I think I am going to China sometime within the month -- for work . Folks that have been there what is your best tip? or most useful tip on being in China (big country I know - but I have no idea where we will be going yet)
Posts: 275 | Location: Italy | Registered: 16 April 2003
Kelly, I only hope this trip is twice as long as your trip to Japan last month (4 days, at least!!!) Other than the heated toilet seats, any other details from Japan?
quote:Originally posted by SteveS: Kel, I am from China. Lived in Shanghai for 20 some years. Where are you going to work? Steve
Steve, my husband's employer has tossed around the idea of launching a new branch in Shanghai and since my husband is fluent in 7 Chinese dialects, of course, he's their 1st choice,BUT, I've pushed off that idea because of the fears I have with China's recent health conditions and resurgence of Sars... and of course, I dont know anyone who has lived in Shanghai so I can't get a good perspective on it... can you please share your feelings on:
education transportation housing crime health care
quote:Originally posted by Ling in Italy: Steve, my husband's employer has tossed around the idea of launching a new branch in Shanghai and since my husband is fluent in 7 Chinese dialects, of course, he's their 1st choice,BUT, I've pushed off that idea because of the fears I have with China's recent health conditions and resurgence of Sars... and of course, I dont know anyone who has lived in Shanghai so I can't get a good perspective on it... can you please share your feelings on:
education transportation housing crime health care
thanking you in advance!
Ling, 7 Chinese dialects?! That's impressive. He didn't grow up in China, did he? It's unlikely even for a native Chinese to speak that many dialects. :-)
In general, Shanghai is a convenient city to live in, much like any other metropolitan cities in the world. On education: Expats, as well as many wealthy Chinese, send their kids to private schools in Shanghai. They are snotty schools with a Chinese-style curriculum. But if you are only staying short-term, I guess experience in a different educational system could benefit a kid. He/she probably will come home excelling in math :-) Transportation in Shanghai is as good as NYC with metros and cheap taxis, although traffic jam is common and people drive much more dangereously than even Italians Housing in Shanghai is very expensive, a decent apartment is in millions of yuans. But if your husband is on business, perhaps the housing cost is not as much a concern? Most expats I know live in company paid housing. Crime is relatively low since the eastern region of China near Shanghai is more affluent and socially stable than most other parts of China. Healthcare is ok by third-world standard. SARS has not been a real problem in Shanghai, knock on wood. There are better hospitals for expats which charge extra.
Some of my friends are expats in China. In summary, they miss the "American way" of certain things, e.g. the lack of corruption, efficiency in businesses, but they don't complain about their chauffers and household helpers, and all these wonderful restaurants. If one was to live in China, then Shanghai would probably be the better choice for it has a long history of housing Westerners.
But still, China is vastly different than Europe and North America, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably take a trip to gain some personal perspectives before making any decision on living there.
I will only be going for work Steve. My boss wants me to organize a week to 10 days of visiting different factories for products that we need. I think he is crazy - China is big - there are billions of factories and it seems to be quite difficult to find the right ones ( everyone says yes yes, of course we are the main producer of ______ fill in the blank , and they aren't) but I will try to do it.
Im thinking it may be a good idea to hire someone with experience in China to give us a hand -- I have no problem with adventures and doing it alone but I think that it may be more fruitful if we had someone that knows about doing biz in China.
Posts: 275 | Location: Italy | Registered: 16 April 2003
quote:Originally posted by kel: I will only be going for work Steve. My boss wants me to organize a week to 10 days of visiting different factories for products that we need.
Hong Kong is traditionally the springboard for manufacturing exports from China. There's a large concentration of electronics manufacturing factories in Shen Zhen China, which is a couple of hours from Hong Kong. Many of these factories have marketing offices located in Hong Kong. Look there first to see if you can find the goods you're looking for. Steve
well I have to find factories that do "exciting" things like activated charcoal and extruded palstic netting and (can you handle this?? ) *gasp* polyester filter pad material!!!!
Posts: 275 | Location: Italy | Registered: 16 April 2003
quote:Ling, 7 Chinese dialects?! That's impressive. He didn't grow up in China, did he? It's unlikely even for a native Chinese to speak that many dialects. :-)
Yes, it's true! he's fluent in 7 chinese dialects and he grew up in Singapore and through different relatives and friends, he gained his fluency through his interactions with them. Once he learned to speak a different dialect, on his own, he taught himself how to read and write it as well.
Many many thankx for your kind and indepth response about living in Shanghai! I will visit the sites you provided and hope to learn more. Also like your suggestion that i should visit there before making any decision.
By the way, did you learn Mandarin while you were living there?
Ling
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,
Ling -- you are welcome. Yes, I did learn Mandrin while growing up in Shanghai. It's the official tongue for both mainland and Taiwan, and even Singapore?
