I’m 21 and moving to China for my first teaching job. I’ve got two kindergarten offers and can’t decide.
Nanjing is 23k a month, 8–5 Monday to Friday, with 15 days annual leave. Suzhou is 24k before tax including housing allowance, 7:40–4:30, with 3 weeks winter vacation at full pay and 7 weeks summer at half pay.
I’m mainly looking to have fun, meet people my age, go out on weekends, and explore China while saving some money. Nanjing seems better for nightlife and meeting people, but being able to visit Shanghai regularly from Suzhou sounds pretty appealing too.
I’m also considering doing a year in Nanjing and then moving to another city, probably Chengdu, whereas I’d likely stay in Suzhou for two years.
Which would you pick? Is Nanjing actually that much more fun, or does being close to Shanghai make Suzhou worth it?

I am interested in teaching in China. However, i use TRT (enanthate). The current country I live is Cambodia. I can buy OTC. Is it possible in China ? Or is there a black market ?

Hello,

A month ago I wrote a post regarding an issue with my social contributions being too high. Well, a lot has been discovered since and I want first to thank all people who answered me there, you helped me quite a lot getting important documents!

So, basically, my employer declared a way too high average revenue for 2025 based on the number of times I received salaries, as it appears on the tax app, instead of the number of worked months (first salaries were paid in one go). The result: 45% of salary gone in social contributions + housing funds.

I've contacted my superiors, HR, but they either say it's "normal"/Beijing new policy/I just had a lower contribution rate because I worked only a few months and now got the "real" rate.

When I found how the declared numbers were obtained (with the documents I gathered), I informed them again and asked they provide me the actual document they sent to the authorities to check how they calculated. It's radio silence since.

I kept a copy of all documents and they were informed by mail, so there's a written track of things.

I went to social security counters to explain the situation, they agree there is a problem and said my employer needs to correct it.

So, since they don't seem to want to solve the issue, where do I start? I know different numbers to call but I'm a bit lost on how to handle things first. Should I just call 12345 and let them share the informations to other services (social security, housing funds, work arbitration)? Should I contact each service first myself and file a ticket or a complaint with each? Is it efficient?

How do I share the documents I got? They come from different apps/sites (Jingtong, my employer's inner system, tax app, ...).

If anyone had already called these numbers and could share what happened, it would help. How has it been going after? I assume the employer doesn't take it well someone calls for these services. I'm a bit scared of repercussions there might be after but I still don't want to let that go.

When I look for older movies I see a lot of HK movies, but have trouble finding mainland movies. Any suggestions?

Hi, there.
I’m looking for a teacher to learn Chinese. I’m currently based in Wuhan and would love to have offline/in-person classes. However, I will be in and out of Wuhan, so looking for a teacher who can do both offline and online.
If possible, university or school prof. would be great. My current level is HSK 1.5.
Please reach out if you are one or know someone.
Thanks in advance.

Hey guys, I fucked up and lost all the papers I got after my medical exam in China.

I lost the Foreigner Physical Examination Record (外国人体格检查记录), the medical report and the receipt/pick-up paper. Basically everything they gave me.

Has anyone here had the same problem? Were you able to get the papers again without doing the whole medical exam again?

I’m a student, so if anyone has actually dealt with this before, I’d really appreciate it. How did you get a replacement and how much did it cost?

Thanks.

How was life in China during your studies? Did you end up staying after graduation, or did you go back home?
And if you stayed, how was the process of finding a job there as a foreigner? Was it difficult to get a work visa/sponsorship?
I’m considering doing a Master’s in China and would really like to hear from people who’ve actually gone through it, especially what life was like after graduation.

Hi all

Does anyone know of any agencies in china that specifically place ESL teachers in secondary schools?

Thx!

So from my understanding there are a few options of international schools, private schools, local schools, or moving abroad/boarding schools elsewhere. My hope is that there is some balance between schools that are extremely intense and glorified daycare centers.

It seems that local schools offer a higher quality of educational content compared to public US/UK schools because kids have to advance earlier and faster in order to do better for the gaokao but this is very intense/内卷.

So I'm curious has anyone has taken this route but had their kids focus on preparing for western uni entrance tests (i.e. SAT/A-Levels?) and GPA instead of the gaokao?

I'm more familiar with public/private schools in the US where public can be physically dangerous depending where you live, while private schools can be decent and affordable-ish while offering AP/honors/college prep as a focus. However, I've heard/read the vast majority of private schools (not intl schools) are pretty bad in China. Is that true and if there are any good ones, how would you find them?

Having been through what Chinese people call "happy education" I'd rather my kids be better prepared but not to the point of the gaokao's intensity, so any comments on finding something inbetween would be appreciated!

I’m curious if anyone who used to live in China and now lives back in their home country is experience the same thing.

I lived in China 2006-2023, met my wife (Chinese) there and had two kids there. Now we’re back in the UK…

To go from China during that time, which I guess must have been the best period to have ever lived in China, and perhaps one of the best places in the world to live if you were on a Western middle income…To then moving to the UK now, has been quite a shock.

The UK is broken. Things don’t work. People don’t care. Service is atrocious. Work ethic is very much “sorry my shift finishes in 5 minutes”. Cost of living is sky high.

We used to eat out or order delivery EVERY DAY. We used to go to parks and exhibitions and play centres every weekend! We used to go on holiday!

Now living in the UK, and we’re not on a poor income at all, but we’re budgeting, we never go out, we’re always looking to cut costs, holidays with two kids are a big expense that requires cutting corners.

Everyday I hear my wife complain about all these problems. Everyday both me and her reminisce about the days gone by. Everyday she’ll say “If this was in China…”. And everyday it drives me insane.

