning she locked arms with me. I gave her a nice, long kiss goodbye. She wanted to make plans to see me again.
So I send her a text later today to meet tonight or tomorrow and she said she has class and can't meet, and basically blows me off. REEEEEEEEE, this fucking sucks bros. I want a goddamn chinky GF.
IIRC from a college class China's official language is Mandarin but a large pat of people also speak Cantonese. What parts of China mostly speak Mandarin? I want to avoid the Cantonese areas.
>>1036452
>So I send her a text later today
>Not waiting the industry standard two days
It's like you've never seen a movie.
WTF guys, I've been here over a month, haven't had so much as a date. Am I spending too much time on the high school campus? Do I really need to be fluent in Mandarin to attract the hotties at the vocational school across the street?
if I was going to be staying at hostels and travelling all across china for 3 months or so, how big of a backpack would I need, and how much clothes?
any recommendations? or could someone lead me in the right direction? I need it to be somewhat minimalst, I really like the Goruck GR2, but it's too expensive
>>1036745
What season?
>>1036754
Winter
>>1036738
you should've been white. I guess you got duped into thinking your race could get laid in china
How are techno/EDM festivals in China?
Are they good to meet & pull girls from and get laid?
>>1036834
I am white. I also make ~6 times the average salary. I'm also /fit/.
Maybe its the spaghetti.
Is anyone in Taiyuan?
Or have anything nice to say about it?
have the opportunity to attend HKU or HKUST next fall. which one?
note: i speak no chinese
>>1037265
>i speak no chinese
Shouldn't matter in HK. Not much anyway.
Wouldn't hurt to learn some Cantonese, it will make life quite a bit easier but you can get by without it if you have to.
I can't speak for the Universities.
>>1037269
okay, ill probably spend the summer learning the basics.
kind of a silly question, but do you have any idea what females in hong kong think about middle eastern men? i'm 6' egyptian/french and persian/russian
>>1037271
>6' egyptian/french and persian/russian
Probably ok.
There are shitloads of Indians there that piss people off in TST but you shouldn't be mistaken for them so it's probably normal for you. Bonus if you look like you might be related to a sheik or something.
The only thing that really matters in HK, is how rich you look. It's a very wealth obsessed society. If you scrub up ok and look kind of metro-sexual then that's a bonus. French culture is highly regarded, red wine is very common in HK and French restaurants are where movies always set their romance scenes, stuff like that. It's an international place.
What's your guys' notch count in China?
I feel like I'm doing somewhat poorly only banging 1-2 (3 if I'm lucky) new girls a month. I have acquaintances that tell me and hear of people getting 1-2 new girls or more a WEEK, but they're usually good looking, clean-shaven, metro-ish. I really can't tell if they're lying or not.
>tfw spend 1150元 to change my visa from tourist to student and only get single-entry
>indonesian friend spends 500元 and gets multiple entry
privilege of being an american.
next time i'm just going to the 公安部办公室 instead of letting my host uni handle it.
anyway, i need some advice. currently i'm studying in beijing for the fall semester, which is supposed to be my last. but i've met some really people here, and i'm thinking, if i take the HSK and get a scholarship, i can afford to come back next semester. there's like 20 brit students here who took HSK and scored level 3 or 4, and get a scholarship that provides free housing (in the second most shit dorm) along with 2500元 every month.
their mandarin is actually not that good, and if they scored a scholarship from HSK with their current level, then surely i can get something as good if not better?
i'm not too familiar with HSK, because i first learned about it through /int/. the plan i'm formulating is i take the test here asap, have my results processed in time for next semester and then apply for another extension to study here?
i'd appreciate any comments or help on this.
also, hope you guys are having a good 国庆节。
>>1037597
well fuck i just learned that i missed the registration date at my host uni.
i don't suppose it's possible to take the HSK at another test center but still get a scholarship?
Ded thread
>>1038938
It's golden week, most of us are on holiday. I just got back to civilisation. Been off climbing mountains and things.
