On July 21, 2020, in order to strengthen the management of foreign teachers, the Ministry of Education, together with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, formulated the Measures for the Appointment and Management of Foreign Teachers (Draft for Comments) to solicit public opinions, and below is the major content.
Basic Requirements for Foreign Teachers
Foreign personnel should meet the following requirements before they can be employed as foreign teachers by various educational institutions at all levels.
Bachelor degree or above;
As a subject professional (including foreign language literature) teachers must have more than two years of teaching or working experience in related disciplines;
As a teacher of foreign language training, he/she must have been trained in language teaching, and obtain the language training qualification, and generally be engaged in his/her mother tongue teaching;
And for those who teach relevant courses in Chinese, their mandarin level should reach class 3B or above, or pass the HSK proficiency test to obtain the corresponding grade certificate.
Who Will Be Banned from Employment
Under any of the following circumstances, foreign personnel shall not be employed by any educational institution.
Words and deeds that damage China’s national sovereignty, security, honor and social and public interests;
Being investigated for criminal responsibility;
Hindering the implementation of the educational policy;
Drug addicts;
Having committed acts of sexual assault or maltreatment of minors;
Illegally engaging in religious education or missionary work;
Engaged in cult activities;
Sexual harassment of students or other serious violations of teachers’ professional ethics;
Providing false certification information in the process of applying for teaching in China;
Having three records of breach of trust.
Part-Time Job Allowed for Full-Time Teachers
During a period of employment, foreign teachers can only sign a contract with one educational institution. The contents of the contract shall include the work tasks, the working place, the responsibilities of the position, the term of appointment, rights and obligations of both parties, the assessment methods, the dispute settlement mechanism and liability for breach of contract.
It is worth noting that, with the agreement of the employing institution, foreign teachers can reasonably work part-time in other educational institutions. But the accumulated part-time teaching time shall not exceed the teaching time in the employing institution.
Filing and Sharing of Teachers’ Information
For educational institutions, a material copy or electronic material of the employed teachers shall be uploaded to the national comprehensive information service platform for foreign teachers, and the service platform shall generate the record number of foreign teachers, one number for each foreign teacher.
Note: The national comprehensive information service platform for foreign teachers only allows the registration of educational administrative departments and educational institutions.
For government departments, information sharing mechanisms for foreign teachers should be established, including lists of foreign teachers who have been granted work permits to work in China and those who are prohibited from employment.
Three Ways to Make Suggestions
Here are three ways to give advice about the draft, from July 21 to August 21, 2020.
Log into the official website of Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China（www.moj.gov.cn/www.chinalaw.gov.cn）, and click the legislative opinions collection (立法意见征集) in the home page;
Send via mail to the policy and regulation judicial system office of the Ministry of Education. Address: No. 35, Damuchang Hutong, Xicheng District, Beijing (postcode: 100816).
As from 1st August 2020, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in South Africa. It will implement a newly developed online visa application form and appointment booking system. All applicants are required to log on to the official website of the Chinese Visa Application Service Center.(www.visaforchina.org), to fill out the E-form and make appointment online.
During the transitional period from 1st to 31st August 2020, applicants can still use the existing physical paper application forms. Starting from 1st September 2020, all applications will have to be submitted through the online application system. The Chinese Embassy and Consulates in South Africa will cease to accept application forms of version 2013.
For diplomatic, service and courtesy visas, applicants are required to complete the E-forms at www.visaforchina.org. Second, submit hard copies at the Chinese Embassy or Consulates in the South Africa. Appointment is not required.
Please be informed that the Chinese Embassy, Consulates-General as well as Chinese Visa Application Service Centre are all closed at the moment due to the nationwide lockdown. The above requirements will be implemented when services resume.
Feeling lonely is an inevitable side effect of self-isolating. Here are some tips for teachers living abroad on how to combat loneliness. As much as possible and maintain a healthy emotional and mental outlook:
Stay connected.
Reconnect with old friends.
Communicate with colleagues.
Reach out to those in need.
Accept help and support.
Keep up with your self-care.
Stay connected.
The best way to tackle feelings of loneliness is. Make an effort to stay connected with friends and family both at home and in your host country.
Use technology to your advantage to help keep in touch, especially with friends and relatives living alone.
Try to arrange a phone or video call whenever you can. Keeping track on a calendar of dates and times when you are free to do so.
Staying indoors for a long time can also mean that, when you connect with family and friends, you find yourself with little to talk about.
As a teacher living abroad, you may have lost touch with several of your friends back home.
Whether you’re navigating a new job in a new country or having lived abroad for years. Now is the perfect time to rekindle those friendships with individuals you never thought you’d lose touch with.
