There's So Many Places to Go Edition
I found this on (You)Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmJTqNU4cdI
I might post some interesting train routes later this week. I'd like some feedback on them. They're based on the Yellow River, Yangtze River and the Pearl River, respectively.
>Travelling
>To China
>Ever
Better to go to Taiwan instead
>less pollution
>food trustworthy
>people are civilised and polite and don't spit/piss/shit on the street
>people don't try to steal/compete with/cheat you in every single interaction
>people don't stare at you
>museums are not 100% communist propaganda
>Chineseness has not been permanently ruined and perverted by communism
Which parts of China are less explored by Westerners? Where can you get that RealTraveller™ feeling?
>applying for biology/chemistry teaching jobs in China
>every single school and recruiter thus far has sounded shady as fuck
For fuck's sake, man.
>>1272560
>
>imblying i don't already know all this shit
i'm going for the geography and history
Im going to Japan in early september and was thinking of visiting either Beijing, HongKong or Taiwan for just a few days while I'm in asia. Which one would you guys recommend?
>>1272569
North Western part
Does a teaching position with paid food and accommodation and a salary of about 6000 RMB a month sound like a reasonable offer?
It's on a student visa, so not legal (and thus no
tax to be paid), but I know for a fact that the offer is legit.
I don't have any kind of certificate or experience
>>1272742
Beijing for museums, Hong Kong for food, Taiwan for debauchery
>>1272753
>Taiwan for debauchery
Really? I've never heard anything like that about Taiwan. Are hookers cheap?
>>1272514
>That feeling when I've been to that exact spot trying to get that same picture but it was so cloudy we could barely see the mountain.
Had fun taking the cable car up it though.
>>1272753
Hong Kong is pretty good for debauchery. But nothing in the region can beat Macau for pure good old-fashioned debauchery.
>>1272770
What makes you say that and what kind of debauchery? I'm interested in reasonably priced weed and hookers in a nice setting, not booze and gambling
>>1272770
yeah i had hong kong listed for debauchery but i think hong kong beats the other two for food and drink so i put that instead.
>>1272754
taiwanese women are more libertine than hong kongers or beijingers. they've been corrupted by imperialist dogs
pic related, not a typical instagram shot for good and proper mainlander
>>1272784
OK so it's like a Western country? Nothing to travel for...
>>1272742
Taiwan has the most Japanese influence, so if I were you, I would go with Beijing or Hong Kong to see something different.
>>1272514
Do they have Tinder in China
>>1272751
Sounds like a dream. Go for it and make sure to post here regularly about it.
>>1272786
taiwan is kind of like halfway between northern china and america
hong kong is kind of like halfway between southern china and england
>>1272751
Thats pretty low pay actually. Are you native? Native speakers can make like 18K RMB if i remember correctly. With apt sometimes.
>>1272751
Also, sometimes the experience thing is just an excuse to pay you less. They dont care if you have experience, they will hire you either way often.
Anyone got any info on this ban on VPN's happening this year? Will we still be able to use VPN's at home with broadband?
Never been to china but move to chengdu in a few months
>>1272846
Yes but they don't use it. They use WeChink, it's like free Spyware you can download on your phone.
>>1273244
Opera had an excellent built in VPN but it stopped working for a week then disappeared entirely from the program :(
>>1273339
are there a lot of foreign tourists there?
>>1273339
I'm going to Urumqi next week what do i do
>>1273363
rarely sighted, but there are. just a few backpackers making their way to kz / kg
>>1273389
if you have the time check out Kuqa (by train), then 4 hr bus ride to bayanbulak
i havent been yet but hoping to go to tashkorgan in aug or sept, lake karakol looks stunning.
you could just choose any small uyghur town, find the english school and as the teachers what to do. they'll most definitely host you, after you talk with their schools kid, which is also fun.
Dont go to heavenly lake its just a shit ton of tourists.
>>1273391
yeah urumqi is absolute shit since the crackdown, streets were supposedly filled with nightmarkets and the bazaar was an actual bazaar. now there are troops everywhere and police stations on every block. its like china used a cheat code with how many security buildings theyve built
>>1273434
So tldr there's nothing worth doing in urumqi itself?
I'm there for only a couple days before going to altai
ni hao /cg/,
I'm a 26 y/o frenchfag and I would like to live in China in 2019-2020
I have a master degree in cultural anthropology and a beginner level in mandarin. My english is almost fluent but with a strrongue franch akksent...
