°µÍø½ûÇø

Hi. First of all I am living in central Beijing not Shunyi, so I may be biased against the idea of living there. Beijing is a fascinating city, but the further you are from the centre, the less contact you have with traditional life. Arguably the centre of Beijing is now a pale, dilapidated refection of what it once was, but then it was once (at certain particular times) the greatest city in the world.

Are you intending to use your savings? 4,500 rmb per month will not go very far, especially in Shunyi, where food prices etc. are far higher than in central Beijing. On the other hand, utilities shouldn't be too expensive if you pay them directly (i.e. not to a middle man) and it only costs 2 rmb (at present!) to take the subway into town. Incidentally, if you plan to study Chinese, that will probably cost around 100 rmb an hour.

Does the internship look interesting to you?

The appeal of this internship to me is that I'll be able to get into Chinese lessons for free, since it is at a Chinese Language Institute.

They pay for my lunches 5 times a week which may help offset food costs.

I plan to hit central Beijing as much as I can, so hearing about the low subway cost is a relief. But is everything else far more expensive in Shunyi? Do you know how much more?

Victor I don't live in Shunyi but I know the area well since I have provided Destination Services for people relocating into that area.

°µÍø½ûÇø Shunyi is mainly gated communites with lovely villas/houses.  There are of course some apartments such the one I assume they are providing for you.

It is, in the most part, a dormitory community with most of the °µÍø½ûÇøs living there have kids going to one of the many international schools. As a result there is not much going on there in the evenings.

There are sometimes things in the Crowne Plaza, sometimes in the Beijing Riviera Clubhouse, and in restaurants like Pinotage. To the best of my knowledge there are no nightclubs and no hustling bustling bar area. That's all downtown.

The 4,500RMB/month is on top of lunch and accommodation.  Do you have to pay for your utilities (electricity, water, gas etc)

A can of local beer costs, if you buy a 24 pack, about 2RMB. In a bar the same beer can cost between 20 - 50RMB

A McMeal thing is about 20RMB.

A meal in a western restaurant /fancy Chinese restaurant can cost you 200RMB, In a small very local Chinese restaurant you can have a meal for 20 - 40RMB.

I typically pay 12 - 20RMB for lunch in a very local restaurant.

As mentioned, the subway is cheap and most people use a top-up travel card (good for subway and bus)

Yes, the 4500 RMB is on top of apartment and lunches. I do have to pay utilities though.

As far as I can see I won't have much to save. On the other side, I would like to look for another job elsewhere in China after the internship, I guess a year of Chinese will help considerably?

A year of learning Chinese would be worthwhile if you have good teachers and the time to concentrate on it, however Chinese is a difficult language, and Shunyi is obviously not an ideal place to be achieving any kind of fluency. I live in Xicheng (West City District) and everybody here speaks to me in Chinese, however if I go even a few kilometres east  for example to the shopping/restaurant/bar area of Sanlitun  people start speaking to me in English.

Missed the information that your internship is in a Chinese Language Institute. Actually that puzzles me. (Presumably you don't want to learn how to be a Chinese language teacher!) I hope they don't intend to use you as an unpaid English/French teacher!

The job is basically 15 hours a week giving English/Spanish classes to groups of 2-4 teenagers, and 25 promoting the institute elsewhere.

40 hours a week + learning Chinese would be tough.

Do you know if the Chinese Language Institute is reputable? The best/better schools have government registration, but most of them are just commercial companies.

This is their website.


I'll ask them about the gov. registration.

Sorry, something sounds wrong.

One year Internship?

Sounds fishy. An internship is normally 1 - 6 months.

Please ask them to tell you what visa you will be getting. 4,500 + meals and accommodation  means you need a proper work visa - one year multiple entry

and another reference point for you many Chinese employees make less than 4,500 and do not get lunch or accommodation.

This is via AIESEC, forgot to mention. AIESEC's long term internships generally run from 6 months to 1 year.

The company is specifically asking me to work one year for them, but I still haven't decided if that's the best idea.

I figure it will be a one yearmultiple entry visa, as you said. But I'll ask them to make sure.

Thanks for all the help, guys.

I know AIESEC and yes they are of course a legit student organisation.

Are AIESEC/the Institute offering to pay the airfare (from Mexico?)?

Considering what you have told us, I think you at least need a contingency plan in the event that you are not paid, or not given Chinese lessons, or have bad accommodation etc. etc.

