Job Discussion Forums

[smellymelly]

interestingly enough nobody has mentioned anything about the pollution yet! lol the pollution can get quite bad and i have even heard of people smelling it through the windows of their apartments. it is not very clean and the air stinks a lot. the winters are very cold and last summer was very hot as well.

there are many foreigners (from all over) here studying chinese. i have come across many russians, east indian, americans, canadians, aussies, french (france), english, irish,.... Foreign foods are sold at stoes, but are more expensive obviously.

i am pretty sure harbin os one of the cheapest capital cities to live in. 1 way on the bus is 1 Yuan, and you can get a meal for as low as 3 Yuan at some places.

yes, harbinites are direct and open...that's forsure!

[intoaction]

How is the train ride between Beijing and Harbin? Scenic? I read that the D train is great, super fast 8 hour ride and comfortable.

[vikuk]

[senorfay]

In the morning there is a blanket of coal smoke covering the entire city. When I step outside of my apartment, I take a deep breath or air and then hack it out. I take my taxi to school or walk around and watch hundereds of smoke stacks, backyard incinerators, and piles of plastic trash burning.

As the day wears on, the coal smoke disperses and the traffic smog kicks in.

Sunset is a beautiful time, when the sun sinks to the level of the coal smoke and smog, it turnsa bloody red. Windows on skyscrapers reflect the waning sunlight and I thank our benevolent leaders for not enforcing air quality standards.

Sometimes when there isn't any wind for a few days, the coal smoke gets so thick that visibility is about 50 meters. On those days you can taste and feel the oily residue of the air.

People say every city is like this, but I've only lived Harbin.

[vikuk]

The other thing that might surprise/shock newbies about Chinese cities/towns - is their gray sameness. 99.9% of all that was old, fascinating and typically Chinese has been flattened and replaced with a typical depressing concrete urban mess (I first hit China in '87 - what a difference). There are of course special places like the Bund in Shanghai or the tourist spots of Beijing or Xian - but as FT's you'll be placed in some apartment that could be anywhere in China!!!
So when thinking of a place like Harbin and what makes it different - think mainly weather and the possibilities of a good social life outside work.
Also think about countryside outside the city - and exploring. Maybe the art of living in any Chinese city is the art of getting out of it once in a while

[senorfay]

Harbin had a few interesting places like the russian churches and the ice festival in the winter. late spring and summer are cool because there are outdoor beer gardens that sell pitchers of cheap beer as low as 3 quai/pitcher.

vikuk hit it on the head when he talked about the sameness of chinese cities.