My dream would be to have a cheap flat in a major city (of the east) and host a cute chinese peasant waifu grateful that I'm pulling her out of misery for only two sessions of anal sex per day.
How realistic is my plan? Any advices on how to succeed?
>>1274038
museum, and the uyghur streets a few blocks north of the bazaar
>>1274148
why not apply for some scholarship? or attend mandarin classes at a uni?
as someone who learned english in public schools... please don't teach english.
I want to go to western China some time next year. What's the pick out of Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang?
How much Mandarin do I need to know to travel to some cities off the beaten path like Baotou, Wuhai and Yinchuan? For those wondering why I'd want to go there, I want to do a tour of the Yellow River, and I'm interested in the more "common" parts of China.
So I was wondering if anyone here knows what this is? I thought that it was one of those fuu dog things, but my little sister, who was gifted it in china, insists that it is not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions
I'll be making use of a transit visa to spend 3 days in Kunming this December, has anyone been?
Any suggestions on must do things - other than the rock garden ofc.
>>1274994
Dongchuan Red Fields?
>>1272514
which areas in china are feasible for travel in april - july?
>>1275149
Everything south of Shenzhen.
>>1272554
What do you mean? There's plenty of neat things to see and do in China, and it's nowhere near the worst places I have travelled to.
Anyone know anything about weed in China?
>>1275244
>Shenzhen
so none of it?
>>1276536
All I know is that my Italian friend got high every single day in Chengdu with the locals during the couple of months he was there, so it cannot be too hard to get.
>>1276550
Sounds like an italian i know, stefano?
>>1272514
>so many places to go
I know right?
If you had to choose only 8 cities to visit which would you choose? I'm going to ignore Hong Kong because although it is awesome I think it's kind of out of the way it should be part of a different Asian trip.
I'm thinking at least fly into Beijing then go to Shanghai and Xi'an, but not sure what the stick in between those. Maybe Linfen, the city of fruit and flowers.
I'm in Beijing for three days in September, and have no idea what I'm going to do there.
Any scenic places near Beijing that I could take a day trip to?
>>1272514
I'll be going there in a few days. Anything worthwhile to bring with me?
Quick question on VPN's. Should I go paid or free? I'll need to get some shit done while I'm there for a few weeks. I was thinking of paying for private internet access.
>>1272784
Where to drink in HK for lonely expat with not much cash.
>>1277718
Just pay, they're dirt cheap
>>1274148
This is weird, but I feel like we would be friends. Is there a way I can contact you?
>>1277872
>ExpressVPN
Yeah that was the one I was considering after some research. If you say you haven't had any problems I believe you.
Though honestly could you really say this one is dirt cheap on the spectrum of VPN's? $13 a month seems a bit much. Or now that I think about it do you only pay that $13 or so whenever you go? I was considering just paying for whatever plan then getting my money back from the 30 day money back guarantee. I'm only going for 3 weeks after all.
You're in the club when this guy comes up to you
>>1277912
I pay the $13 and then cancel my subscription afterwards so I don't continually incur the monthly fee.
>>1277916
Alright sounds good. Thanks Anon.
>>1277667
Go to the normal tourist spots. Yuanmimgyuan is really nice. I went hiking on the Great Wall with some company that does a different hike every day. At some places our small group were the only people visible and it's very scenic.
>>1277872
I imagine you can't post on 4chan with it can you. If so that's to be expected, but still a shame.
I have a short layover in china, are they going to go through my shit? I'm bringing 3 bottles of booze with me through there, maximum allowed is 2 into the country. Since it is a layover it shouldn't matter right? Worst is they just throw it away?
>>1277875
Are you my future chinese peasant waifu?
drop me an email at ragedimdim[at)hotmail.fr
Anyone had any luck picking up with Hellotalk?
>>1274994
try to visit 大理, fun tourist city. they have three pagodas, westerner/foreign street, and a great mountain trail to walk. An old man who looked to be in his 80's also tried to sell me and my friend weed (大麻) at 9 in the morning just cause we by chance said ni hao to him.
>>1272589
Do you have a teaching degree? If so, there are plenty of legit sites and schools.
Do you have a science degree and you just want to teach? You'll only be able to apply for dodgy places.
