China

Click here for advice specific to Linyi!

I’ve been living in China since September 2005. During my time in China, I have worked for two flight training schools.

The first year, I lived in Shijiazhuang, a large city three hours south of Beijing. I worked for Beijing Panam International Aviation Academy as an aviation English teacher.

November 2006 to May 2010, I lived in Linyi, a small city on the northeast coast, close to Qingdao. I worked for Jiutian International Flight Academy as an aviation English teacher and ground instructor.

China is a complex country that is experiencing great changes. Life for Westerners can be challenging, but life is really what you make of it. Some days you love it and some days you hate it. It is hardly ever boring!

My best advice for living in China is to travel as much as possible, including trips outside of China every few months. It is easy and cheap to travel to Southeast Asia. Do it! I cannot recommend enough Yunnan Province, in Southwest China. It is truly a jewel! My favorite insanity escape is Koh Chang, Thailand. Trust me, the cost of travel is truly irrelevant when you look upon a clear blue sky or feel a rejuvenating sea breeze. Also, don’t be afraid to eat new and crazy things. Fried scorpions are delicious! Fatty red cooked pork belly is a delight. Embrace the chopstick and the street food stall. At the same time, always be aware of your proximity to a clean, western-style toilet. [McDonalds and 5 star hotels!]

As far as practical, usable advice goes:

Where to Stay

• Shanghai - The place I like to stay in Shanghai is at the Utel Shanghai City Central Youth Hostel – 198RMB a night for twin beds and private bathroom, 300 meters to metro system, free wi-fi, friendly staff… Some say it is far from the city center, but since it is on the metro line that is not an issue for me. I love taking the metro. (Check Hostel World for availability & info)
• Beijing – On my visits to Beijing, I liked to stay at Sanlitun Youth Hostel on Chunxiu Lu, across from the Worker’s Stadium. It is also run by Utels and costs about 200 RMB per night for two twin beds or double with ensuite. (It is actually cheaper to book online at Hostel World instead of calling the hostel directly.) Another decent hostel is Jade Hostel which is in a great location, just around the corner from the Forbidden City (yet another Utel.) They have nice ensuite twin rooms for about 300RMB. I also recently stayed at the Sitting on the City Walls Courtyard Hostel, which is very centrally located in a hutong north of the Forbidden City. Very charming rooms for about 300RMB. A quick search on Hostel World will leave you with many other hutong hotel choices, as well.

Western/Import Food Shopping

• For gourmet goodies and treats from back home, get thee to Jenny Lou’s in Beijing. This list of branches is old (August 2007), so I don’t know if they are all still open:
  1. No. 1 West Gate of ChaoYang Park
  2. No. 2 6 BeiXiao Street SanLiTun
  3. No. 3 4 RiTan Bei Rd.
  4. No. 4 Lai Guang Ying Dong Rd. (Next to Lane Bridge Villa)
  5. No. 5 0413 of No. 39 Jian Wai Soho
  6. No. 6 East Lake Villas
• Also see the shopping center inside the Kempinski Lufthansa Center at Liangmaqiao Subway stop on line #10. (Close to the new US Embassy)

Healthcare/Spa

This is where I go to the dentist, but they also offer a full range of medical services:

• In Beijing – International SOS Clinic
• In Shanghai – United Family Hospital (there’s one in Beijing, too, but I originally went to SOS so I still go there…)
• Emergency Anywhere? It’s a good idea to save the SOS Clinic’s Beijing alarm center phone number (+86-10-6462-9100), along with your embassy’s, into your mobile phone. SOS Clinic has a private jet available for evacuations and can send medication anywhere in China. By calling the alarm center you can also get advice and referrals.
• Beijing Spa – for heavenly facials and other spa services, I highly recommend Kocoon Spa very close to Sanlitun’s new Village shopping center.

Flight Tickets/Travel Agency

• Planning a trip around China and need flight tickets? Go straight to the Net to ELong or CTrip. ELong lets you pay with an international credit card, but they’ll tack on a 3% charge. Both let you pay in cash if you’re in a major city. Both offer discounts on flights and hotels. You can book international with them, too, but you have to do that over the phone.

Ordering Food

• New to China and to Mandarin? Need some help ordering food? My best advice is to find restaurants that showcase all of their menu items as “sample” dishes displayed in a refrigerated case or on tables. (This is pretty common.) You just walk around and point at what you want and the waiter writes it all down.
• Alternatively, How to Order Chinese Food is a valuable website with advice, photos & downloadable PDFs. And for those of you lucky enough to be living in Shanghai, Like a Local has lots of info on street food and restaurants in the metropolis.

Internet Issues

• You will get to know the GFW – Great Firewall of China. Search Twitter with the phrase “#gfw” for updates on how access is going.
  • YouTube is blocked.
  • Facebook is blocked.
  • Twitter is blocked
  • WordPress.com blogs are blocked
  • Blogspot blogs are blocked
• Can’t access your favorite blogs or websites? Try to find a proxy website or a VPN service. I recommend Witopia.

General Advice

• At some point you’re going to have to use a public toilet. Buy some of those small tissue packets and be sure they are scented. When you go into the public toilet, hold the tissue pack under your nose. Accept the squatter. It’s inevitable. Here’s the secret – you’ve got to get down low. Really low. I’ve heard that this is ridiculously difficult for most Westerners to do however, because our Achilles tendons are too tight.
• I wrote a post with some advice back in 2006. I think it still applies.
• Wangjianshuo’s Blog has lots of good information, especially on Shanghai
• The US Government has lots of information for tourists and expats on their China page.
• Here is a list of average supermarket prices as of April 2009 in Linyi
• Female expat in China in need of supportive bras in sizes impossible to find? Hong Kong’s Bralicious will deliver to your door in 2-3 days.

For toilet paper and facial tissues, buy this brand. Seriously, it’s the best I’ve tried.

China Website/Blogs

See the list here.

More tips as I can think of them…

I have enjoyed my days in China and I’ve learned so much. The thing about living in a little city seemingly in the middle of nowhere, however, is that eventually the romanticism of the new wears off. It gets old. This can happen anywhere, but in China it can be magnified greatly. As stated elsewhere, the winds of change are stirring and we are actively pursuing new opportunities. My days in China are dwindling.

**Last updated 26 May 2010**