Job Discussion Forums

[babeilou]

I was offered a full-time job in Ningbo. However, with the same group, I have been offered the choice of either Ningbo or Yantai. Same contract conditions. My only decision now is about which city (since I don't know the personnel at either school). I'd like to hear pros and cons of each city. Thanks.

[Roger]

Both these cities have very little going for them - medium-sized, newly-developed industrial sprawls. BOth are port cities, but that does not make them cosmopolitan. Ningbo has the advantage of its relative proximity to Hangzhou and Shanghai, but some dislike its very humid and hot summers.
Yantai is pleasanter (for me) due to its drier weather, but it is at the tip of the Shandong peninsula, and thus very far away from other major cities. It is opposite of the Korean peninsula. There should be ferries to the other side of the Bohai Sea. Travelling by train to Peking or Shanghai is rather circuitous, involving changing trains at Ji'nan.

[MyTurnNow]

While I agree with Roger's overall assessment of both, I'll chip in on the side of Ningbo...simply because I dislike Yantai so intensely and because I love the region around Shanghai so much.

I didn't think too much of Yantai compared to my home at the time in Dalian, even before I had a nightmarish couple of days there going to and from Qingdao. It is on the bay, but pretty small and squatty and dirty by comparison. Entertainment options seem confined to watching the container ships sail in and out. Even the nearest city fittin' for decent folks to live in, Qingdao, is several hours away using cramped little buses driven by former kamikaze pilots turned Pirate.

Shandong Province is nice enough but if you want to settle in this area I strongly suggest either Dalian or Qingdao. IMHO Yantai is nowhere and Jinan is a dull toilet.

There are indeed ferries going between Yantai and Dalian on the other side of the Bay of Bohai, but you don't necessarily want to be on them. Going there the trip was 6 hours, mostly confined below decks with about a million Chinese people and their children, food, baijiu, and bathrooms. This was 2 years ago and I still can't get the stench out of my nostrils.

Coming back we took the fast boat- 3 hours. We were not allowed topside at all and were pretty much locked into the cabin. Once we cleared Yantai Harbor we hit choppy water in the Bay, and after a few minutes some serious seasickness set in. Everyone on the boat was crying Ruth! or Ralph!...if the seasickness didn't do it directly the violent illness of ALL your neighbors would. I was technicolor-yawning myself and my sealegs are pretty good. I hadn't seen so much mass public vomiting since Ronald Reagan was President. A deeply, deeply unpleasant experience.

MT

[chinafriendhere]

I am currenlty living in Jinan. Jinan is definitely not a dull toilet as the previous poster related. If you are looking to live in a cultural city and meet the friendliest people in China, then Jinan (or other inner cities) is the place for you. If you are looking for business opportunities and want to hang out with foreign friends then Dalian and Ningbo are the place to live. Large coastal cities like Dalian (which is in Liaoning Province not Shandong Province) or Ningbo tend to have lot more western things (bars, restaraunts and discos) to do, but less Chinese things (Chinese street barbecue, street markets and temples). If you are looking for business opportunities and want to be away from foreigners then Yantai is the place to live.

[MyTurnNow]

One gets the idea after reading these things for a while that our impressions of Chinese cities are a bit like the tale of the Blind Men and the Elephant...we all see something different based on our own experiences. I myself learned to love Changchun, and even their own official tourism promotions slogan is "Changchun: Oh, What The Hell..."
I didn't like either Yantai or Jinan personally. I had to wonder why they still had opportunities, and relatively few foreigners...
But the BEST answer is to see for yourself, if you can. One man's toilet is another man's jacuzzi.

I can assure you that Dalian has street barbecue, street markets and temples...but it can also sell you some familiar creature comforts and some entertainment as well. I can also assure you it's definitely in Liaoning Province...and also firmly in the Bohai Bay area.

MT

[arioch36]

I think MT is on the money. Trying to advise someone on what city is bestis not possible. And what does it mean to "be in a city" Language school (avoid them) are usually in the city. More and more colleges are relocating outside the city. It might be an hour from the city in the midde of nowhere, with no good transportation.

If you have never been to China, I don't think you will know what you like. Someone wants rural China, thinking clean air, pristine environment. Ha ha ha.

Best thing I have to say is think of what kind of climate you want, and what kind of travelling you want to do. It is a long train , Nagbo to Beijing or Dalian. It is a long train, Yantai to Yangshou, Yunan

[chinafriendhere]

I have been in China since 1999. I agree with MT and Arioch, everybody sees things differently and you have to come to China to find out what city suits yourself. I will say there are some general facts about coastal cities and non coastal cities. Coastal cities usually are more modern and have already been through a boom period. People are generally on the move financially, looking for ways to make more money. Non coastal cities usually are less developed and have more historical sites. The people in coastal cities don't have as much time to make new friends unless their new friends can help in their future goals. The people in non coastal cities like Jinan are more down to earth and business is less likely to pop up in day to day conversations.

As for Dalian, there are very few Chinese outdoor street barbecue restaraunts (maybe I should have said outdoor) now. There are quite a few indoor Korean style barbecue restaraunts. I traveled there as recently as one month ago. All the old Japanese builds near Friendship Square and Renmin Park have been knocked down to make way for more new empty buildings. The huge outdoor Chinese barbecue street near Renimin Square (I think they were on 51 road) has dissapeared forever.

[MyTurnNow]

I suppose this is true to some extent in Dalian. Massive urban renewal is wiping out a lot of the street cooks and hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and these are quite often the best places to eat in any city.

I have to think they're still there somewhere...just more out of the way.

MT