No degree? Kekekekekekek
>>1279758
>RealTravellers(TM) never use the Latin alphabet.
poorfag wat do in beijing
>>1279758
>大理
Looks like a nice place
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/29/apple-removes-vpn-apps-from-the-app-store-in-china/
>>1279413
I thought they had some ban on hitting on users.
I used tantan, mostly found skanks. Tried tinder too, but same thing there. One girl had sex 7 times, different guys for the ten days when I met her. Another lost her virginity and fucked through 25 guys in three months.
Last one fucked Africans without condoms.
I don't sleep around with strangers in China anymore.
>Experience: NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
>Requirements:
>3. Two or more years teaching experience
>>1281126
Drink water from the gutter, join a triad, poke out left eye and beg for change... it's your choice, really.
>>1281154
>One girl had sex 7 times, different guys for the ten days when I met her. Another lost her virginity and fucked through 25 guys in three months. Last one fucked Africans without condoms.
And how did you learn about their sexual history?
>>1281154
>wants to meet girls to have casual sex
>is upset that the girls he meets have casual sex with other people
>>1282760
>is upset
not really, lesson learned from my experience and sharing with other anons.
>casual sex
25 different guys isn't casual by any means. she went from virgin to getting fucked in a club, pissed on, fucking a slave with a strapon, choked until passing out and beat up by guys in just a few weeks.
>>1282757
>And how did you learn about their sexual history?
those are just the ones open about it, I just assume the others are the same or worse but lying about it.
most are just really stupid and pretend they are "traditional girls" when in fact they suck dicks just as much or even more than western women. one key difference is that there is no sex-ed here so it's a minefield of STDs, especially paired with low education immigration from africa and other shitholes. I have some stories.
I'm Shenzhen next month for two days. Any tips what to do there? Does anyone a good place to buy cheap electronics?
>"Hello dear, how are you? This is Sunny from PINGPONG RECRUITERS. I saw your profile on seriousteachers."
>tfw I didn't sign up on seriousteachers
But the thing is, the job sounds pretty good and the salary is decent. It's not in one of the cities I'd prefer working in, but it's a lot better than Beijing or Shanghai. What do? I already have a few other schools interested in me, but I haven't had any interviews yet.
>>1274981
Lmao your family just got cursed for the next 1000 generations dawg throw that shot away
t. Chinaman exorcist
>>1277857
Your local convenience store
>>1282851
>she went from virgin to getting fucked in a club, pissed on, fucking a slave with a strapon, choked until passing out and beat up by guys in just a few weeks.
That's hot
>>1283590
>That's hot
she literally has puss oozing out of her vagina, which she thinks changing her diet will fix.
she broke up with her indian slave and started dating a phd. that's the last I heard of her. she never had a proper STD check and will probably infect that poor fuck too.
>>1283590
No it isn't you're just a degenerate piece of shit.
>>1283715
>puss oozing out of her vagina
im diamonds breh i'd love to lick that skank
>>1279212
Yes, worst is they throw it away.
They're really chill with most things, just don't have huge free Tibet stickers on your luggage with 10 power banks inside.
>>1284166
then china will please you
glad to be of assistance
>>1273339
are you an Uyghur?
I'm going to China soon, and am paranoid as fuck about pickpockets for whatever reason. My current plan is a passport wallet with a chain that I found on Amazon for cash, debit card, and passport, and then a messenger bag to carry other things and my phone. Does this sound like good advice?
>>1284708
> Does this sound like good advice?
Sounds like paranoia, use the same common sense you would use in your own country and you'll be fine.
>>1284708
I lived a year in one of the bigger cities without any problem.
If you are concerned, wear your backpack on the front. There are stories about people cutting them open on the metro to steal shit but I never heard any first hand.
I want to go to Tapei for a week. I am interested in food, Chinese history, and whores.
What do?
>>1285053
Also I have $2000 but my plain ticket is free.
>>1285160
what do you mean a backpack or messenger bag? are you planning on going with only your clothes? wtf
>>1285161
No, for walking around and stuff.
>>1285164
you'll need a messenger bag for your concealer selfie instagram phablet and gigantic tampons
>>1285165
noted
>>1279792
What type of degrees would legit schools be looking for? I have a bachelors in history, and state licensure to teach in burgerland. What kind of teaching degrees do they recognize most prominently? I've got ten months of summer off and after awhile jacking off and sleeping all day gets boring.
