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An offer to teach in Linfen that I will refuse, but.........
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kev7161



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China

PostPosted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I was just JoeKing, that's all...mostly about the recruiter side of it....never expected to be challenged on it.


Hey, don't worry about Becky/Hilena/MWaltman/(and about 30-40 other names he/she/it has used in the past few years). Just a bitter old troll who likes to take a crap on posters here. The mods will be by sooner or later and sweep him/her/it away and we'll have a couple day's peace until he/she/it comes along under yet another interesting moniker! Laughing
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MozartFloyd



Joined: 12 Jul 2013
Posts: 66
Location: Guangdong, China

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was once offered a Uni job in Linfen for 6,000 RMB. I spoke to several foreign teachers there and they painted a different picture of Linfen.

Although I haven't actually been to Linfen, I do know that the leading hits on Google for it being the most polluted city in the world are nine years old. If you research further, you will find that the city of Linfen was outraged by the declaration that it was the number 1 polluter in the world. The city took action, and today it is on it's way to becoming a green city. It is not there yet, but the campaign is in progress.

The city council closed down most of the polluting factories and severely fines those that didn't comply. While Linfen isn't perfect, it also isn't what it used to be.

I declined to live in Linfen, not because of the air quality, but the winters are too cold and too long for my Southern California blood.
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LarssonCrew



Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1661031_1661028_1661016,00.html

Is 3 years old and ranks Linfen as number one.

You cannot simply 'clear away' the most polluted city in the world in 3 years to make it suddenly great for living.

I've been there before, it's absolutely horrendous.
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Javelin of Radiance



Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 1187
Location: The West

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LarssonCrew wrote:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1661031_1661028_1661016,00.html

Is 3 years old and ranks Linfen as number one.

You cannot simply 'clear away' the most polluted city in the world in 3 years to make it suddenly great for living.

I've been there before, it's absolutely horrendous.

The article you quoted is from 2007. It's 2013 today. The difference is six years, not three and so yeah, that article is out of date. FYI, Linfen is no longer the most polluted place in the world, or even in China. A report from this year noted Lanzhou (or Urumqi depending on which reports you read) as most polluted in China, followed by a bunch of other cities in the north of the country.

Quote:
But Beijing is not even the most polluted city in China. Using a different but more widely used measure collated by the World Health Organisation of larger particulate matter called PM 10 (particles of 10 microns or less), which allows cross-country comparisons, that dubious honour is bestowed on Lanzhou in the north-western province of Gansu (and the city of Ludhiana in India is more polluted still).


http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-polluted-cities-of-the-worlds-largest-economies-2013-1

According to this 2012 article it seems that the people and the authorities in Linfen are making some serious efforts at cleaning things up.

Quote:
Factories that had once belched fumes into Linfen's skies, fouled its rivers and contaminated its soil were forced to shut down or relocate.
Twelve power stations were closed. A crackdown on illegal and polluting coalmines saw the number of mines slashed from around 390 to 128. Villagers were weaned off burning coal at homes and solar water heaters were installed on their roofs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9631216/Linfen-how-Chinas-Chernobyl-turned-the-corner.html
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Baishou



Joined: 02 May 2013
Posts: 41
Location: Dongbei

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Javelin of Radiance wrote:
Factories that had once belched fumes into Linfen's skies, fouled its rivers and contaminated its soil were forced to shut down or relocate.
Twelve power stations were closed. A crackdown on illegal and polluting coalmines saw the number of mines slashed from around 390 to 128. Villagers were weaned off burning coal at homes and solar water heaters were installed on their roofs.


That's nice. The same thing happened here in Shenyang a decade ago. Now the skies are clogged with car exhaust and microdust from hyperdevelpment, to say nothing of rampant coal burning in the wintertime. (LMAO at "villagers heating their homes with solar water heaters." In the wintertime? Really?)

Which Chinese city is dirtier than the next one? Who cares? Do you prefer to drink arsenic or rat poison? Is there really such a big difference?
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Javelin of Radiance



Joined: 01 Jul 2009
Posts: 1187
Location: The West

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

well if you live within a 500 mile radius of Beijing or wherever the epicentre of pollution is it probably doesn't matter much where you are. Xi'an, Linfen, Taiyuan, Beijing, Zhengzhou they all seem pretty much the same - You're breathing in toxic dust on a daily basis that's going to hurt you down the line. I lived in that region in the past and the main reason I left was because I didn't want my lungs to be coated with the same crap I was wiping off my furniture every day.
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Baishou



Joined: 02 May 2013
Posts: 41
Location: Dongbei

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Javelin of Radiance wrote:
I lived in that region in the past and the main reason I left was because I didn't want my lungs to be coated with the same crap I was wiping off my furniture every day.