It is important to not feel pressured to reach out to people. However, friends should understand that living through a pandemic is no easy challenge since we are all in this together.
If you find yourself being distant from others, remember to not feel guilty about this. But instead do what is best for your mental health.
Communicate with colleagues.
Missing out on talking with colleagues regularly throughout the day can intensify feelings of loneliness.
Whereas before you could simply chat with a fellow teacher about work or what you saw on TV the night before. This essential social interaction has now been dramatically minimized as teachers work remotely.
Communication is easy to achieve throughout the working day by video. Calling coworkers to discuss your current teaching plans and ideas for the future.
Talk about something other than work, arrange a call during your breaks or in the evening to help stay connected and maintain a work-life balance.
If you’re a teacher in a country where lockdown rules are being eased slightly. You may now be allowed to meet up with a select number of individuals in an outdoor space.
Use this opportunity to catch up with some colleagues or friends while also keeping your distance.
Reach out to those in need.
If you think your family and friends are struggling, assure them that you’ll be there to speak to them and provide advice when they’re feeling overwhelmed and lonely.
However, as a teacher abroad, your family members may be hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away. Helping someone else’s family in times of need is a great way to fit in some much needed social contact and help others combat their own struggles of loneliness.
As you venture out for your weekly grocery run, reach out to neighbors or colleagues who are quarantined and ask if they need a few essentials.
As long as you remember to keep your distance, you shouldn’t be putting your health at risk.
Completing a good deed for others will help boost morale and lift a weight off the shoulders of those who are in need.
Helping out is also a great way to make new relationships while in quarantine.
If you’ve never spoken to your neighbors before, try leaving a friendly note and offering some encouragement.
If you’re a teacher living in an apartment building, this can be a great way to get to know a large group of people and share resources.
Accept help.
If you’re seriously worried about your mental health, it is vital to reach out to those who can help.
If you feel uncomfortable talking to a friend or family member about this, there are trained professionals who can help by listening and guide you to means of navigating and managing your emotions during this uncertain time.
Making sure you have easy access to your host country’s healthcare system and services is extremely important during this time.
For example, in some countries, you’ll need to have some kind of health insurance plan in place so you won’t incur any out of pocket fees when accessing local health services or facilities. Whether it’s for physical or mental health purposes.
Virtual health services are also available on specific international healthcare plans, allowing you to seek medical advice from inside your own home.
Keep up with your self-care.
Finally, don’t forget to give yourself some love and support too.
Self-care can be anything from exercising to dancing around in your apartment to good tunes or starting a daily journal.
The idea is to do something nice for yourself every day. This might be hard at first, but it’s so worth it.
It doesn’t have to be big either. But regularly taking care of yourself will boost your happiness and strengthen your relationship with yourself at the same time.
So go ahead and try to do more things that make you feel better and whole.
Draw, write, dance, meditate, exercise or eat a nutritious meal. Commit to at least one act of self-care a day.
Stay strong and keep at it!
Making the first step to reaching out for help can be a difficult one. But it is important to not suffer in silence from mental health issues that may arise, or be heightened as a result of self-isolation.
China is one of the countries that need English teachers the most, and while the chances are high for qualified candidates to be be accepted for any of the open positions, you will still want to be fully prepared for the interview that you will need to do.
After all, a successful interview is the best starting point of any careers including teaching English overseas!
Here are some helpful tips to prepare for a successful ESL job interview when applying to teach English in China:
Presenting Yourself
Many of these interviews are held via Skype or WeChat, which means that there is an excellent chance that you will be seen by those who are interviewing you.
Dress appropriately
Therefore, one of the first things that you will need to do in preparation for your interview is to find something suitable and professional to wear. This is not the time to simply roll out of bed and show up in front of your computer in your pajamas!
Confidence is the key
As you are speaking to your interviewers, you will want to converse in a clear and confident voice. Even if you are normally a quiet person, now is not the time to allow that to shine through.
You can start out by introducing yourself and giving them a little background on your education. These are both easy things to do and should help you find your voice and calm your nerves a little. After that, you can continue with your interests, hobbies, and past experiences.
Showing Your Interests (do your research!)
When you are going through your interview, you are going to want to make sure that the people who are asking the questions know that you are completely interested in the position that they have available. To do this, you should do a little research prior to your interview.
Student age, Curriculum & School events
A few things that you can find out in advance include the ages of the students, the curriculum that the school uses, how many locations the school has, and what types of extracurricular activities are available.
City environment
It is also recommended that you find attractions and destinations around the city or nearby the school, as it shows that you are interested in both the job and the area that you will be living in.