>>1285196
state licensure is enough for a job
international schools or anything that will pay a comparable wage might want 2 years experienc and references and be competetive
>>1285205
When you say comparable do you mean equal to my US wage? Does that factor in cost of living differences? Either way I still have some years of student loans to pay off, but its fun to keep the option open.
Is the TEFL meme dream still viable in China or possibly Taiwan/ HK? I'm a 20 y/o Australian, no degree. I heard it's possible to get in on a student visa, say to learn some Mandarin, and do English tutoring part-time. What's the market for this like? I've also heard that in places like Beijing the authorities are really cracking down on TEFL bums with the wrong visa.
I spent 9 days in Singapore recently, cool city but too fucking hot & expensive.
How is Xiamen?
>>1285571
Just do it man. The private schools pay well and cost of living is very cheap.
>>1285571
I mean comparable to an international school salary
I'm white British with a degree but no TEFL. The degree is still a transcript, not a certificate. My university takes an eternity with these formalities.
Would I be best to look for work in a smaller tier 2 or 3?
>>1276538
>so none of it?
Look at a map and you'll see that there's quite a bit south of Shenzhen.
Hainan and most of Guangdong province for example.
That said, April-July is a great time to be in the north. Jilin is nicest in about June or August, Inner Mongolia is nicest around June/July. Nadaam is in July too.
>>1285160
>I'm just gonna get a chain wallet that can fit a passport
That's fine 90% of the time. Chinese are kind of paranoid about pickpockets, with reason sometimes but not other times.
Pickpockets use tongs or chopsticks to pluck stuff out of bags and pockets most of the time. Some are said to open backpacks worn on the back or slash them. I think that's much rarer though and they'd have to be brave to risk foreigners outside of certain locations because foreigners will do things that Chinese won't, like tackle them or call police.
>>1285196
>I have a bachelors in history, and state licensure to teach in burgerland
More than enough for most jobs. English teaching jobs only want any university degree and native speaking to be official. The more on-topic your degrees, the better the kinds of jobs you can get. I do know people with masters in ESL and stuff like that but they're the exception and they're generally working in private schools or universities and have fantastic working conditions.
>>1285571
>When you say comparable do you mean equal to my US wage?
That's basically never going to happen but since cost of living is way lower, you can often save more than you could in the west working a similar job. Tax is sort-of optional in China too, depending on your job.
>>1285616
>I heard it's possible to get in on a student visa, say to learn some Mandarin, and do English tutoring part-time. What's the market for this like? I've also heard that in places like Beijing the authorities are really cracking down on TEFL bums with the wrong visa
You heard correctly in both cases, it's getting to be way more work to do what you're describing though I do know people who still do that.
Most of the illegals I know are signed up for university courses in something like Chinese, that somehow helps them be legal though I'm not sure how. They're at least teaching on a student visa instead of a tourist visa so no visa runs I guess.
I think their plans involve using that to fast-track a degree back home somehow.
>>1285708
>I'm white British with a degree but no TEFL. The degree is still a transcript, not a certificate. My university takes an eternity with these formalities.
> Would I be best to look for work in a smaller tier 2 or 3?
You'll need the actual certificate eventually but you can probably start the process now, the schools often don't start you on the correct visa because they want to see if you're going to be worth the effort first. So many flake in the first month that it's often a waste of time, best to get you used to Chinese bullshit first and see if you survive it before actually doing any paperwork for you.
So long as the degree is definitely coming, it's no big deal I think. You might want to pay for some sort of express service though.
>>1285717
I've been travelling in hostels and talked to a lot of people who've done taught in China (one woman I met did it for 5 years, and had some ridiculously prestigious private tutoring gigs) and they all said TEFL was completely unnecessary, and you can just get some other kind of visa, like you say. All of which is quite the opposite of what you see online.
I've been told by some guys that when you're there in China you should negotiate for a higher wage, for at least 20.000, is this doable?
>>1272846
They got an app called tantan
>>1285728
Salary depends on your location, 20k/month is possible in Shanghai but not buttfuck-nowhere. OTO You need that money in the tier1 cities
>>1285728
I've been offered 12k for my very first year in Chengdu, my gf who is coming with me and doing the same got offered 13k cause her uni degree is actually primary education (mines computer science)
20k is a decent wage, i think it's hard to get, even in shanghai.
