Job Discussion Forums

[PeterandElizabeth]

My husband nad I are heading off to a place called Daqing in a few weeks and I am wondering if anyone can give us somem advise about how to keep warm in that area.... We live in the Sunshine Coast Breisbane and its never cold so we are in for a shock!!!!!

Eli sha bai

[vikdk]

hot waters bottles - one of chinas best kept secrets - poor heating and they are an in door must - also good when your out travelling and have to try and survive cold hotel rooms!!!!

[klasies]

Yes you are in for a shock. It gets very cold there. Long winters and short hot summers! You will have to layer your clothing when you go outside. Your apartment should be cosy and warm. You can buy warm colthes there so don't bring too many warm things with you.
Daqing consists of several cities which are situated far apart from each other. There are no trees and no hills there! It's pretty windy. Lots of oil pumps all over the city. Well planned with wide roads. A little more expensive than other cities. A few western type supermarkets with butter, bread and bacon available. Harbin is close by and you can get some western goodies there! Most people have cars. Motor bikes and bicycles are few and far between. City workers keep the roads free of snow most times but the roads are quite icy during winters. Not much to do during the winter. There is a tall tower (9 dragon tower) that you will probally be taken too and some parks but you may have to go to Harbin if you want to see things.

[PeterandElizabeth]

Thanks for the info about being able to get things there as I was a tad bit concerned how I was going to get all the jumpers into a case and not exceed the one 20kg that we are allowed to take on board the plane.
And yes I shall bring the hot and water bottle.

Elizabeth & Peter

[vikdk]

dont bring em - china is far and away the leading player in hot-water bottle technology - you'll find em in every size shape an color when yur here - at a mere fraction of the price back home - now isn't that something to look forward to

[HunanForeignGuy]

Dear Peter and Elizabeth,

Greetings. Can I ask where you are going in Daqing? I was offered a job there and almost took it...I did quite a lot of research about it and my friends in Harbin were quite helpful. You could PM me if you don't want to openly disclose the name of the school.

Daqing is having a bit of a rough time at the moment. The oil reserves, which is what keep the city going economically, are reaching end-of-life and there is a serious outward migration of skilled workers to the booming cities of Southern China. There have been serious efforts to spur private sector growth (China Petroleum Corporation is the largest employer) but not all of them have borne fruit.

As for the weather, yes, indeed, it does not get any colder anywhere in China than in Daqing. Yesterday, the "air" temperature was ... -45 C. That was a bit of a deterrent for me, actually. I come from a cold climate but nothing like that.

On the other hand, the "putong-hwa" (Mandarin Chinese) that is spoken in Daqing and Harbin is of a very excellent quality and if you were to learn Chinese, those are two Chinese where you would be able to learn a very standard Mandarin (Beijing, Nanjing, etc.).

The dumplings and beer are great, the food is not spicy, and from my experience when I went to visit the school, the locals are quite friendly.

Any additional questions, please ask. All the best,

Foreign Hunan Guy

[earl]

I am also a queenslander who has just escaped those parts, thank god.

its cold. of course. but the biggest factor is the wind, horrid.

as for the helpful members on this board suggesting that you can buy clothes here.... its true if you are 180cm tall or less. otherwise there is a distinct lack of good warm clothes. i had a lot of difficulty covering all the necessary bits from the wind.

so, i would bring some thick socks (explorers are my choice) because although the air in your flat will be heated your floors may not be (mine werent).

i found shoes from an army store (only thing in my size) that were great (sheepskin lined) so no worries there.

good luck...

[mondrian]

[PeterandElizabeth]

Thank you for replying to our request about Harbin and Daqing . I am watching the weather report about Harbin and it seems to be getting a little warmer if you could call -5 warm
It is so hot and humid at present here in Queensland so its hard to comprehend the minus signs, but alas life is an adventure isn't it and there are people like yourselves there so it can't be all that bad.
Being prepared is the key to going anywhere. We will be arriving in Harbin around the 15th so we have a few weeks left [ hopefully] it will get past the minus mark.
Have a great day !
Peter and Elizabeth J

[lexpat]

Hello,

I've been teaching in Thailand and Vietnam for the last four years and am considering giving China a try. Harbin has been on my radar for awhile. Here in SEA, most deent jobs are basically obtained by showing up and looking in person.

From what I've read on various forums, I get the impression this is not the case in the Middle Kingdom. I just haven't got a sense of how easy itis to get work in a place like Harbin. I'm supposing it's more like Thailand than Vietnam. That is, the jobs are mostly inschools teaching kids and teens rather than in 'academies.'

Is there a time of year that is best for getting work up there? Is it necessary to get a visa before you go?

Any info appreciated.

[MrBeijingles]

Hey all! I currently teach in Harbin and I really like it but it's not for everyone for sure. Right now, I usually wear thermal underwear below my regular clothes along with fur lined boots and a jacket with duck feathers (you definitely need the feathers or you will be cold). It's really hard to keep your face and hands warm so try bringing scarves and gloves. Also, you must keep your feet warm because once they get cold, it is almost unbearable.

[tw]

If anything, winters in northern and northeastern China can be tolerable as long as it doesn't get windy. When that wind blows, that's when it gets mighty miserable. It was windy yesterday and it felt like around -30. Most days have been alright (around -15). I suggest the OP to bring typical winterwear for Australia, then add a layer or two underneath. Once arriving in China, go shopping for a nice long winter coat and some thermal underwear.

My winter gear: baseball cap, police-style long coat (the ones with the buttons on the side that are now forbidden to be worn by non-policemen in many parts of China), T-shirt and typical long-sleeved shirt, longjohns, jeans, thin Chinese socks and a pair of hiking boots, and mittens.

[china_sk8er]

It all depends on what you are used to. I've been living here for over a year so I'm used to the cold. Yesterday, it felt like -30 to -40, but I still only wore a hoodie, a toque and a vest. No coat or long johns.

My wife was cold and she was wearing a Columbia jacket. Of course, she is from Fujian so like I said, it depends on what you're used to. I remember skateboarding about a week ago at about midnight and me and a buddy were only wearing our hoodies as well. We went back inside and we were sweating.

[davidcronk]

Hi Peter & Elizabeth

I lived in Poland for a couple winters and it would be similar temperature about 0 to minus 30 for the winter. I found dressing in layers helped T shirt, flanelette shirt, good wool jumper and then a coat, tracksuit pantsor thermal underwear and jeans did the trick. I could spend some time outside at night when it was minus 20-30 no problem. The big thing to make sure you have is a woolen hat and gloves because you lose a lot of warmth from the top of your head, your feet and hands.

Enjoy

[guruengerish]

All this talk of cold cities reminds me of freezing nights during my year in London. People there (1960s) had not yet discovered electric blankets and the bed was freezing cold!

These have not been mentioned so far. Are electric blankets available in China? They don't draw much current, and are great for pre-warming those freezing sheets.