No, I will cover the airfare costs, but I've got that down from when I registered with 'em.

AIESEC is pretty safe in those aspects as their associatessuch as the institutehave to guarantee that I will be paid. In the contract I have to sign it clearly states that I will receive 4500 RMB monthly with two days off each week.

I have spoken with the people from the institute and they have confirmed that I can attend any of the Chinese lessons the institute offers free of charge.

I will live 10 minutes from my workplace by Yosemite Club, and the apartment, according to them, is in good conditions. As soon as they are available to speak to again I will ask them for photos and more details.

I've managed to bargain for 500 extra a month, so I'll be getting 5000 after rent, lunches and lessons. How does that sound to you, guys?

OK, if you use the subway to get to town from time to time.

Not so good if you take a taxi into Sanlitun every evening. I guesstimate taxi fair will be about 60 - 100 each direction.depending on where you will be in Shunyi, the traffic and the time of day.

Hmm. That's an extra 80 US dollars, not exactly a huge pay rise. I wonder if you have thought of getting some advice from your embassy in Beijing? Do they have anyone in charge of educational exchanges?

Actually I am wondering whether it wouldn't be better for you to get a qualification as a Spanish teacher in Mexico (or Spain?) and then come to Beijing later as a properly paid teacher. After all, you're 22, so there's no great hurry.

I'm more interested in the marketing/Chinese learning experience. After all, I am a business major. I also have the intention of looking for a job in another Chinese city after the internship, with at least a modest grasp of the Chinese language, culture, and a year of Beijing MKTG experience on my resume.

Hmm... With those 20% + unemployment rates... Spain doesn't hold the best opportunities, not even for teachers right now. I have been working in Mexico but an extra year of experience here will not take me far from where I currently am in terms of working abroad.

Your advice to contact the embassy is actually great, I had not thought about that. I'm sure they can provide me with good information.

I'm not planning to hit downtown and spend there daily, so I am sure the subway will suffice for my venturing into Beijing. I'm also not a huge spender in bars/clubs.

OK. The problem is that if you are working 40 hours a week, on a limited income, and living in Shunyi, I don't think it will be possible to get "a modest grasp of the Chinese language". That kind of level is usually the objective of a full-time (20+ hours a week) student in the same time period of one year.

That seems like quite a low objective.

I know my immersion into Chinese culture/language will be limited by my location in Shunyi, but really, 20 hours a week for a year surely would give you more than limited conversational fluency (my definition of "modest") unless you slack off?

I don't pretend to become fully fluent, and I understand that Chinese is supremely complex and difficult. I also know that my time is limited to study. But I achieved that level in Japan in six months without classes and studying at an university filled with English speakers to the bone.

That's not to say Japanese can be comparable to Chinese, as the two are quite different and arguably Chinese is harder. But do you really think my objectives are that far off?

If "limited conversational fluency" means being able to greet people, buy things in shops, use appropriate phrases in conversation with English-speaking Chinese, then I'm sure you could attain that kind of fluency in a few months, although that level of accomplishment isn't much of a qualification. However one problem with this is that Chinese teachers tend to be reluctant to teach spoken (Beijing) Chinese without reference to the written language. Teaching here is very conservative and, in my experience, is almost always text-based.

I understand. I'm willing to work hard to improve as much as I can with what I get in Beijing. Maybe I can focus on the theoric part of the language instead on the fact that my immersion may be limited, and leave Beijing with a decent foundation for my next move.

I have spoken with a few Chinese colleagues, and like you, they agree that the salary is moderate, decent for an internship. What they have also told me is that such work experience in Beijing is very valuable in China, resume wise. Two of them are full fledged executives, so I feel I can trust their judgment on that.

So far I don't see a deal-breaking disadvantage aside from the fact that I might to manage my money very carefully. There are risks and things may just go to hell, or be better than I expected. I'm aware of that.

At least I count with AIESEC who have assured me that they will stand by me in case the contract is not honored properly. The way these things work, I'll send weekly reports on my experience and we all make sure things are going as planned. This includes the assurance that I will not be constantly tight on money and I will have some, although maybe not much, of it to spend on trips, or to save. This is after taking of the costs before getting there. I have that covered, and I have my contingency bunch, too.

I know I will probably have no flair and luxury in China, but I don't seek that. I trust that Beijing, even being Shunyi-based, can be a great experience overall. What do you think?

Once again guys, thanks a lot for your responses. I appreciate the honesty.

I am in there.
where r u living?