The school I work has been an absolute shit show from day one with the Chinese teachers ganging up on me and trying to get me into as much trouble as possible. Even one of the managers has admitted this.

I was off work for a short time and a young white woman was substituting my class. I'm not a woman and I'm not white. In fact I was turned away from loads of jobs due to my face and it took many months to land this job. One of my other non white colleagues has also experienced problems with the same Chinese staff member making up bogus BS complaints about my colleague.

Upon my return I was taken into a meeting and given this BS personal improvement plan with a one month deadline.

Apparently loads of parents saw the substitute teacher and were asking if their kid could change to her class. I assume the parents just don't like the look of me.

I've recently seen the school advertising for a new teacher.

There are no vacancies and none of my colleagues are resigning.

I'm not as stupid as the school thinks I am. I just wonder when the specific date of my last day will be. I assume they will wait until the one month PIP has ended and then break the news to me.

I've had a string of one year jobs for various reasons and schools have been questioning this.

I want to ask your advice on how I should frame this firing on my CV. I'm going to ask if this school can say I was doing temporary maternity cover.

Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated.

Hello

my eyes are quite sensitive to contact lenses, I have always used a specific type, Dailies Total One, for my entire life. Now i’m in china and i don’t have enough, someone can recommend a good brand to buy on taobao please???

If you study in China, you know the pain: the lecture slides are on 学习通, but there’s no download button, so you’re stuck clicking through them in the browser

So I post a small Tampermonkey script. It adds a Download PDF button under the slide viewer, and one click gets you the whole deck as a single PDF.

• counts the pages up front
• downloads in parallel and shows progress with an ETA
• names the file after the chapter
• no dependencies, everything runs in your browser

require Tampermonkey (or alternative) chrome extension, then open the .user.js from the repo and copy script in "Create a new script..." by clicking Tampermonkey icon

GitHub: https://github.com/Mooly612/chaoxing-pdf-downloader

It’s for offline study only, so please don’t share course materials
Bug reports are welcome

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone can answer some potentially basic questions in regards to attending events/concerts in China as a foreigner. My fiancee and I are planning to travel to China quite a bit. We're fans of certain brands in China that host events where you can buy tickets to. My understanding is these types of event tickets are sold on things like billi billi or Daimai (Maiseat for global). And my additional understanding is that you would typically need a Chinese phone number and either an ID or passport to validate your identity through an app as you make the purchase.

The area I have questions about is, if I want to book travel to China, and let's say I know there's an event in December I want to go to with tickets going on sale in September. Let's also assume there are no international tickets on associated platforms And I'm also planning a trip in March. Is it possible or sensible to go to China in March. Buy a phone and a phone plan while I'm there, this phone plan would (I assume) need to include international roaming if possible, while there download the applications for the apps where tickets would go on sale.

The only way I could think to do this would be if I knew someone who could purchase on my behalf but we're people who like to do things ourselves. Somebody tell me if this is overthinking or there's a service that achieves the same thing, etc. I don't mind going through these efforts if it meant we could have an easier time booking things in China while not physically in the country.

Thanks!

Hey fellow expats. Ive been studying in China for 4 year already, recently wanted to create a PayPal account in China + I cannot do it directly with my passport, since my country is not supported by PayPal.

However, when i created my account and verified my email, the next step was providing personal information. And there is no way to upload a residence permit, police adress registration or any other document; it only has a National ID (身份证) option. Has anyone had similar issue and how was it solved, thanks in advance

Hey everyone!

I’m an Australian guy in my mid-20s, and my fiancée is Chinese. We’ve been together for 3 years after meeting at university, engaged for about 2.5 years, and we’re finally getting married in early 2027!

Throughout our relationship, I’ve travelled to China quite a few times. I’m actually in China right now on my fifth visit, and every time I come here, I find myself liking it more and more.

There’s just something about life here that I really enjoy. I feel incredibly safe, the food is amazing, there’s so much to see and do, the cities feel lively, and everything seems so convenient. Whether it’s public transport, ordering food, shopping, or just going out at night, I genuinely love the lifestyle.

I’m from Melbourne, Australia, and while Australia is obviously a great place to live, I sometimes find myself wondering whether I’d actually be happier living in China.

But here’s my question: Am I just experiencing the honeymoon phase of visiting China, or is everyday life genuinely as enjoyable as it seems?