>>1037599
>possible to take the HSK at another test center
Sorry, I don't know shit about HSK.
So, how was everyone's national holiday week?
I did most of north Shānxī, pic related.
I liked the Zhangbi tunnel and the views from Wutaishan are pretty awesome, especially the east plateau.
Anyone else do anything interesting?
>>1039162
Where'd you go, bud?
>5 days in Xi'an
>5 days in Chengdu
Cut Chengdu short to return to Xi'an, bro-tierest of West China cities
>>1039222
>Cut Chengdu short to return to Xi'an
Did you take a day trip to Ermaishan?
Pandas are cool obviously, not sure what else there is to do in Chengdu.
Other than the walls, muslim quarter and warriors, what is there to do in and around Xi'an?
>>1039225
Huashan baby,huashan!
>>1039222
what did you like about Xi'an so much?
>>1039225
>Huashan baby
Oh, didn't realise that was so close to Xi'an. I vaguely remember that. Yeah, Huashan is pretty cool.
Did you go over Green Dragon Back Ridge? That was pretty scary.
pic related
Best area to stay in Hong Kong for 6 days? Everything says Kowloon but I want my 4chan bros opinion thanks.
>>1039443
>Hong Kong
Check the two HK threads in the archive.
>>1033758
>>1035073
Neither are exactly what you want though but just good reading anyway.
I would generally say Kowloon too unless you are happy spending money. Hong Kong Island is better in many ways but is much more expensive. If you aren't splashing out then cheap hotels are available in places like Jordan (or really cheap and terrible ones in Chungking Mansions etc).
If you are then the Island is the place to be.
If you're a backpacker then there are hostels in both places. Checkinn in Wanchai is good value and very well located and Urban Pack in TST is too.
For me, I consider proximity to Lan Kwai Fong to be of paramount importance.
Different guy asking about HK
Can I get a cheap smart phone in HK, like iphone 5 or 6, for under $500? Or would it be cheaper to buy in the Mainland?
>>1039263
All I really remember is the plank walk and the crowds.
>>1039495
>cheaper to buy in the Mainland
Yes but if you want to use it outside China then you're probably better off with a HK purchase for warranty etc.
Check somewhere like Golden Plaza in Sham shui po. There are also shitloads of phone shops in the streets either side of Nathan Rd there. Make sure you do a good walk around SSP and you'll see where they all are.
>>1039495
>cheap smart phone in HK, like iphone 5 or 6
Cheap smart phones are androids. You can probably get iphones for less than elsewhere though.
A few years ago in China, someone tried to sell me a cheap iphone that was really an android with a custom OS and fake iPhone case. I nearly bought it for the comedy value.
I don't think you'll get any decent phone for HKD$500 but if you mean USD$500 then sure, that's HKD$3800 and a good smartphone could be just half of that.
>>1039223
How was Pingyao? I'm considering spending a weekend there. Tourist trap or worth it?
>>1039225
I saw the pandas, it was the best part of the city by far, I pet a red panda! All the trains to Leshan/Ermeishan were booked due to the holiday, I couldn't see the Buddha.
>Other than the walls, muslim quarter and warriors, what is there to do in and around Xi'an?
Those are the big spots, but there's loads of history. Xi'an was the capital for 3,000 years, end of the Silk Road, it's a hub of ancient culture. Museums, ancient structures, day trips to other ancient towns. Here's a map I use in the city.
>>1039565
Forgot pic.
>>1039227
Agreed, Hua Mountain is one of China's top 5. Try to stay overnight to see the sunset/sunrise.
>>1039238
I like cities and rural areas equally, I like mountains and plains equally. Xi'an allows me to visit all of those pretty easily (despite the lack of bullet trains currently stopping here). Also, Xi'an is quite a bit calmer and cleaner than the other cities I've been to in China, so I'm having a great time living here. But hey, I've only been here 2 months.
>>1039565
>Pingyao?
Tourist trap or worth it?