You may also want to research the cost of living in the area and be aware of how your paycheck will cover your expenses. Of course, you may also want to find out what other benefits you can get besides your salary packages, such as housing, flight allowances, as well as support such as training and local assistance. These all together, can affect your final decision.
Once you know all this information, you can plan for different scenarios that you may be presented during the interview. You may not know the answers to these scenarios without having done the research first, but you will after you do some additional research as to how to work best with the students.
Technical Aspects
Make sure you have the right apps downloaded
Technology always works when you don’t need it to, but it can be a little off when you need it the most. Prior to your interview, you should install the app that you will be using. This may be Skype, WeChat, or any other app that the school you are applying at uses.
Familiarize yourself with the app
Once you have it installed, you will want to make sure that you have created a log in to use for your interview. It is also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the app and maybe even test it out, so that you know you are ready when it is time for your appointment.
Make sure the internet connection is strong
You will need a strong internet connection for your interview, so that there is no lag in the conversation or frozen screens. This is not the time to have everyone else in your home using bandwidth, so you may want to tell everyone that they need to stay offline while you are in your interview.
It is a good idea to check your internet connection when you are testing the app, as it will give you time to make necessary adjustments.
Obviously, you should do both of those things at least a day or two before your interview and not a few minutes before it starts. Remember, technology can be very finicky!
Find a quiet place
A quiet place is another necessity for your interview and you will want to determine where that location is sooner than later. This will allow you to ensure that it truly is quiet during the time that you will need it.
You may want to consider a space where the windows and door can be closed, so that outside interruptions are at a minimum.
You should also keep all ringing phones out of the space, so an unexpected phone call does not interrupt the flow of your interview. This includes your cell phone, but if you think that you may need it for something, at least turn the ringer off before proceedings.
Conclusion:
These three tips are full of information that will help you prepare for a successful interview. A brief recap:
1. Presenting Yourself
Confidence is the key
Dress appropriately
Introduce who you are and education background
2. Showing Your Interests (do your research!)
Student age
Curriculum
School events
City environment
Cost of living
3. Technical Aspects
Make sure you have the right apps downloaded (depending on the school, the interview might be conducted via Skype or WeChat)
Familiarize yourself with the app
Make sure the internet connection is strong
Find a quiet place
Please consider them carefully, so that you can proceed to the next step, which will be flying over to China to teach your first class of students.
On April 26, 2020, Hubei CDC announced that the residence permit of foreigners in Hubei would be extended for two months without going through any formalities for extension during the epidemic period.
Feedback from Some Major Cities
What to Do After Your 60 Day Visa Extension?
The key point is that the policy of two-month automatic extension is still working in China, however, each visa holder is supposed to enjoy it once and only. That is to say, if your visa has been automatically extended, and you need to have it renewed further, then you will have to go handle it in person.
Below are the detailed feedbacks from 9 major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Yiwu, Nanjing, Tianjin and Shenyang.
Before the two-month automatic renewal expires, expats in Beijing should go to the exit & entry administration with the required materials for processing. Whether they can have their visas renewed or not will depend on the actual situations of theirs.
The administration reminded that holders of expiring visas shall pay close attention to the official website of the Immigration Bureau for policy updates.
Per the staff of Shenzhen exit & entry administration, whether expats can have their visas extended or not will depend on the type of visa, the previous entry time, the length of stay and its validity period. Expats in the city may dial the foreign language service hotline at 0755-1258088 to inquire their next move.
Expats whose residence permits are about to expire shall go to the local entry-exit hall for visa extension with the necessary materials and a result will be given there depending on the individual situation.
According to the Chengdu Entry-Exit Administration, the current 60-day renewal policy is only for foreigners in China who are unable to leave due to the epidemic. As for the other expats, the extension should be decided as per the type of visa.
It is worth mentioning that in the case that a visa /resident permit expires but before that its holder has already applied for a renewal which hasn’t been processed, a two-month extension will be given.
Per Hangzhou entry-exit staff, whether an extension will be given as well as its length will be decided per the visa types. Visa holders shall go to the entry-exit hall to submit the application in person with required materials, and the result will be given there.
If a residence permit expires after February 28, 2020, it can be automatically extended for 60 days; if it expires before that, then it constitutes illegal residence. However, in light of the epidemic situation. its holder will be treated in a lighter way as long as they go to Yiwu Entry-Exit Administration Bureau ASAP. Along with relevant materials for processing.
For other expats, they may go through an extension procedure as usual by going to the local exit & entry administration with materials.
Foreigners in Nanjing whose residence permits are about to expire will have to go to the local entry-exit hall for processing with the relevant materials required. A result will be given based on the individual situation.
Besides, according to people familiar with the matter, it’s unlikely for tourist visa holders who have enjoyed a 60-day extension to receive another one, which is to say, they will probably have to leave before it expires.