I understand that visiting a country on holiday is completely different from actually living and working there. When I’m in China, I don’t have to worry about employment, paying bills, dealing with bureaucracy, or all the other responsibilities that come with normal life.
Since we’re both still in our mid-20s and getting married soon, we’re at a point where we can seriously think about what country we’d like to build our future in.
I’d really love to hear from Westerners who have moved to China, especially Australians, or people in international relationships who have experienced living in both countries.

A few things I’m particularly curious about:

Quality of life: For those who have lived in both China and a Western country, which do you genuinely prefer and why? Has your opinion changed over time?

Work and salaries: How difficult is it for a Westerner to find a decent job in China outside of teaching English? Is it realistic to build a long-term career there, particularly without being fluent in Mandarin?

Work-life balance: I’ve heard that Chinese work culture can be quite demanding. Is the 996 culture really that common? How does it compare with working in Australia?

Cost of living: I know everyday expenses can be significantly cheaper in China, but how does that compare when you factor in local salaries, housing costs, healthcare and savings? Do you actually end up financially better off?

Housing and homeownership: What’s it like buying property in China as a married couple? Is homeownership realistically affordable in major cities compared with Australia?

Social life and fitting in: Do you ever feel like you’ll always be considered a foreigner, regardless of how long you’ve lived there or how well you speak Mandarin? Is it difficult to make genuine long-term friendships?

Healthcare and future family: How does the healthcare system compare with Western countries? For those raising children in China, what are the advantages and disadvantages of schooling and family life?

Freedom and convenience: Are there things you took for granted in your home country that you only started missing after moving to China? What everyday frustrations don’t tourists usually notice?

Long-term happiness: For people who have lived in China for 5–10+ years, does the excitement eventually wear off? Do you still enjoy living there as much as when you first arrived?

Future opportunities: With how quickly China has developed, do you think quality of life will continue improving over the next 10–20 years? Would you personally choose to build your future there?

I’m not trying to claim that China is better than Australia or vice versa. I know both countries have their strengths and weaknesses, and everyone’s experience is different.
I just find it interesting that despite having a pretty comfortable life in Australia, every time I come to China I start questioning whether I’d enjoy living here more.

For those who made the move, was the reality better or worse than you expected? And if you had the choice again, would you still move to China?

Would love to hear some genuine experiences, both positive and negative. Thanks!

Hello,

Im currently residing in China and was wondering if its legal or possible for my friend in Japan to send me cigarettes via the mail from Japan to China? There are a few brands i want to try, naturally the postage would be limited to a small personal quantity but im getting some conflicted information online so im a bit unsure. Any help or insights would be greatly appreciated!

It’s a pretty crazy story. In Switzerland, my home country, I never would have gotten it back. I lost my phone at a nightclub in Macau and the next day I searched everywhere for it at my hotel, nowhere to be found. I managed to track its location, even though it had no SIM card and no internet connection. I assumed it had been stolen and that I’d end up finding the thief’s location... but that wasn’t the case. It turned out to be 8 km away from the nightclub, at a police station. I went to pick it up, and they told me that someone had brought it in and handed it over to the police. It’s incredible, is China really that safe?

Taobao is cleaned out, like completely. I cant even buy the fake ones anymore, which I begrudgingly delt with. Guess its time to switch to nicotine gum and cigarettes.

Culture, cost of living and work life differences?

So i'm a 30 year old male from Belgium and my gf is from Shanghai area. We been seeing each other now for like 3-4 years. I been 6 times to China over that time but we text daily. The plan was always for me to move to China and get involved in the business somehow. My gf her parents have a big business in China, 450 people work there. Ironically that is how i met her, they bought machines from my dad his business.

Now the problem is that her parents seem like very strict about anything. The kind of people that would beat you up with a belt for not doing homework. So my gf is naturally scared of her parents. She actually never told her parents we have a relationship and it's starting to bother me a lot. I feel a bit like she is ashamed of me or something, or hiding something, but now i realize her parents will probably tell her not to marry me, that i won't stay in China and all that crap. Talk her out of it. So that is why she never tells them scared for their reaction. How fucked am i right now? If they actually gave me a chance i probably would be a good manager of that factory because i know everything about the business they are in since we sell machines for it... I know everyone in the whole business and i have some great ideas for things they can improve and do wrong right now. Since they just hired some incompetent people there is much to improve.

I feel like if her parents don't accept me i'm pretty much screwed. Because if we marry in secret they will be furious probably and for me to stay in China she would need to actually get me some job as manager or something. Or ceo when her dad leaves. He's getting old.