Currently applying to teaching jobs in China for the next year. I've got a BA in linguistics and a 100-hour TEFL certificate. The school year starts soon so I have to find a job fast.
Is it going too far to state, in the first email, that I won't accept any job where there are differences between the English and Chinese contract (I have a Chinese friend who is willing to check for me), and that I'll walk out before starting work if the contract they show me in China is different from the one they showed me before arriving?
I don't want to get fucked over, but I also want to get a job.
Also, I'd appreciate any advice or pointers on life in Kunming/Qujing/Leshan/Chengdu (the cities I'm looking at in order of preference).
>>1286006
What kind of place is that at? Private cram school? I've just signed a contract for a lot more than that...
>>1274833
Gansu if you wanna see the silk road and some real pretty rocks
>>1274981
It's a mooncake dawg you eat it
>>1276536
They grow it in xinjiang and it is of exceptionally low quality, full of seeds, not sticky and low potency. But it's 500rmb for 10g in Shanghai. Or you can buy cali stuff for 2000rmb for 3g
>>1276672
BJ, Xian, Hangzhou, SH, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Guilin, Yangzhou
>>1277667
Yeh the great wall dumbass.
>>1277872
Express has been working terribly for me on my osx laptop recently, but fine on my Android mobile. Both using the same WiFi. Any idea why this is?
>>1278391
Yes you can on certain servers. And you need it for recapcha
>>1283060
>better than Shanghai
Shanghai is the only livable city in mainland China, everywhere else is 3rd tier trash
>>1283715
Is it the chick in pic related?
>>1285728
You can't get 20k even in Shanghai at an English school unless you are really qualified or management
>>1286018
She should try to work at an international school then. She could double that pay. I've been at it for 5 years now and am on 30k plus 8.5k rental allowance
>>1283715
Is it the chick in pic related?
>Got massage in Xi'an
>Didn't get a happy ending
Did I goof or make the right call, lads?
>>1284708
Dude, worst thing you can do is to store your valuables in one place. If you lose something, lose only one thing at once. Passport in one pocket, cash in at least 2 different places, preferably more, etc.
Day two on the mainland I saw the local bus ticketing people count the entire day's cash out on the streets. Until then I took way too long trying to figure out which denomination is which... From then on I carried most of my thousands of yuans in a ziplock. Fully transparent ziplock. It was so much quicker to find the right banknotes... The worst I got was some old men laughing at me. No one gave a fuck. Seriously. I'm sure pickpockets exist in China, but they probably don't want trouble with foreigners/lunatics.
>>1286142
bump for interest
on the one hand in the western world this would be rudeness beyond the pale; however china is notorious for contract breaches when dealing with outsiders
could you ask to sign the contract before you departed for china?
"immigration might want to see it to evidence my employment is legitimate" might work
>>1284708
I don't think it's a big issue in china, nothing like europe
>>1279758
gotta visit 大理, cool place
>>1284170
>go to chinese airport
>"do you have any powerbanks sir"
>realize I have one in my bag
>fumble removing it, he checks wattage
>get nervous, is it under 20000mAH?
>feel something in my pocket
>it's another power bank
>fuck
>try to discreetly throw it into the bin
>power bank falls on floor
>everybody walks the dinosaur
but seriously though they are anal about them
>>1286370
>taking a series of photos of a military site that is clearly marked as a "no photo" area
>taking pics of soldiers playing around while on duty
>touring the black and white (mostly black) dirty neighbourhoods with skeleton-like homeless digging the dirt for food
>stumbling into gambling areas
>sneaking into areas where you'd normally pay an entry fee (this one was encouraged by a local hotel owner, but still)
no one gave a fuck
i forget to take my power bank out of my hold luggage, and then i get stopped. lol
to be fair, according to some random iata guidelines i read, every airport should be just as anal about this stuff as chinese airports.
>>1286379
the power bank thing is a huge issue, the number of sub-standard powerbanks made in china and the number invariably in the hold is a recipe for serious fires.
also I remember bringing like 4 knives with me in my bag and nobody even noticed
but a glass bottle of baiju in beijing metro?
serious security threat
During the national conference I was bag searched 4 consecutive times by beijing security at the train station
"what is this?"
>a book
"and what is this for?"
>that is my laptop charger
and I got my nuts professionally grabbed in 3/4 domestic airports
So do you need TEFL or don't you?