Tianjin
The extension will be decided on the type of visa. Foreigners shall make an appointment on the official website of Tianjin Entry and Exit Administration before the expiration. After that, they will receive an interview and be told if they will be able to stay or not.
Shenyang
According to Shenyang Entry and Exit Administration staff. Expats can go get their visas extended 10 days in advance before expiration. Like other cities, whether one can stay or not will be decided on the actual situation.
Additionally, the situation of Guangzhou remains unclear to us, as we couldn’t reach the entry-exit staff for the time being. We will cover the updates if there is any.
Hong Kong and Singapore airports will lift their bans on transit passengers from the start of June as part of the easing of coronavirus restrictions which have stunted the economy and decimated air travel.
The moves will be especially welcomed by Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines, which rely on their respective home airports as transfer hubs for connecting flights more than destinations in their own right.
Hong Kong Airport to lift transit bans from June 1
Transit services at Hong Kong International Airport will “gradually resume” from June 1, city leader Carrie Lam confirmed at a press briefing earlier today.
“The epidemic has eased,” she said. “We are resuming daily activities in society and economy step by step.”
Hong Kong implemented a ban on all visitors to the city, and passengers in transit through Hong Kong International Airport, on March 24.
All arrivals at the airport are currently required to go to the nearby AsiaWorld Expo site for COVID-19 testing, before proceeding to their home for the mandatory 14 day quarantine period.
There’s been no advice as to if this practice will continue, nor what restrictions might be imposed on passengers in transit at the airport itself, although wearing masks may be required.
Cathay Pacific, which has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, has since April operated to “a skeleton schedule” of barely a dozen destinations served by just a handful of flights per week.
However, the airline plans aim to put a little flesh onto those bones with a slow but steady rebuild of its international network beginning June 21.
This will see Sydney, London Heathrow, Los Angeles and Vancouver boosted to five flights per week. Melbourne is set for three flights per week, along with Amsterdam, Frankfurt, San Francisco, Mumbai and Delhi.
Cathay will also mount daily flights to Singapore, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City, while its Asia-focussed Cathay Dragon arm is set for daily service to Beijing, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur.
Singapore Changi Airport to lift transit bans from June 2
Travellers will once again be allowed to transit through Singapore’s Changi Airport from June 2, although in the short term, Singapore stopovers will be very different to what travellers are accustomed to.
Instead of browsing the duty-free shops or kicking back in the airline lounge , transit passengers will “remain in designated facilities in the transit area and not mix with other passengers whilst at Changi Airport,” said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in announcing the relaxed restrictions overnight.
Airport staff will wear personal protective equipment when interacting with passengers, while existing precautionary measures, such as safe distancing and temperature checks for passengers and staff, will remain in place.
Singapore’s ban on transit passengers came into effect from Tuesday March 24, accompanied by a ban on short-term visitors to the island nation, after it recorded its first two deaths from Covid-19 complications.
In the last decade or so, the ESL teaching industry has been changing with technology like nobody’s business. You no longer have to travel across borders to teach foreign students. Better yet, you don’t even have to struggle to find a classroom or workspace to meet in person. Instead, you can teach ESL online from home! And you don’t even have to get out of your PJs! Strike that. On second thought, you should throw on something a bit more professional because you still want to look the part. After all, teaching English online is a paid job and it’s one you should take seriously..
Teaching English online is a great alternative to teaching abroad. The flexibility, comfort, and freedom give teachers from across the globe a chance to interact with international students while working from home.
Whether you are looking to earn extra money, set your own work schedule, or make a difference in the lives of others, you’ll be able to find it in CYI in cooperation with Jensen360 to teach English from home opportunities. Teaching English as a second language is now easier than ever. All you need to do is apply, and we’ll help with the rest.
Students at Yangzheng Primary School Hangzhou, China return to school with wide hats to ensure they stay apart. Picture: Zhejiang Daily via @SixthTone/Twitter
4 Reasons toTeach Online
Flexible Working Hours
Make A Difference In Students’ Lives
Work From Home Convenience
Teach the same student every week,and build great rapport
Get Paid Online
Teaching Online in China
Teach Kids or Adults, You Choose!
Whether you have an interest in teaching kids online or adults online, good news; CYI offers both positions when you decide to teach from home with us. We offer a range of lessons for two age groups of students, varying from conversational group classes to private and tailored one-to-one lessons. We have award-winning course material to help give you a basis in your lessons, as well as 24/7 technical support should you run into any issues.
Students in Classroom in school – China
Who Are We?