Also something else she is like few years older than me

34 and her parents are constantly raging about that. Which i partly get but the way they do it is pretty disrespectful. Like she is only there to get her grandchildren? That is how they act. Or like she is some scum for not getting married...

What am i getting myself into? Any advice?

What is the possibility and process of getting employed by a school itself and moving away from the agent? I signed a 2 year contract with my agent, but I want to finish one year and then go and find a job and work for the school, not agent. How can this work?

Okay here, I m an Malaysian, I,m tamil speaking Malysian so I just need to learn chinese , I m working in a construction management team and most of my technicians and colleagues are chinese , I can able to understand chinese cannot speak as much as they . If I have a chinese friend to learn chinese ........IF ANYONE IS COMFORTABLE PLEASE DM ME...

How does one book the qingdao Incheon ferry? None of the suggested websites seem to work, do we need to wait until we are in qingdao and go in person to the ferry port?

We are looking to take the ferry in mid November as part of a round the world trip.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in the process of putting together my application for a Z work visa and I'm based in the UK. As expected, I need to get my core documents notarised and apostilled.

I've started looking into how to go about this but I’d love to hear about recent experiences or advice on a few specific points:

1. Solicitor Certification vs. Public Notary: Did you use a standard UK solicitor or a registered Public Notary? I’ve seen conflicting info on whether a cheaper solicitor certification is accepted or if it strictly requires a Notary Public stamp.
2. Direct FCDO vs. Express Agencies: Did you process the apostille yourself directly through the FCDO Legalisation Office online (£45/doc)? How long are turnaround times taking right now? If you used an all-in-one third-party agency, was it worth the extra cost?
3. Medical Checks: Did you need to find a specialist provider or go through a GP or a private GP?
4. General Watch-outs: Any unexpected hiccups or mistakes to avoid when getting documents prepped?

If anyone has recently gone through this process or can recommend reliable, affordable services, I’d really appreciate your insight!

Thanks in advance!

hi i'm planning to study in china for my undergrad, i'm in kuwait right now and i recently found out there was some beef w china and google and google banned every single application of theirs in china, and somehow even instagram is banned in china??? how do people survive that

Hallo zusammen, ich habe schon öfters China besucht und viele verschiedene chinesische Städte bereist und habe für etwa 8 Monate in der Stadt Hengyang in der Provinz Hunan gelebt.

Ich möchte gerne Freunde aus China finden um miteinander zu schreiben und über China und auch über zukünftige Reisen zu reden. Um per WhatsApp oder wechat Kontakt zu haben.

Ich komme aus Österreich und würde mich sehr freuen wenn sich jemand meldet. 🇨🇳❤️🇦🇹

R there any gay friends in Chengdu? I’m currently studying here and can act as ur free tour guide—no strings attached. It would be great if u speak English, as I’d like to practice mine. Btw I’m Chinese

Does anybody has a recent experience in getting official translation of local drivers license to apply for a chinese temporary one? Especially for Kunming as the city to apply for?

My wife in Chinese, and we’re considering moving to China.

I’ve worked in China before, and expect I’ll end up teaching again. But I’d rather a) set my own schedule and b) teach different nationalities.

I’d like to come to China on a spouse visa and then teach online for US/UK/Gulf State/Aus clients and companies.

The little digging I’ve done so far suggests this is somewhere between a grey area and just not allowed.

However, has anyone else looked into this kind of arrangement?

I'm in the process of helping my cousin (she's chinese) trying to recover her dormant account with Barclays. She was in London for a few years but she went back to China many years ago.

2c. Claiming on behalf of the account holder

We need to verify the account holder’s identity, and confirm

that you’re authorised to claim the money on their behalf.

You still need to send the documents from section 2a proving

your own identity and address.

You’ll also need to send us certified copies of

• A photo ID for the account holder

• A document dated within the past three months that

shows the account holder’s current address

• A power of attorney document, or a letter of authorisation

signed by the account holder

That's from Barclays claimant's form. My question is, what document can she use to prove her address in China? I did ask her for her utility bill but according to her the bill doesn't have her address on it as it's done online. what other options does she have?

I am genuinely interested in going to a spa while here. Think it’s a great idea that cities have them. Any recommendations or suggestions or good deals? No need to be fancy, but good and clean. Also, is it weird to look for spa buddies?