Now go on a permanent fast and don't drink any water and you're sweet, mate!
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creeper1



Joined: 24 Aug 2010
Posts: 481
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:40 pm    Post subject: info Reply with quote

On the issue of air pollution, a lot of figures get thrown around on how bad the pollution is in cigarette terms.

I don't know if that is a good measure or not on how toxic the air is since the composition of poisons in cigarette smoke is not necessarily the same as in Chinese air.

On a bad day, this article says that Beijing air is equivalent to smoking 21 cigarettes a day - http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201302030021
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LarssonCrew



Joined: 06 Jun 2009
Posts: 1308

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/blogs/the-most-polluted-city-in-the-world-linfen-china

This one is from 2010, that's only three years ago.

Are you telling me it's suddenly like living in the Swiss alps with the fresh air and a man in holderleisen[spelling?!] yodelling around the valleys?
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creeper1



Joined: 24 Aug 2010
Posts: 481
Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:01 pm    Post subject: words Reply with quote

This is an interesting quote originally said by native Americans to the white man but I guess a resident of Linfen or some other such city may utter these words

"When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money"
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muffintop



Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LarssonCrew wrote:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/blogs/the-most-polluted-city-in-the-world-linfen-china

This one is from 2010, that's only three years ago.

Are you telling me it's suddenly like living in the Swiss alps with the fresh air and a man in holderleisen[spelling?!] yodelling around the valleys?


Would you like to show me who made that absurd comparison besides you? Nobody? Right.

Either way, it's standing has changed as to being the most polluted city on Earth. Either other cities have gotten worse, or Linfen has gotten a bit better. I am in no position to judge which is accurate.

When I was a child, I used to think lawyers were intelligent.
Experience has taught me otherwise.
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choudoufu



Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 3325
Location: Mao-berry, PRC

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

LarssonCrew wrote:
[spelling?!]


'lederhosen' for the men, 'dirndl' for the ladies.
in general referred to as 'tracht.'
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muffintop



Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:10 pm    Post subject: Re: words Reply with quote

creeper1 wrote:
This is an interesting quote originally said by native Americans to the white man but I guess a resident of Linfen or some other such city may utter these words

"When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money"


A somewhat silly thing to say if this was directed at the white folks. Native Americans were not the stewards of all things natural as we were taught in school. They altered their environment to suit their needs just as others have done and will do. Others may have done it quicker or more efficiently but the idea that Native Americans lived in complete harmony with nature is utter horsecrap.

That said....I like the quote.

[url]
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110321134617.htm[/url]

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6467
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JoeKing



Joined: 30 Apr 2008
Posts: 519

PostPosted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MozartFloyd wrote:
I was once offered a Uni job in Linfen for 6,000 RMB. I spoke to several foreign teachers there and they painted a different picture of Linfen.

I declined to live in Linfen, not because of the air quality, but the winters are too cold and too long for my Southern California blood.
^^That is an interesting take, to say the least.

Baishou wrote:
JoeKing wrote:
The offer was for a public HS, RMB10000, 20 hours of class time - not bad, under normal conditions...I would not consider that enough hazard pay though.


I'd do it for RMB100,000 per month and a free space suit.


Here's a question for everyone. What is the lowest salary you would be willing to accept to work in Linfen for one year?

For the sake of argument, let's assume the air quality is every bit as bad as reported.

It's classic cost/risk v. benefit/reward, and I am sure that one's answer would depend at least in part on what their financial situation is at the time. Dire financial straits may make you consider doing something you thought you would never, ever, do! Not unlike civilian contractors who go to Afghanistan for the big bucks.

Anyway, I think the lowest amount I would accept for a job in Linfen would be RMB25,000 a year -and for one year only! Even then, I would rarely venture outside, and take every precaution I could.
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MozartFloyd



Joined: 12 Jul 2013
Posts: 66
Location: Guangdong, China

PostPosted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LarssonCrew wrote:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1661031_1661028_1661016,00.html

Is 3 years old and ranks Linfen as number one.

You cannot simply 'clear away' the most polluted city in the world in 3 years to make it suddenly great for living.

I've been there before, it's absolutely horrendous.


I haven't been to Linfen, so I can't say. However, the cleanup has been nine years in the running; attested to in this quote regarding the new government in China, and their efforts to curb pollution:

"Mr Yang, Linfen's environment chief, said that as China battled to rectify its toxic environment, his city could offer some clues. "As long as leaders attach great importance [to it], the environment can improve." Linfen's dramatic turnaround began in 2004 after it was named and shamed by Beijing as the most polluted of 113 Chinese cities."

3 years, 7 years, 9 years ... I'm not headed to Linfen anytime soon.
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