Job Discussion Forums

[sigmoid]

Can anyone comment on the English teaching scene in Guangzhou? Are there a lot of jobs? A lot of competition? How's the pay and cost of living

How does the place compare with the two other major centers of China, Beijing and Shanghai

In general, would you recommend it to a China, although not TEFL, novice

Thanks much for any input.

[Roger]

It certainly is an excellent alternative to Peking and Shanghai, excellent on account of:
- CLimate: Balmy winters, hot and humid summers (but probably not
worse than those you experienced in Bangkok); you won't need to
heat often, and you won't use coal!
- Proximity to Hong Kong, Macau: It's an advantage to be near these places. Besides, you have more transport options with three inter/
national airports within 150 kms of each other!
- The labour market: Guangzhou's is perhaps a little smaller than
Shanghai's, but you can choose to work in any other city in the thri-
ving Pearl River Delta.

Now to the downside:
Too many jobs are from dodgy employers! The proximity to Hong Kong may even add to this as most of them will say you can always get a business visa in HK. True, but you will be working illegally!
The market is big, and that means a lot of work and a lot of competition. I have just read someone else's contribution on the Job Information journal. One is on Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, which runs a school in a place called Dalang; I happen to know that school, and I would say the poster put the picture accurately in the frame!
Another poster had some beef with GUANGZHOU MORNING POST. Again, I must concur with his obsergvations! It is a sad fact that teaching English is big business, and not even the CP is aloof enough to abstain from cashing in without adhering to strict legality! This post is particularly revealing as the poster mentions his experience of being interviewed as an II by the PSB!
Another school I warn you against: Canadian International School in Tianhe, Guangzhou. It is no school at all but an agent that illegally runs a daytime training centre in an office. They have no permit, and they can't offer you to assist in obtaining your legal documents!

[Kurochan]

I've only been there a couple times, but I've found Guangzhou very dirty, run-down, and confusing. The air is really smoggy. There are also lots of pickpockets, so you have to watch out whenever you're in a public place -- more so than in other Chinese cities. It's also way crowded, which makes pickpocketing easier.

(Actually, one of the reasons I've only been there a couple times is that I really didn't like it. The first time I was there my friend was pickpocketed within like two hours of our arrival, so that made a bad impression on me.)

[msBLACKgirl]

I was not impressed with the city. I was sick the entire time, the pollution was worst than other cities (in my opinion)---If you're looking for "city life", try Beijing or Shanghai. Never been to Shanghai, but that's where I'm leaning toward. *wink* I'm a sucker for bright lights!

[sigmoid]

Thanks Roger, Kurochan and msBLACKgirl for your posts.

Does anyone else have something to say about Guangzhou?

[bigjobs]

The other posters were right - Guanzghou can be pretty noisy, polluted (and hot - don't wear a white shirt if it's about to rain, you'll find out why), but I think the liveliness of Guangzhou is part of its charm, at least for me.

If you're prepared to work maybe half and hour or an hour's drive away from Guangzhou, you should be able to pick up a job without too much hassle. It could be a problem getting a job right in the centre of Guangzhou, and a job described as being in Guanzhou may be on the outskirts, or in some town virtually unfrequented by foreigners.

The Cantonese are amazing entrepreneurs, which is one of the reasons why business is booming down there, but it also means that the rules are often there only to be bent. As an employee, this can mean a lot of trouble for you. I think that with any job in China, if you get a bad feel for the place, the ways it's run, the way employees and students are treated, back away. This can be especially true in a place such as Guangzhou. Some employers might want you to do a visa run, or transfer you to another place in Guangdong or whatever, and this might seem fine to them, but at the end of the day, it's really effecting you. If the PSB comes knocking at your door, it will be you that they're after, not the boss, too. There can be a lot of dodgy or misleading jobs out there, so do your homework.

Guangzhou can be a great place to live, however. Being so close to Hong Kong and Macau, it seems a lot more liberal than other parts of China, and you can pick up Hong Kong TV no problems. The ex-pat scene seems to be growing everyday, too. However, most people have a love-hate relationship with Guangzhou and southern China - there doesn't seem to be too many shades in between.

[Bertrand]

Personally, I can not say that I liked the city. I used the airport once and that was bit of a joke, and I have been up there on the boat from HK a few times for cheap bootleg DVD shopping when I have been bored with Shenzhen. To me at least it is just a dirty Hong Kong, a typical Chinese city with people spitting, shouting 'way' into their cheap mobile phones and fighting to get into lifts, buses and trains. It's also quite expensive as it goes, not as expensive as Shenzhen but more so than, say, Fuzhou or Huizhou or any of the other cities that I have spent time and money in.

[Roger]

So much negativity about Guangzhou... So how can I poor bugger justify living just outside of this monster city? Well, living in a green and clean estate does help... but knowing the cultural diversity of the big city IS a magnet!
There is a lively bar scene on Huanshi Donglu and near Haizhu Square; add to this the bars on Shamian which sports still splendid colonial architecture and the quiet that accords it graceful stylishness.
There are now Indian and Muslim restaurants, a very welcome addition to the previously monotonous number of dim summeries and Mcdonalderias. A new bars & restaurants scene is developing over in Fangcun in mock-European grandeur with French, German and Italian eateries and discoes!

We have the XINGHAI Musical Hall and various other cultural venues of national acclaim.

There is BEIJING LU, pedestrianised and extremely lively during the day, buildings on both sides having been renovated. It's great for shopping, loitering and strolling around.

Tianhe has a huge book shop.

For recreation, I recommend Yuexiu Park in downtown. Or Orchard Garden just across Jiefang Lu! An interesting museum is the Nanyue Museum of History, a couple of hundred meters south of CHINA HOTEL, documenting the formerly independent state of Yue.
Another great escape is on BAIYUN Mountain, larger and greener than Hong Kong's Victoria Peak.
There also is a well-maintained zoo with Ocean World Park inside! In nearby PANYU, you can visit a genuine SAFARI PARK complete with lions, monkeys, tigers, antelopes, crocodiles in separate sections. It is more of a park than a zoo.
In SHAHE, you find South China BOtanical Garden - apparently the country's largest!

Guangzhou boasts a rising number of western clinics, dentists and doctors, as well as eighteen consulates and half a dozen international chambers of commerce - testimony to its cosmopolitan character!

How few Chinese cities have an underground railway? Guangzhou is one of them!

And Guangzhou has one of the largest pools of high-end housing estates, most very beautifully located, luxuriously appointed and well-maintained, for rent or sale to both domestic and international buyers!

Shanghai no doubt is the country's no. 1 in terms of popularity and cosmopolitanism, but Guangzhou is certainly not fgar behind, maybe on place 2!
Why else should this city have seen the birth of the THAT'S magazines?
One reason may be that Guangzhou, aka CANTON, is still China's most important venue for its export products (two annual international trade fairs).
To me, it is a gritty, but GREAT city!