>>1286142
This guy again. Got 4 replies back in a day. After talking to one of them, I got:
>For the invitation we will issue a 2 months tourist invitation for you then start working on your working visa invitation after your arrival , so we will take you to hong kong to apply for the working visa (z)
>Tourist visa is not the right visa to use but we will take care of that for you, we will write a report to the PSB for a temporary training program whiles we work on your z visa
>We have more than 800 foreigners working in my company so no need to worry, it's our job to provide you with visa
>And the starting date is August 25th so what do we do? I wanted to even book a ticket for you to hong kong ASAP, so that you apply for the visa there. We have representatives there to help you acquire the visa so you won't need to go through any stress. They will do everything for you and give you your passport back to you in two days with your visa inside
All of that sounds kind of funny to me. Is that a proper way to employ a teacher, even if you don't have time to go through the full process before the school year begins?
I looked up the company he's a part of/runs (a consultancy by name, apparently an umbrella org that also handles university applications), and the FB page has two reviews, both by African students. One review is exuberant praise, the other is a one-star incoherent rant.
He's supposedly Canadian, but his English has a lot of mistakes. However, he has provided me with contact info for two American teachers.
What should I think about this?
>>1287017
Its worth doing, its easy as fuck and doesnt cost too much and stops you from being fucked over when youre out there
>>1287067
It could very well work out, however I personally wouldn't risk it, imagine going over there and working for them and not being paid (because you're not legally allowed to work, you can't do shit if they turn around and say to you we're not paying you, cause you're on a tourist visa)
Hella risky, I don't think it's 100% a scam but I still wouldn't risk it
>>1287298
Thanks.
Is it really hard finding work for the second school semester in February? How about finding one during the middle of a semester?
I fucked up by starting the process too late, and I really don't want to go to China without a Z visa. And waiting for next September is not an option.
>>1287302
You could search for a private school, they take on anytime they want.
February places are known to be in smaller amount than September ones but if you get on with applying now you should be fine, especially if you explain waiting until next September is not in interest for you, someone will probably sort you out
Big companies like Teach English in China and English First (EF) will most likely sort you out
>>1287302
>>1287307
Oh and also, both those companies can refer you to private schools, that's where I'm headed in October, no different than the normal September or February application, you get paid more too but you have to be in school longer.
Another positive is that your classes are no larger than 5 pupils normally so that's another positive
>>1287318
I'm going to be with EF, I have no prior teaching experience, literally zero, they just require the university degree. they have a number of private schools in each big city, I personally am going to chengdu Sichuan, I had to choose 4 cities and I was going to be given one of them cities, you can declare favourite which they will try and fit you in but your favourite isn't 100% guarenteed, my original plan was Shanghai but I'm actually really looking forward to Chengdu, more so than Shanghai actually
>>1272554
>travelling to somewhere outside of Asia
>ever
>>1287326
Cool, I definitely wouldn't mind living in Chengdu. At this point I'm just bleeding money in a failed working holiday in NZ, so I guess I can take any school they give me. The alternative of flying out on a tourist visa really doesn't appeal to me.
大家好!
Apologies for my ignorance- very new to learning mandarin. I'm interested in using a android emulator to run WeChat. 我是美国人 and I'm not savvy on VPNs just yet.
WeChat has an app available for NA play store, but do the servers link with Chinese ones? Would I be able to chat with a mainland china ren?
If not, whats the best way to go about getting an somewhat-officially registered WeChat / QQ email account? I hear that chinese smarphone SIM cards can only be bought by individuals with Chinese ID or official passport something.
BUT, if I were to buy one off eBay and pick up a cheap Huawei Smartphone to play around with, would I be able to utilize that pay-as-you-go SIMcard's number to register for things? Problem that I see would be North American cellphone broadband is not compatible with chinese phones, and vice versa.
Any ideas?
>>1277915
I remember youuuuu
>>1287331
You can use WeChat on any normal western phone, and you can use it to talk to actual commie scum in China.
It is impossible to get a z visa. What percentage of ESL are on work/student visas? 90%?
>>1287534
How is it impossible?... i just got mine
Cheers /trv/, anyone here who is or has been to Henan province know any good places to visit? I am looking for natural landscapes, ancient towns and historic sites. I will be specifically around Jiaozuo area.