Zhejiang China Youth International Cultural Consulting Development Co., Ltd., (CYI) founded in 2001, is subordinate to Zhejiang Provincial Youth League Committee. Holding the “Certificate of Qualification for Employing Foreign Experts” issued by State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, the P.R.C, our company, China Youth International (CYI) has established a stable partnership of cooperation with over 500 education institutions. Offering thousands of foreign specialists to domestic enterprises and institutions, and creating oversea study opportunities for more than 20,000 students, our company has formed a patten as Hangzhou centered with wide radiation covering Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Our staff shall develop our cultural and educational brand with the concept of “Serving with honesty, high-quality and efficiency.” We have been leading the hiring and education industry for almost two decades now and we pride ourselves in the service quality we offer.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a huge impact in a very short space of time on the online English language teaching (ELT) industry in China. With hundreds of thousands of students effectively unable to leave their homes, schools, brick-and-mortar language schools and existing online teaching companies rushed to get as many of them learning online as possible. As with everything in China, the change from classroom-based teaching to online learning was incredibly fast, and while many people are now back at work, many schools have still not reopened. Primary and secondary schools started online classes in Shanghai as of March 2. Classes are delivered either via cable TV channels or through platforms like Ding Talk, a popular chat and video conferencing app (think a mix of WhatsApp and Zoom). Indeed, Ding Talk reports that more than 700,000 students in Wuhan alone are taking classes on the platform.
MARKET STRAIN
The market was difficult even before the outbreak, with competition from the new online language schools. This put a real strain on brick and mortar schools that were teaching offline. It was only in October of 2019 when Webi (Web International English), a large chain, went out of business leaving staff unpaid and students without reimbursement.
With the coronavirus, many language schools across China faced a huge problem. In an already challenging market, they were unable to operate. Faced with no income and potentially still liable for their ongoing costs such as rental and staff salaries, they have experienced heavy losses in what is traditionally a strong sales period after the Chinese New Year.
Moreover larger online providers like TAL have been looking to capitalise on the situation by partnering with over 300 public schools across China and others offering free or discounted classes.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE OUTBREAK IS FINALLY OVER?
While primary and secondary schools may return to school as normal, the situation could be very different for smaller language schools. Students may return and some may survive with a big hit to their annual income.
But while students may return in the short term to take classes they had already paid for, now that they have experienced online classes, which they may not have done before, will they continue to enrol in courses, or will they switch to online providers?
In the online training webinars I have run there is a clear fear among language schools that they have to adapt quickly to online teaching, not just during the coronavirus, but for the foreseeable future.
THE ATTRACTION OF ONLINE ENGLISH CLASSES
Online English classes are not a new phenomenon in China. EF, Education First, a big player in the Chinese market, has been running online classes as part of a blended/hybrid model (where students do some classes face to face and additional classes online) since the early 2000s.
The proposition is simple. As a student or parent, a decade ago, you had to enrol at your local language school, hope they provide a good teacher and spend a significant proportion of your income. Now you can enrol your child at an online school, pick and choose the teacher and not have to sit and wait in the lounge for the class to finish after work or on the weekend. If you are not happy with the school, you can simply switch to another provider.
CAN BRICK-AND-MORTAR LANGUAGE SCHOOLS SURVIVE?
Given this potentially accelerated competition from online, many schools are asking more than ever ‘what they can do to compete with purely online schools?’ A common strategy seems to be to try to move to a blended/hybrid model, the strategy that Education First has been using for several years.
There are challenges in doing this. Not only do brick-and-mortar schools need to differentiate from online schools somehow, the transition to online teaching, as many have experienced, is not easy.
While in the short term platforms like Ding Talk work as they can be deployed very quickly and cheaply, they are not really designed as online classrooms and don’t have the key features required for teaching (interactive class materials, student reward systems, drawing tools etc.) Nor do they have student and teacher management systems to handle scheduling, class feedback or customer service.
While parents will no doubt understand the expediency of teaching online via a platform like Ding Talk, it’s not a sustainable model long term (unless Ding Talk adjusts the platform quickly for its new user case!)
RECRUITMENT OF FOREIGN TEACHERS
There is an industry tied to the ELT industry that recruits foreign teachers into China. There is a lot of concern that the supply of qualified foreign teachers will become even tighter. In the short term at least, rightly or wrongly, China may no longer be seen an attractive destination for teachers due to the coronavirus. Given the Chinese government’s recent tightening of regulations on teachers’ qualifications and backgrounds, some smaller schools are going to need to reassess the feasibility of the foreign teacher in the offline classroom.
With no reduction in desire from parents and students for qualified foreign teachers however, new models for language schools will be needed if foreign teacher supply does indeed fall. One option that will need to be explored is an expanded role for high-quality local teachers teaching in the offline classroom coupled with an independent contractor foreign teacher teaching online. This could be either joining the classroom live via a teaching platform or as additional classes when students are at home.