Pic related
It's a really good example of an old town. You've seen them before but this is bigger and better and has some rather impressive city walls that are almost entirely original (a bit fell down on the south wall apparently and was rebuilt). If you're into history, this is where Chinese banking started...merchants deposited silver taels with exchange houses here to save them carrying it all on the silk road and getting robbed. The 'banks' here had branches as far away as Russia and Singapore. It all ended with Communism obviously. Not quite as old as European banking but still interesting.
>>1039565
>I pet a red panda
I LOVE the bits where they run freely on the tourist paths, scared the shit out of me when I first got there because I wasn't expecting it and suddenly zoo animals are coming right for me. I also love the giant panda in a red panda fur suit.
You didn't miss too much at Leshan, I'll post a pic, it's nice but you may have seen large buddhas before. I missed Ermeishan too and want to get back there in a few months.
>Here's a map I use in the city.
I think you missed an attachment.
>>1039569
>giant panda in a red panda fur suit
I didn't buy one but I wanted to.
>>1039569
>Leshan
I have another pic without the qt head but this gives perspective.
What's the best way of dealing with cash in China? I'm reading conflicting info about ATMs, people saying they work fine, others saying you can't rely on them, the 6 digit pin will fuck up 4 digit cards, etc.
I'm super paranoid about my cards being rejected/swallowed and being stuck for 3 weeks. I can obtain some RMB before I travel but I'm on the road for a month before I reach beijing so I'd rather not carry 40x100RMB with me the whole time. travellers cheques??
which cities have they now outlawed and banned e-bikes and scooters? i know shenzhen has, i think beijing and shanghai soon as well?
that's pretty gay tbh fam, that's one of the things that makes china unique and asian.
>>1039727
>What's the best way of dealing with cash in China?
ATMs. Shame about the fees though, your bank might be friendly about that.
They work fine these days, any of the big four banks can handle foreign cards, a handful of others can too, just look for the Maestro/Cirrus logos. Anything with a Visa/Mastercard logo is worth testing too (it's just a sticker, they don't always stick it). Oh, in a block of ATMs, not every ATM is always foreign card friendly. There are also odd withdrawal limits, often 2000RMB is the max for foreign cards.
>6 digit pin will fuck up 4 digit cards
Most ATMs are probably fine but yeah, some banks might have one that won't let you enter only 4 digits, it will vary depending on the ATM software. Ask your bank what kind of 6 digit pin is the same as your 4 digit pin. It might turn out that you can enter 123400 instead of 1234 and it will be accepted by your bank.
>rejected/swallowed
Rejection doesn't cause too many problems unless you're in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I've been in that situation and had to change USD$100 at a very bad rate just to get a bus ticket back to civilisation.
>stuck for 3 weeks
Just go in to the bank and ask for your card back, it's less of a problem than you think. If you have your passport, they'll probably hand it right back.
Source: Chinese gf was a bank teller, she did that for foreigners in the past (also tried to get their number because she thought they were hot lol).
>I'm on the road for a month
>40x100RMB
You'd probably need about twice that for a month I think, maybe triple. You could still do that, I do sometimes. China is pretty safe. Just either put it in a body wallet of some kind or keep it concealed in your luggage.
>>1039777
>which cities have they now outlawed and banned e-bikes and scooters?
You want a list? No one has that, probably including the Chinese government.
I don't think too many cities have but yeah, some do. e-bikes are probably not outlawed everywhere, usually it's something like inner-city main roads or something. Hadn't heard about scooters being b& though.
TEFL here. Rate my plans for the rest of the year:
Hua Shan, sunset & sunrise
ZhangJiaJie (Avatar Mountains) 5 days
YinChuan to sleep in a guard tower on the Great Wall (YinChuan doesn't regulate their section)
HaiNan in December
Taiwan/HK/Macau/Philippines over Feb/March break
When my contract ends, IDK if I should just spend a week in Beijing and fly back to America, or try to take a more scenic route, like India>South Africa>Chile>Mexico>USA
>>1039849
>my plans for the rest of the year
They seem ok. I guess you like extreme mountains?