>>1287626
The amount is requirements is insane! I have a friend who had to get another x-ray in China because they bureau just wouldn't believe his original x-ray taken in his country was real.
Is there a Teamspeak/Discord/whatever channel that you all use to talk in mandarin? I'm leaving 明德大学 from a summer program and would really like to just listen to people speak a few nights a week. I'm only an 一年级, so I promise to not bother anyone!
>>1287678
CCTV has a constant stream on Youtube. There's also several full Chinese television dramas on Youtube, with English subtitles too. The 2010 RotTK isn't bad. There's also a few Mandarin ASMR channels.
That can help if you just want to hear Chinese being spoken.
>>1287626
The requirements online seem impossible, even if you have a degree and TEFL you need to have minimum 2 years experience (even actually civilized east Asian countries don't ask for this), 2 series of health checks, notarization and maybe even Mandarin knowledge if you don't want to be a class C foreigner and then a residential permit. It all takes weeks, months even. I just can't see most English teachers going through this bullshit.
Maybe its different IRL, but from what ive read on the internet Korea, Taiwan and even Japan seem simpler to do legitimately.
>>1287733
It's not as bad if you do a bit more research. Supposedly those 2 years of experience are only mandatory for certain locations in China.
I've been moving forward with several job offers, and the main thing holding me up is the requirement to be in your home country for a lot of the preliminaries, which I'm not currently.
There's also a worrying requirement for a 120-hour TEFL cert (I've only got a 100-hour one), but again none of my potential employers have raised an issue with it, so I assume it isn't an absolute dealbreaker.
China wants foreigners for all English classes, and there's no way they're gonna fill positions in ass-backwards 4th-tier cities in western Sichuan if every teacher needs 2 years of experience.
>>1287736
I'm also not in my home country, I've been talking to recruiters on the beijingeer and others and they're more than willing to fix me up with fake experience certificates or get me working on student visas.
It feels like even if I get a TEFL I'll not be eligible for the z visa. So why even bother, especially with the expense and time wasted getting a work visa. Might as well just go there and work under the table.
Any recommendations for finding a hooker in Shanghai? Good / bad experiences to share?
yo /cg/,
since teaching in China seems to be a thing, I thought about it too.
I am learning Chinese for a couple of months now and would like to visit Shenzhen for a couple of weeks/months. Getting extra money through teaching sounds great for that. I am German and speak English on C1 level (with Uni certificate, not TOEFL) and could imagine giving, for example, German lessons in exchange for Chinese lessons or money.
How do I start? Do I ask around on forums to try to get contacts there or should I look for official schools? Ideally nothing which requires a work visa, but then again I'm not sure how risky it would be to do such a job illegaly.
Visa question.
I'd like to come from Hanoi Vietnam, cross border land, visit Macau, Hong-Kong, Taiwan, plus a bunch of mainland China, and leave by ferry from Shanghai (to South Korea). All that on land / sea (bus, train, ferry).
Can I get a multiple-entry visa somewhere in Hanoi? I heard it's hard to get. I have no invitation and no flight tickets. I'm a EU citizen.
>>1287860
You need a visa for China, check the relevant websites if you require a visa to visit a country.
I never required a visa for HK, Macau or TW
>>1287733
>>1287674
It is a bit annoying and drawn out, ill give you the rundown of how i got mine, i expect to get it in around 2 weeks and go to china in october
I required no teaching experience and i am going to a good private school, my wage is ok too for a first starter with no experience
It has cost me around £1000 and about 4 months in total to get my whole visa sorted, so i understand why people cant be bothered doing it.
My medical side of things cost 400, the police check was only 20, the legalisation was around 300, and little bits and bobs here and there and your flights included will make the cost of getting to china around 1000.
Good well known companies will also pay you all of that back after 3 months of work, it will be in your contract. So come the third month of being out there i'm going to get a nice wad of money.
Even though its costly and takes months i would still choose to do it again and again rather than going and trying to work without any legal right
>>1287331
wechats/weixin's servers are all fully intergrated to my knowledge, I talk to mainlanders all the time
>>1287331
I used WeChat and Weibo all the time.
I actually talk to a lot of non-mainlanders there, too, I wonder what the Chinese government thinks of all the youtube and western news links we exchange all the time...
>>1287331
Oh and type in iqiyi.com in your browser.
Thank me later.
>>1287934
How much are you getting paid?