AND THE REST OF THE WORLD?
The impact of the coronavirus will not just be felt in the Chinese ELT market, but many other countries that rely on China as a source of a lot of their students. With the travel restrictions due to the fear of a global spread Chinese students are not travelling to language schools and camps abroad. In the UK bookings have already fallen dramatically, and with other major sources of students, such as Italy and Japan, also reducing bookings the future is looking rather bleak for some businesses. They too will need to find ways to adapt to the changing future of ELT.
We have been saying it for years but the coronavirus may have just proved it. The future of language teaching not just in China, but globally, is online.
From exploring quirky museums and contemporary art, eating sour dumplings and drinking craft cocktails, and visiting the Buddha temple and sailing on a riverboat tour, here are the very best things to see and do while visiting Shanghai, China.
The Bund
The Bund is Shanghai’s waterfront boulevard, lined in the heritage buildings that showcase the city’s pre-1949 past and across the river from the Pudong skyscrapers of its future. Along the Bund, Shanghai’s street life is in full force. It’s bustling even at dawn, with locals ballroom dancing, exercising, and practicing tai chi and qi gong. Day and night, Chinese tourists, foreigners, and Shanghai locals walk the Bund, snapping photos of each other backed by the skyscrapers. At night, the towers are lit with flashing neon lights reflected in the Huangpu River.
The Bund – Shanghai, China
Yu Garden
While the area around Yu Garden is commercialized and the garden itself not as impressive as the classical gardens of Suzhou, it’s one of the few old sights left in Shanghai, and a valuable piece of the city’s rapidly disappearing past. Commissioned in 1559 by Ming Dynasty official Pan Yunduan, the garden was built over nearly two decades by the renowned architect Zhang Nanyang. In the mid-1800s, it was here that the Society of Small Swords planned their uprising against the French colonists, who then destroyed the garden during the first Opium War. After you walk around carp-filled ponds and through the rock gardens and bamboo groves, visit the small museum dedicated to the Society of Small Swords rebellion.
chungking / Shutterstock
French Concession
In 1849, Shanghai ceded an area for French settlement to the French Consul. The French consulate built Western-style homes and imported London plane trees to shade the streets. Foreigners shopped, drank, and dined, and some got up to no good, visiting opium dens and brothels. As the concession expanded, British and American expats moved in, eventually followed by White Russians. Today, despite massive redevelopment throughout the city, the French Concession looks much as it did a century ago. Its streets today are comparably quiet and leafy, lined in cafés, boutiques, and restaurants.
Photo: Mariagroth | Dreamstime.com
Shanghai Museum
The adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” surely applies to Shanghai Museum, whose exterior—designed to look like an ancient bronze cooking vessel called a ding—is not pleasing to the eye. Within the museum are more than 120,000 pieces spread across 11 galleries. You’ll find paintings, bronzes, ceramics, sculptures, jade, calligraphy, Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, coins, and jewelry. The dress and costume gallery showcases intricate handiwork from some of China’s 55 ethnic minority groups. English signage is quite good, and audio guides are available.
Photo: Eastphoto | Dreamstime.com
People’s Square
The geographical center of Shanghai, People’s Square is an enormous public square in which Shanghai denizens hang out all day, every day. Residents stroll, practice tai chi, and fly kites. Grandparents sit, drinking tea from thermoses and gossiping. Come evening, ballroom dancers hold group lessons. The subway station below people’s square is the intersection of metro lines 1, 2, and 8, and is estimated to be the busiest metro station in China, handling some 700,000 people every day. People’s Square is home to Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center. For kids, there’s a tiny amusement park with inexpensive rides. Weekends here are extremely busy, particularly on Xizang Road.
Nanjing Lu
Shanghai’s main shopping street, Nanjing Lu (lu means road) runs in two sections—East Nanjing Road, from the Bund to People’s Square, and West Nanjing Road, from People’s Square to Jing’an district. A walk along Nanjing Road in either direction is a walk through the city’s history. East Nanjing Road is the Times Square of Shanghai, pedestrianized and lit by the blaze of neon signs. It has long been Shanghai’s high street, and at the turn of the century had eight posh department stores and a slew of smaller shops. West Nanjing Road ran through the International Settlement and was called Bubbling Well Road. It was quiet and tree-lined, a popular place for expats to stroll and home to a few residences. It was home to Bubbling Well Cemetery, which is now Jing’an Park, and all that remains of its past is a row of imported London planes. Today, West Nanjing Road is a busy upscale street, lined in gleaming malls, shops, offices, and hotels.