You might want to include Huangshan, it's a bit tame compared to Huashan but the views are as good and I think maybe it's a bit bigger. Better facilities on the mountain too, as in more/bigger hotels (I think, I went to the two years apart so could be wrong about that).
Macau only takes 48 hours, it's not that interesting. HK could take as long as you like.
I wouldn't spend a week in Beijing, you'll get bored. I'd go out and see more sights.
I keep seeing all these awful videos on China relating to the pollution, gutter oil etc. but I'm still set on learning mandarin. I'm thinking maybe taiwan is my answer
>>1040183
>awful videos on China relating to the pollution, gutter oil
Dude, gutter oil is fucking delicious. It has all the seasoning, kind of like using bacon grease to make biscuits. It's just like how you never wash a cast iron pan and it keeps flavor.
Pollution sucks in some cities, it varies. Not too much of a problem for expats, we don't generally stay there for long enough to really suffer from it.
>I'm thinking maybe taiwan is my answer
Ask in the next Taiwan thread but we do hear that it's nicer there.
Guys I need your advice
I want to go back to China to try my luck with some qt who actually likes me. I almost finished my BA for teaching Computer Science and English in Germany (would need the MA for teaching here tho) and I earn a couple of hundred dollars per month for mobile apps I developed once. I also make some rather unpredictable amount of money on the stock market, $1000/3months on average.
I could easily live and survive with that money there but here comes the problem: the qt is rich af, not "we are the 20% who can afford international flights"-rich but rather "should we spend the weekend in Shanghai, Beijing or rather Taipei where we have the other 2 flats?"-rich
The parents are not THAT "Chinese" so they don't expect her daughter to marry someone wealthier than her but I am sure they definitely want her husband to be "successful". I've already had some good conversations with her mom, she really likes me and told her daughter she should marry me - but all she knows about me is that I am a programmer (and therefore probably earn a couple of thousands per month).
Being a teacher in Germany gives you quite a good reputation and you earn about $4k per month after the first couple of years. But I am aware that I can't expect these sums in China. I also think teachers aren't well regarded at all. Typing this I just remembered how her mom's face went from smiling to neutral when I told her both of my parents are teachers. I could only save this by saying my dad makes most of his money with stocks tho (which is kinda true).
What are my chances? Should I settle for something else? I am useless at everything but programming, my English would definitely be sufficient to teach Chinese students more than the average Chinese teacher could ever teach them but compared to natives I am - again - useless at this.
>>1040183
There's no reason for you to learn it anyway
>>1040093
Yeah, I'm from /out/ and /n/, I like nature hikes and cultural site-seeing over big cities by an order of magnitude. Thanks for the tip on Huangshan, haven't even heard of it yet.
>Macau only takes 48 hours
I figured I'd fly into HK for a week and pop over to Macau for a day or two sometime during that week. There's a train between the cities, apparently they don't even check passports since the cities are so close.
>>1040183
The pollution isn't that bad. In Beijing you probably need a mask 2 days a week, on average, but many other cities you rarely need it.
I also hear Taiwan is nicer.
>>1040388
Her mom might think you'll move to China permanently, where your salary will make you part of the top 5%, and it will stretch further over expenses.
>I also think teachers aren't well regarded at all.
Teaching in China is one of the highest-prestige positions they have. It's pretty much on par with being a doctor. If you're good with finances and are able to heavily subsidize your income through stocks, all the better. (Although it's a status-obsessed culture, so you'll have to start telling people you're a teacher and financial investor to gain face).
Anyway, if you like the girl, give it a shot. Worst case scenario, at least you get some money and a good story out of it.