>>1288046
13k rmb per month
>>1287860
As of this February you can get the mainland Chinese visa in Hong Kong, but they like changing the rules without notice so it could not be offered anymore. As far as I know it's the only place you can get it directly aside from an embassy/consulate in your home country, but there was definitely visa companies in Hong Kong, so maybe there's some in Hanoi as well. I made a hotel reservation which they needed on booking.com and cancelled it afterwards, but didn't get asked for a ticket, but probably only on account of it being in Hong Kong; if you need a fake ticket you could try flyonward.com.
Also, it may be different by going through a visa company, but you often don't get a choice on visa type; at the place in Hong Kong I was only able to get a 10 year multiple entry visa (which was great, but more expensive), but a Swedish friend of mine was only allowed to get a double entry visa. Either way, you probably don't need a visa for Macau, Hong Kong (less than 15 days) and Taiwan, and you'll need a few days to wait for the visa.
>>1287067
It's pretty normal. Only rarely a scam but that does happen too.
>>1287329
If you have a degree, don't sweat it. You can find something if this falls through.
>>1276672
>If you had to choose only 8 cities to visit which would you choose?
I went to bejing - shanghai - xian - chengdu.
>>1287999
What's this supposed to be
Had a pretty bad experience during my few days in Hong Kong. I don't see what's so great about it or why people praise it. All the buildings seep water and everything is expensive and cramped.
>>1287999
Freaking amazing site, thank you!
Some sort of Hulu / niconico hybrid.
>>1288473
It's real atmospheric. If you've got money to blow it's fun too. you can get by with English, the island itself is beautiful. Great food.
>>1286566
>a book
lol i can picture this so well.
those security checks on the metro and bus stations... i don't know what is more pointless. the tsa checks in the us that i know were proven pointless, or the chinese ones where i saw the personnel sleeping. (they did seem to take it more seriously at hsr train stations and airports.)
>>1276672
it might be a bit out if the way, AND very touristy, but i genuinely enjoyed hunan, so i would recommend it. there are hostels inside the zhangjiajie national park (not to be confused with the tianmenshan one), really nice scenery in the northern area.
>>1288472
iqiyi is a vod platform. >>1288481
dramas, variety shows, some bits and bobs they have.
the concept of geoblocking hasn't reached them luckily, so unless it's some very recent episode for vip members, you can watch the video. all with mandarin subs. my favorite way of learning basic mandarin. (if anyone has similar links, please share.)
some tv channels do upload in youtube, too, but i don't remember seeing mandarin subs on there.
>>1288506
Amazing, thank you!!!
Is Macau worth a visit?
>>1288501
Probably harder for me with English because I don't look like a foreigner. I'm a burger born chink that doesn't speak a lick of anything.
I think my problem was that I didn't have the money to spend nor did I manage to find actual good/cheap food places. Everything really is too expensive for what you get though. I won't deny the island itself being beautiful but it's just most of the city I've seen isn't. Aside from tourists the people aren't very approachable either. Maybe they hate me because I'm a chink but not a Hong Kong chink. The whole situation with that is stupid as fuck. Literally arr rook same ching chong ping pong. Oh and I thought I'd see more white people than pajeets.
Is the powerbank thing really a thing? Not once did I get stopped for it. My group had a total of 3 of them.
>>1273248
>WeChink
>>1273248
In a futile attempt to keep my phone as minimal / clean as possible-
Do any of you use chinese region android emulators to run things like Wechat, Pleco, or other software? I installed some mandarin version of NOX, but find the inability to copy and paste hanzi between NOX (pleco for example) and Windows really annoying. If I absolutely have to, I search the phrase in google then copy and paste the URL.
Anyone have any protips on this? Also, do you all recommend using sandboxie (spelling?) for browsing chinese sites?
I remember once from one of those vlogers how you can become someones white monkey hospitality prisoners, they just wanna parade you around as their guest and show off their hospitality
Going to China on vacation for the first time next week, and meeting up with a few girls I met off itaki months ago, but one who wants to meet is this 30 something year old lady with a husband and kids, like what the fuck am I gunna do meeting up with these people, all I could think about is that video about chinese 'hospitality' and every moment of it being awkward as fuck as I don't have anything in common with 30 year old chinese people or little kids, if I do meet, what do I bring them, chocolates or some shit, isn't bringing stuff to a place you're invited a custom there,? idfk...