Huangpu Riverboat Tour
The Huangpu River divides Shanghai in two. The older west side, Puxi, is the city center. The newer east side, Pudong, starts off with Shanghai’s trio of supertall skyscrapers—Jinmao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, and Shanghai Tower—and then gradually becomes more suburban. Huangpu River tours offer a gentle immersion into Shanghai and are particularly pleasant at night when buildings on both sides are lit up. Your best bet is the 40-minute cruise departing from the base of the Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong. You can sit inside or out, and it’s just long enough to take in the scenery and enjoy the breeze.
Pudong Skyscrapers
Puxi, Shanghai’s west side, has the city’s historic buildings, and Pudong, its east, has the skyscrapers. These are concentrated in the Lujiazui neighborhood, just across from the Bund. The 88-floor Jin Mao Tower (8 is an auspicious number), is a postmodern spin on a classic 13-tier Buddhist pagoda design. Zoom to the tower’s top-floor observation deck and take in the 360-degree views, or skip the line and settle into a window seat at Grand Hyatt’s 87th-floor Cloud 9 bar. Just across the street is Shanghai World Financial Center, aka “The Bottle Opener.” It has three observation decks, the highest of which is on the 100th floor. The view from the top is thrilling—on a clear day, you’ll feel as if you’re floating above the city, and when it’s overcast, it’s as if you’re adrift in the clouds. As with Jin Mao Tower, you can skip the crowds of the observation deck by going for tea or a drink at Park Hyatt’s 87th-floor Living Room. The crown jewel of the trio is Shanghai Tower—China’s tallest building and the world’s second tallest—gently curving 2,000 feet into the sky. Its observation deck is on the 119th floor, and your vista is a sweeping panorama of the city, looking down on Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin Mao Tower. The Oriental Pearl Tower appears like a toy; the cars, people, and trees on the road 1,800 feet below tiny as a scale model.
Contemporary Art
Time was Beijing had China’s best contemporary art, in 798 Art District, but today Shanghai is bursting with galleries and contemporary art museums exhibiting world-class shows. The Power Station of Art, in a former power plant on the one-time World Expo site has no permanent collection, instead hosting large-scale exhibitions, such as works from top Chinese artist Cai Guoqiang or a Warhol retrospective. A block in from the Bund, in a beautifully restored 1932 Art Deco building is Rockbund Art Museum, where galleries installed with temporary exhibitions from artists like Zhang Huan and Felix-Gonzalez Torres lead up to a roof deck. Down on the South Bund are Yuz Museum and Long Museum. Yuz, in a former airplane hanger, has hosted a retrospective on Charlie Chaplin and Instagram-fave installation Rain Room by Random International. Long has highlighted top artists in Southwestern Chinese modern art and French-American artist Louise Bourgeois.
Sip Craft Cocktails
Shanghai has gone through a cocktail renaissance, with dozens of bars now slinging good quality and inventive craft cocktails. For an easy Shanghai bar crawl, work your way around the French Concession or Jing’an, or head down to the Bund for drinks with a skyline view. So where to drink? There are the speakeasies, like intimate, quiet Speak Low where the bartenders deliver drinks like the Sawadee-Cup, Thai-style bubble tea with brown butter-washed rum. Union Trading Company is a neighborhood bar that deals in classic cocktails but also a rotating list of the zingy and new, like Banana Alexander (cream, rum, banana liqueur). In winter, cozy, dim Senator Saloon is where you’ll find expats whiskey cocktails. At the first hint of warm weather, pony up for the Bulgari’s eponymous cocktail at their 48th-floor rooftop bar. It’s a sweet-summery mix of Aperol, gin, lime, and pineapple and orange juices.
Slurp up Soup Dumplings
Ask five locals where to get the best soup dumplings in Shanghai (that’s xiaolongbao) and you’ll get five different answers. Everyone has a favorite neighborhood joint, but there are a few clear winners of the best xiaolongbao in Shanghai award. The line outside Jia Jia Tang Bao, just north of People’s Square, is a clear indication it’s worth the wait. Grab a plastic stool and slurp up plain pork soup dumplings, pork and crab, or crab roe, the priciest. Fuchun, the original or one of its many branches, is slightly more upmarket, a restaurant where families go for more than xiaolongbao, but you’re here for just that. If you want half a dozen varieties of xiaolongbao in a lovely setting—there are truffles, the service is great—go to Din Tai Fung.