>>1040413
lol No they aren't. Foreign teachers are looked down on like every other East Asian country. they know teachers don't make shit here, or are generally of poor character
>>1040413
>I like nature hikes
You might prefer Songshan then, it's smaller but it's actual hiking on trails as opposed to walking up paved steps. Pic related
I sort of got into trouble up there, I had no idea it wasn't paved trails with shops every 500m so I only took 1L water and some snacks and started walking. Then it turned into a serious hike. I went through my water too quickly, it was a hot day, I ran out of snacks...luckily I ran into a group of Chinese hikers who took one look at me and adopted me and talked me out of hiking all the way to the peak I was aiming for and went to a nearer one instead. The hostel map didn't give a clue that I was going to be bushwalking in rough terrain.
>I figured I'd fly into HK for a week and pop over to Macau for a day or two
That's the perfect itinerary. It's not a train (that would be a long tunnel), it's a ferry. They do check passports but you won't need a visa if you're from almost anywhere in the first or second world. They're a casino haven basically, they want everyone in. You'll need multiple entry (or be on a visa run) to get back into China, your passport stamps will look like this:
1. Leave China
2. Enter HK
3. Leave HK
4. Enter Macau
5. Leave Macau
6. Enter HK
7. Leave HK
8. Enter China (need visa)
Except that HK and maybe Macau don't stamp anymore, just put a slip of paper in your passport.
>>1040388
>I want to go back to China to try my luck with some qt who actually likes me
Then do it, nothing else matters. Parents liking you is important. Maybe they hope that she marries you and moves to Germany too, it sounds like living between countries is cool with them.
Be with her but also finish your studies and talk to her family about whether you should be a programmer in Germany or try to teach something in China. There are Chinese universities that teach in English so you could actually get a job in China teaching Comp Sci in English to Chinese. Professor is not a low status job.
>>1039727
atm's are everywhere unless you go to western china or something. okay, it took a random chinese person only speaking chinese 10 minutes to find me a 3rd, working atm after seeing it for herself that 2 out of 2 machines on a changsha airport level were down. she was all "put your card in there" pointing at the broken machine when i first asked for other atm's, so i dragged her 20 cm's away from the screen pointing at the text saying "machine out of order". it was a bit burlesquey. luckily that was the first and last atm issue encountered, it really only took 10 mins of my and that poor random cleaner's time.
i did end up taking a couple of thousand yuans out once, before going off the map a bit. i carried all (!) my cash with me in a transparent zip lock bag (it was raining at times, otherwise i would've put them in my pocket).
i saw a lot of locals with even more cash in their hands.
you should be more worried about being ripped off.
i have to ask whether you're an american? maybe from the uk? i haven't heard any sane person carrying travelers cheques since the start of nineties or so. other than americans. you have your freaking bank cards, why would you joke around with those fluffy papers.
>>1040416
Let me re-phrase: In Chinese culture, teachers are regarded very highly, pretty much on par with doctors. However, this is a status symbol that is not necessarily reflected in pay. The native teachers usually know that the foreign teachers make more money for doing less work (absolutely true, sometimes 3x as much $), and some of them have sour moods about it. In my experience, less than 10% are actually abrasive. 10% don't care at all and want to be your friend really badly, inviting you over for tea and offering to help with translating if you get stuck in a bind. The rest of the teachers are either indifferent or at least not outwardly expressive of their opinions.
That's really only other teachers, though. When I tell other people that I'm a teacher, they have the same 'oohhh' expression that Americans sometimes have towards doctors/lawyers.
Caveat: in major cities, some people may be cynical about foreigners in general, because of all the foreigners that come to SEA to party on the cheap. In this case, you could be a fucking diplomat and they'd still be cynical.
>>1040508
Thanks for the tips, bud. Songshan is added to my list, and I'll start talking to my company about exit/entry. Cheers.
>>1040410
But I want to learn it. It's an interesting language to me, and people always so "ohh chinese is so hard blah blah can't understand anything". But it's really not that difficult.
I want to visit Taiwan/Singapore sometime soon so that alone would make me learn the language. I also am getting a degree in business; never hurts to be able to speak two of the languages that dominate business and trade.
Will i be able to teach university gigs with a master's degree in English? Also i am a non-native speaker, could this prove a problem? Also curious to what the average salary is for a foreigner teaching at a university.
