Job Discussion Forums

LHanks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 25

I have been offered employment in Dalian. Has anyone lived in the area, if so please let me know how you liked it. What is there to do besides shop, eat, and go to the beach? Anything cultural? If not in Dalian, nearby?

xiaoyu · Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 12:42 am Post subject:

while i didn't work in dalian ( i was in shenyang) i travelled there often and loved it.... xinghai park is beautiful and the city is generally clean, especially for my experience of liaoning province....and if you are a seafood buff it is awesome... a good place to find some western style clothes if you find that once you get over there it is difficult to find clothes that fit your body type... (as a woman i had a difficult time finding clothes that fit my hips, waist, and chest properly when i first went to china).... the clubs that i have been to were fun as well... and there are quite a few different types of cuisine to try while you are there... it is also considered to be warmer than most of the rest of northeast china in the winter.... if you are interested, i know some of the companies/schools there and might be able to give you more information.... good luck!

gmat · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 274 Location: S Korea

I am in Dalian. It is a nice clean city (for China). But I would not say there is alot going on culturally. As the city is only 100 years old, there is not much 'history' here. You could say the city is a bit sterile. But, I like it here. It is a good place to start in China. IMHO.

SongGirl · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 13

Hi LHanks,

I fully agree with gmat. About two and a half weeks ago, I came to Dalian, and I experienced culture shock all over again! I was amazed at how westernized a Chinese city could be, and still, after spending two months at the banks of the Yangtze river, I at times feel as if I am in some US city flooded with Chinese tourists...of course I am the tourist, and Dalian is still China, just a bit different from the rest of it. I think Dalian is a great symbol of the current China--it is putting up a new skyscraper or department store every day, not able to fill all the new buildings fast enough...as if it can't catch up with itself. But yes, for starters, Dalian is probably the best place to be--not as polluted and crowded as Beijing and you can enjoy all the Western amenities you need while you adapt to a whole new culture. The taxi drivers are amazingly friendly, the people in the stores will not rip your limbs off to make you buy something, and generally, people here are very open minded and helpful to us crazy lao wais (foreigners), and all the places I have been to so far have Western style toilets and almost always toilet paper left. Farther North, there is Shenyang, which is supposed to be great for exploring although not nice to live in compared to Dalian, and you will have the seaside beaches waiting for you in the spring and summer. And Beijing is close enough to hop on a plane and visit for a weekend or short holiday. Aside from that, if you want to visit any other places in China, Dalian's airport will get you anywhere.

I do miss the Chinese culture a bit here, the one that confused me so much when I first came to this country, and don't know if I will stay, but there is nothing you have to be worried about when considering Dalian. You will be totally fine.

tom selleck · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:14 am Post subject: Dalian

Does anyone know of any decent schools worth working for in Dalian?
All replies appreciated.

tom selleck · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2003 1:26 pm Post subject:

"My turn now"-thanks for the speedy honest reply.A place can be the nicest in China, but if there isn't a decent place to work at, it really doesn't matter, eh?
Actually, I just ran afoul of my masters at E.F. Urumqi. You may laugh at the city, but it was home for a year and a half, and now I've got to leave post haste. I want to take the opportunity to find a nicer city (shouldn't be hard) where there are acceptable schools to work at. (maybe harder)
I had arranged a job at a different school in a different city, then gave my 30 day's notice to leave.The place is poorly managed, so I made an easy decision-They had to go. Ten days later, I was packing up when all of a sudden I had the overwhelming desire to contact the school about important details concerning the big move. The offer of employment was revoked. It seems the center manager of Urumqi was in quite a vindictive mood that day, and she advised the grand pooh-bah of the school I was going to go to that I was s---. Offer revoked, just like that.
So, now I've got only 20 days to find an O.K. town, with an O.K. school. Seems she couldn't deal with the idea of someone just up and quitting on her. She must have felt like she had been fired herself. Which, when you think of it, is kinda' what you are doing when you leave a place. There's a million sob stories out there, and this is just another one, so who nees the whys and wherefores. If anyone out there has a suggestion about an O.K. city with palatable schools, lemme know.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

If you could hold down a job in Urumqi for one year and a half, then you can go almost anywhere! I don't think you want to give Lanzhou a try? What about Xi'an? Much nicer, more tertiary institutions!
Dalian is really nice, buty do you want to travel that far?
Try Guangdong - a dozen cities, each with many schools. And Hong Kong is so near that you will holiday in the "West" called Hong Kong, and return to your quaint mainland city after your shopping trip.

tom selleck · Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2003 4:53 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the suggestion about Xian, I think I might give that a whirl. I heard the AES school out there isn't bad. Does anyone know of any names of other schools or Universities worth checking out at China's one time ancient capital?

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

There are well over a dozen tertiary institutions that could hire you! Some prefix their university with "Northwestern", others with "Shaanxi", and of course there are many city--run places.
From some previous posts I assume you should be careful when you apply to some college that describes itself as"Foreign Language Institute"
or "Translators' College".

yvechina · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 20

Hi
I am just leaving Dalian after 6 months. The people here are very friendly. Often in the streets I hear "Welcome to Dalian". I teach children and adults and am often invited out to dinner in their homes or at restuarants. There are a lot of foreigners here and they are fairly supportive of each other.
The schools are all the same...be very firm about the terms of your contract or you will be royally ripped off!!
The down side of Dalian is that it is so far from anywhere else!!! Its a major drama to travel anywhere.
I have enjoyed my stay here and hope the next place is just as friendly.