Eat Your Heart out
Mexican, Mediterranean, Mongolian, and every variety of Chinese cuisine, from spicy Hunan and Sichuan to more mellow, dim-sum slinging Cantonese: Shanghai has nearly everything you could possibly crave, at price points budget to blow out. You’re in Shanghai, so start with its food, like bowls of cong you ban mian (scallion oil noodles), before diving into greater China—hearty dumplings from northeastern China (Dongbei cuisine) at Four Seasons Dumpling King; warming, spicy hot pot from Chengdu; pan-fried cheese from Yunnan province. From here, your options are limitless: gussy up and go down to the Bund for Michelin-starred Italian food backed by a glittering skyline; head west to Hongqiao for Korean barbecue. We won’t blame you if you leave Shanghai a few pounds heavier.
Teaching abroad and traveling are popular choices among people who have finished university, but aren’t quite ready to enter the working world. Both are valuable experiences that open your eyes to a new culture and way of life, but which is best? When it comes to exploring the Middle Kingdom, teaching English arguably offers more advantages over traveling. Here are some of the main benefits of teaching in China offers over tourism.
Ancient history, age-old traditions, and cultural superstitions combine to make Chinese culture both rich and complex. Visitors get a mere glimpse of this 5,000-year-old civilization, while those teaching in China have the chance to delve deeper and experience more of this fascinating country.
Living and teaching in China, you will discover fascinating cultural differences and language through everyday tasks such as going to the supermarket, commuting and visiting the bank. Living in a typical apartment in a local neighborhood, you truly will experience how the locals live.
Between life in and outside of work, English teachers in China meet a wide range of people. From your students to your colleagues, to the street food seller you pass on your commute, your daily routine opens you up to interacting with people from all walks of life. Forming friendships, discovering the language and working with locals will help you better understand and appreciate the culture than perhaps possible as a tourist.
Though teaching in China is growing in popularity, many remain under the impression it’s simply for those who wish to begin a teaching career, and may instead choose to travel.
Of course, teaching abroad is extremely advantageous for anyone planning to teach in their home country. Though, what many don’t realize is that it is an enriching experience that equips you with skills useful to almost any industry.
International experience is becoming increasingly sought after by employers. Living and teaching abroad not only gives you this but also the ability to adapt to a new culture, way of life and working environment. When competing against hundreds of applicants with equally impressive credentials, such experience certainly helps you stand out from the crowd.
If you’re still not sure about the teaching, consider the variety of skills you can gain from it. Public speaking, adaptability, problem solving, and time management are just a few skills teachers use that are sought by employers across the board. Furthermore, foreign language skills are highly desired in many industries. The exposure to native speakers, immersive environment and appealing schedule teaching in China provides, make it ideal for language learning.
An Exciting Way of Life
The reality of teaching in China is just as exciting as it sounds. Even mundane tasks like popping to the shop, taking the bus, or commuting are interesting in a foreign culture. You might have traveled across the world to work, but work is only part of the adventure. There’s always something to learn in your new environment and whether you’re in the classroom or exploring, it’s equally enthralling.
This excitement of daily life is augmented by the appreciation English teachers in China receive from their colleagues and students. The respect for teachers and interest in foreigners among general Chinese society means you will be welcomed into your new home and workplace and feel valued. Moreover, English teachers in China have the opportunity to make a real impact on students’ lives. English education is extremely important in China and the exposure to your native accent and culture will help them hugely. This truly rewarding experience helps you give to the community in a way that is simply not possible for tourists.
Get The Best of Both Worlds by Teaching in China
Foreign English teachers are in particularly high demand in China, making it a very appealing destination to teach in. Long-term English teachers in China receive generous salaries in exchange for teaching an appealing schedule. Salary and working hours depend of course on location, but English teachers in China can earn around 5000 – 17,000 RMB per month and teach for 15-30 hours per week. In addition, most schools provide free accommodation close to the campus, giving English teachers in China with a comfortable lifestyle.
Long-term English teachers in China benefit from several national holidays throughout the year. This, combined with generous salaries and minimal expenses easily allows teachers in China to get the best of both worlds; earning while travelling. A 7-day holiday in October, 4-6 weeks in January and various long weekends thro
The Flexibility of Teaching in China
The beauty of teaching in China is the flexibility it offers. If you, like many others, realise towards the end of your contract you haven’t had enough, it’s easy to extend. Your school is likely to offer you a renewed contract, sometimes with a pay rise. Should you decide it’s time to move on, you’ll find that schools across the country are looking for teachers. With some TEFL experience under your belt, you’re sure to find a suitable role.
You may even find teaching in China has whetted your appetite for teaching abroad and a new challenge. Several of our previous teachers have returned to China, while others have embarked on an adventure in a different country. Whatever you choose to do after, you’ll find that teaching in China opens so many doors!
throughout the year means that whether you want a shortstop in Japan or a few weeks in Thailand, you’re sure to get the chance!
