Job Discussion Forums

[oprah]

I hear it can be very cold here in China in the winter..I would like to choose a place (sept to march) to teach where it is bearable in the winter months... any comments and input would be appreciated.. I understand that there is not central heating here?? I am presently in China..

[MyTurnNow]

Oprah,
tough choices. Generally in China over the winter you can choose between bitterly cold outdoors and middlin' cold inside, or middlin' cold outdoors and bitterly cold inside.

Generally on or north of the Yellow River (Xian, Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin, and many others) winters are long and bitterly cold. No way around it. Housing is insulated, though, and some provision will be made for heat. A lot of places will have radiators as central heat, but they are pretty miserly and usually need to be supplemented with other heaters.

On or south of the Yangzi River (Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Wuhan, Changsha, Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning, Haikou, and many others) winters are milder but it can still get cold, especially in the northern parts of this region. Housing is uninsulated, drafty, and will not have radiators. I spent my first year in the far north, but my coldest winter was just south of the Yangzi in Suzhou. It wasn't as bad outside but my home, my office, my classrooms, and most businesses were freezing inside.

Between the rivers (Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, and many others) will be varying shades between these extremes. Bear in mind these are broad-brush portrayals- local conditions, especially altitude and proximity to the ocean, can make a big difference.

If you really must escape the cold your best bets are deep southern places like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanning, or Haikou, or perhaps Xiamen. Winters are pretty mild overall but there will still be cold days- even these cities are not completely immune to the big cold fronts roaring down out of Siberia. Bring a coat and be ready for the indoor-cold problem at least occasionally.

You do adjust. If you want your home to be as warm as it would be in the West, prepare to spend more on heaters and electricity to achieve it. The Chinese, and most foreigners who succeed here, adjust by wearing warm layers indoors. It is not uncommon in winter to see people eating dinner in their overcoats. It seems very strange, but you do get used to it.

MT

[klasies]

Hi there

I disagree, you are generalising a touch, I think. I am 18 minutes drive from the Siberian border and yes, it gets cold here, bitterly cold, but inside my apartment it is snug and warm. In fact I sit in shorts and a t-shirt inside my apartment during deep winter. The classrooms are likewise warm, as are the buses, taxis and resturants And no it is not a rich university.

Andre

[taiwan boy]

Not everywhere in china has bleak icy winters. I live in Fujian province. The coldest winter day was about ten degrees Celsius. If you are a Canadian you will probably still be wearing a t-shirt at that temp. I suggest you look at any of the coastal cities in Fujian or Guangdong or Hainan Island. A few suggestions: Xiamen, Shantou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Beihai.

[Roger]

The Yangtse river has traditionally been the dividing line between "cold" and "hot" areas of China, with cold meaning that they have the right to use coal to heat their offices and schools, and 'hot' to mean they do not have this privilege, which means you may be shivering in your seven layers of clothes in a Hubei class room although you may have an electric heater in your flat.
If you can stand the humid climate of subtropical Guangdong or Hainan, move there. You will need a heater a few times in winter, but you will have far fewer flus and coughs there than you certainly will have further up north!
The coal dust in the Manchurian air prolongs your suffering if you have a cold!

[MyTurnNow]

[Ferne]

During the five months of my Chinese winter, I felt cold con-stant-ly. I was in Hubei first, and it didn't get THAT cold compared to later in the NE, but sometimes I sure felt like going OUTSIDE, leaving my apartment, just to warm up a bit. Me and my colleagues spent a lot of time gathered in front of the little fan-like heaters we were finally given. And a lot of time scratching ice off the windows...on the inside.
Later in Liaoning, it was damn cold enough I think, and when I got my first apartment "with central heating", I was all euphoric. The thing was that the heat was turned on maybe one hour a day if at all, never enough to warm up the place! Same with my second apartment. So once again, I was freezing constantly. This was definitely the coldest winter of my life, not due to the temperatures outside but inside...you can handle a lot of cold if you have a warm snuggly place to return to in the evening. And I never got used to constantly wearing long thick underwear (although it definitely looked very sexy ) and layers of clothes inside the house, or even gloves when trying to type an email or transferring the soup I had just bought around the corner from a plastic bag into a bowl.

Well...I am off into the sunhine now, dreaming of that good old China winter Stay warm!

[Jojo]

Hi,
What is the cold weather like in Beijing? How cold does it actually get?
I've been offered a job in Tianjin and wondering about the weather situation. Being a Canadian the cold weather doesn't bother me as long as it does not get any colder than here(-20c). Brrrr! Thanks.

Jojo

[MyTurnNow]

Hey Jojo!

You'll probably be fine in Tianjin. You may get snaps below -20 but the average is not below it I don't think.

It's actually easy to get temp data for many Chinese cities. I don't remember the URLs....go to Yahoo and type "Tianjin average temperature" in the search bar. Within the results you'll find both official weather service tables of monthly averages and anecdotal overviews of the climate there.

MT

[oddsnends]

I just spent my first winter in Tianjin. I'm also from Canada and found the winter long, but not overly cold. It got to maybe minus 15. Some of the bushes never even shed their green leaves. Our ground floor apatment was usually warm enough, although we occasionaly needed extra heat turned on which was provided by our a/c unit doubling as a heater. You have no control over the radiator heaters and some people on floors above us would open windows because their apartments were too warm. One thing to bring to Tianjin is a fleece earband. Can't find them anywhere and loved wearing them in Canada.

[arioch36]

One thing I like about Henan is the climate. Winter is refreshing. Ocassional snowstorm. Mild winters. The worst part of the winter is during Winter vacation, so you can go south if you wish. Summers are hot, but then school is out when the weather really gets hot, and I'll be safe ly home in New York , where the summers are mild.

Every place is so different. It is like when my students ask me, "What is the weather like in America?" Which part?