Ling -- I have lived in China a total of 6 yrs, most recently Shanghai late 90s. I think it's a fascinating place, the food is great, the pple memorable. I manage to get back quite often. But I wouldn't live in Shanghai again ... it's a pretty low quality of life in my opinion (along the lines of "a great place to visit, I wouldn't want to live there"), esp if you are coming from somewhere like Italy! Of course it depends on what you like to do with your leisure time and what your lifestyle is.
Another thing to keep in mind ... if you have pets that is (don't you have a dog or two?) --- the official attitude to pets in China is not friendly. They are seen as nuisances to public order, dirty, and in the case of SARS, a possible source of the spread of disease. The registration laws regarding pets are often changed in Shanghai and Beijing. I know that the former recently instituted mandatory quarantine in a facility outside the city (you could do it at home when we arrived there with several cats in the 90s) and there are now regulations banning the walking of dogs in public.
Singapore, by contrast, is such a dog-friendly place. China is the complete opposite. Just something to keep in mind (my husband turned down an offer to return to Shanghai a couple months ago) if pets are a big concern for you. Good luck!
Posts: 20 | Location: vietnam | Registered: 06 January 2004
quote:Originally posted by robin h: Ling -- I have lived in China a total of 6 yrs, most recently Shanghai late 90s. I think it's a fascinating place, the food is great, the pple memorable. I manage to get back quite often. But I wouldn't live in Shanghai again ... it's a pretty low quality of life in my opinion (along the lines of "a great place to visit, I wouldn't want to live there"), esp if you are coming from somewhere like Italy! Of course it depends on what you like to do with your leisure time and what your lifestyle is.
Another thing to keep in mind ... if you have pets that is (don't you have a dog or two?) --- the official attitude to pets in China is not friendly. They are seen as nuisances to public order, dirty, and in the case of SARS, a possible source of the spread of disease. The registration laws regarding pets are often changed in Shanghai and Beijing. I know that the former recently instituted mandatory quarantine in a facility outside the city (you could do it at home when we arrived there with several cats in the 90s) and there are now regulations banning the walking of dogs in public.
Singapore, by contrast, is such a dog-friendly place. China is the complete opposite. Just something to keep in mind (my husband turned down an offer to return to Shanghai a couple months ago) if pets are a big concern for you. Good luck!
Robin, huge thanks for your post! My pets are certainly a big concern for me so it worries me that they would not be welcomed in China, for the reasons you stated... my husband also suggested living in Singapore and he'd commute (via air) to China a couple of days out of the week... I know Singapore, by comparison, would be more suitable for our lifestyle, with one exception--my mother-in-law lives there! :-)
Ling, I see we're on the same page here --- one of the advantages of living in Asia is that my mother-in-law does not! :-) When we moved to Shanghai we took 4 cats ... now China restricts import of pets to one per passport. I'd go the Sing route. Or Bangkok. It's a fantastic quality of life (albeit not as orderly or as green as Sing, though we used to hike w/our dog at a nearby national park every wknd) and the lovely pple and unforgettable food cannot be beat! I'd move back in a nanosecond.
Posts: 20 | Location: vietnam | Registered: 06 January 2004
Robin, I agree, we are on the same page :-) ... I've also heard great things about Bangkok, their food etc... it's funny you mentioned Singapore as "orderly" in fact, to me, it's so orderly it's almost eery, but 99.9% of the people are very happy living that way, I wish there was some of that here in Italy :-) people are always cutting in lines, and the notorious F1 wannabe drivers prevalent on the roads--even tight mountainous roads--make me a little envious, sometimes, of Singaporeans' way of life.
quote:Originally posted by SteveS: Ling -- you are welcome. Yes, I did learn Mandrin while growing up in Shanghai. It's the official tongue for both mainland and Taiwan, and even Singapore?
Yes, Steve, you're right, Mandarin is one of four official languages of Singapore, others are English, Malay and Tamil.
My wife and I went to China in March last year and we visited Beijing, Xi'an and Hong Kong. I have posted a long trip report with pictures on my personal homepage. Maybe you can find some useful information there.
Ni Hao Gard, loved reading about yours and nikki's travels through China! Like you, I think my biggest impressions would be found in Beijing -- the terracotta warriors, but especially the Great China Wall. Regarding Hong Kong, I was surprised that clothing (silk) would not be "dirt cheap" as I've also heard, but also consistently hear that Thailand is the place to go for all sorts of goods, and beautifully-silk tailored clothing.
A sidebar about Thailand: My husband, a former frequent visitor of Thailand, and his sister who still visits twice a year, have indicated that aside from the "goods" one typically might shop for, weapons are easily available from sidewalk vendors! I suspect this isn't in a touristy area, but still very surprising!
Link to Singapore: since Thailand is a short flight from Singapore, I'm still very much looking forward to visiting Thailand during nxt Chinese New Year visit in Singapore (2005).
Topic Closed
Other than the heated toilet seats, any other details from Japan?