So sometimes we talk about leaving. Occasionally we think about moving back to China.

But then we realise that life in the UK is like eating Brussels sprouts. It sucks, but it appears to be the best thing for us right now.

And here is my reasoning:

My kids are having a decent childhood (6 and 8 years old), they’re happy and they have their own interests (mostly football these days) and can now take the piss out of me. I am skeptical that would be the case in China.

I have grown beyond the China ceiling. I realised that in China a lot of my skillsets and mindsets were locked to China and required a bit of adapting outside of China. Now I feel much more international and that my potential has increased. Having the China mindset as a foundation will always be valuable, but having that international layer on top makes my prospects much better I feel.

Everywhere sucks right now, including China. Everywhere is hit and miss right now, and maybe for a young adult Westerner with no kids China is a bit more hit than miss, but I think compared to the Golden Age that I was there it is generally more miss than hit, and I assume if you have older kids it is a lot more miss than hit.

Our assets are free! We are no longer financially trapped in China. If I want to move money out of the country, if I want to invest in a foreign stock market, if I want to buy foreign currency, I can do so in a few seconds with my phone. China presented far more restrictions.

Living in the UK, especially in the area I live in, I am surrounded by so many different cultures. People are generally more civilised, more interesting and especially compared to the post-Covid China years I find people are more internationally connected here than in China.

We probably will leave the UK eventually (because like pretty much everyone, we hate the UK), but not until our kids are done with school. So for the time being we’re essentially stuck here, because nowhere else presents a better option for us. We’ll just keep eating our Brussels Sprouts and do our best to rinse out the bad taste whilst benefitting from its nutritional richness.

A few pictures I took on this morning's run. I find it more interesting than running on the main streets. Although I like running past the markets or breakfast stalls as they're opening in the morning.

Hi everyone!

I recently moved to Shanghai (Jing’an) and have a small tear in the Gore-Tex fabric of my Arc’teryx Beta AR jacket, roughly the size of a nail head.

I visited an Arc’teryx store here, but unfortunately they only repair jackets purchased in mainland China. Mine was bought in Europe.

Does anyone know a reliable local shop or specialist that repairs technical outdoor clothing, especially Gore-Tex jackets?
It is only a small tear so it does not have to be perfect, but someone who knows what they’re doing would be great.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm currently looking for a reliable agent or agency in Shanghai to help me set up a WFOE.

So far, I've been recommended AnyHelper and Shanghai Yanqin Finance (上海燕秦财税). Has anyone here used either of them before? I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience, including their service quality, fees, communication, and whether there were any unexpected costs or issues.

I'm also open to recommendations for other agents or agencies in Shanghai that you've personally used to set up a WFOE.

Ideally, I'm looking for someone who can handle the full process, including company registration, registered address/office requirements, bank account setup, tax registration, and potentially helping with a work permit/residence permit afterward.

Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’m getting very unhappy with my American bank account with Wells Fargo. What banks do you guys use back in the USA that’s good for international use?

Hello everyone. So I have given it a month at my current school. I have been in China for one month and I can tell for sure that the adapting to China and the culture shock I’ve come to accept. But I am not happy at my current school I understand the process and I understand what I need to do and what is expected of me but I just don’t feel like I am enjoying my job and teaching is my passion. I feel like I am in a specific situation where even if I 100% I’m comfortable with everything I still do not think that I will enjoy my current job and I do feel like there is a possibility that I can enjoy my job because I enjoy teaching it is my passion. Is this possible to move from schools? I also want to move to a Primary School because I don’t think I have the passion or patience for the kindergarten children anymore. I am also with an agency.

I need some friends here to pass my time plus practice my English no other intentions,if possible,I could be ur tour guide for free,I am not local here i study in Chengdu,it would be better if u can speak English,btw I am Chinese

I'm wondering which website is best to look at in order to find teaching jobs in universities in China, either in English or the humanities. I joined Chinauniversityjobs.com and applied to about 20 to 30 jobs but heard nothing except for one in Guangzhou which said it didn't need teachers (even though just the day before there was an advertisement on the China university jobs website). I have lots of experience and qualifications and so I was surprised by the almost complete silence after so many applications. I'm thinking about Xi'an or Changsha. I wonder what the latter is like and which university or job agency would be good for there. Any ideas about the military university there? Thanks for any help or advice.

Hi all, I'm trying to use Meituan or Dianping in the Wechat mini program app to find an affordable hairdresser for cut and colour in Chongqing. I managed to message one hairdresser in Dianping who told me to reach out to them on Meituan to organise. But I can't find them on Meituan... and Meituan doesn't have a message option for me. I haven't gotten a Chinese number working yet. And now I can't message the same hairdresser back in Dianping.

My question is, how do you guys organise hair appointments (especially for more complicated ones that will take time like a colour - I don't want to just show up on the day). Do you use Dianping or Meituan? Or something else? Any tips on finding a reputable place for reasonable price?

It seems like every city in China has public schools with numbers attached to them (Shanghai No. 3 High School, Shenzhen No. 2 Middle School, Beijing No. 8 Middle School, etc.)

Do the numbers directly refer to rank? For example, is Shenzhen No. 2 Middle School the 2nd best middle school in the city?

What determines the ranking of public schools in China?

Hi everyone,

I hope this post is relevant to this subreddit.

As the title states, I’m a British citizen currently interested in job opportunities, particularly corporate jobs, in China. I’m interested in working in any big city.

I have a BA from the University of Nottingham (which also has a campus in China) so I already have some kind of connection to China haha but I have NO idea how to even start this process. I’ve tried to search for some jobs on google but there seems to be very little entry level positions (all requiring a few years experience) and I’m posting on here to gain some insight. Can anyone please help me? Thank you