China FAQs

China teaching FAQ

here are similarities between Western and Chinese education systems, but it is important to understand the basics to the education system in China. Like education systems in the West, citizens must attend 9 years of schooling primary, junior middle and senior middle school, which is provided by the government. With the largest school system in the world, there are many challenges that face educators, Chinese and foreign, in China. If you’re coming to China to teach, it is important to first understand the system and expectations of students.

Primary School

Primary school, or elementary school, lasts for six years and starts when students are 6 or 7 years old. The school lasts Monday through Friday, with some schools having a half-day on Saturday. The primary school curriculum consists of Chinese, math, physical education, drawing, music and basic instruction in nature, history and geography. English is introduced into the curriculum usually in the third grade.

Junior Middle School and the Zhong Kao

Junior middle school, often referred to as just middle school, lasts for three years, usually when the student is between 12 and 15 years old. Similar to primary school, the school week lasts Monday to Friday with some schools having half-day classes on Saturday. The curriculum for middle school students can include Chinese, chemistry, physics, biology, geology, foreign language (usually English), history, geography, political science, music, fine arts and physical education.

During these three years, students prepare for senior middle school exam, the Zhong Kao. Performance on the Zhong Kao determines where the student will attend senior middle school and how much their parent(s) will have to pay to send their student to a key senior middle school.

Senior Middle School and the Gao Kao

Senior middle school, or high school, lasts for three years, usually when the student is between 15 and 18 years old. The curriculum is similar to that of middle school and the school week is the same, although the hours spent studying and completing homework take up much of a student’s free time.

High school is, without a doubt, the most grueling years of education in a Chinese student’s life as they start to prepare for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, or the Gao Kao. Arguably the most challenging and demanding entrance exam in the world, the Gao Kao score determines the future of the student’s education and where he/she will attend university. Three subjects are required, Chinese, math and a foreign language (usually English), and there are six other standard subject tests, including physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography and political education, that students take based on the programs to which they are applying.

The 2006 documentary Senior Year, or 高三, captures the essence of the culmination of stress and pressure students face going into their senior year of high school prior to taking the nation-wide university entrance exam. If you’ve got an hour and half to spare and don’t mind reading the subtitles, it is well worth watching. If nothing else, you’ll have more of an understanding about the education culture and tradition that is sometimes so foreign to outsiders.

China living FAQ

Going to a cinema is considered fashionable for young people and not a normal form of entertainment for everyone. For the one thing, it is not a traditional pastime for Chinese to go to the movies regularly. Many Chinese are more used to group activities—their company purchases tickets for them for a certain film together. In addition, the number of cinemas and movie theaters in China is still very small compared to that in, let's say, the States. Therefore, watching films in theaters can be rather expensive, usually costing more than 60 RMB to for a ticket to a Chinese film and more than 100 RMB for a foreign film.

Even though there are many Chinese films, film imports from Western countries is limited to a very small portion each year. In addition, SARFT, The state administration of radio, film and television, has rules on movie censorship. Many foreign films' language and/or images are censored and, consequently, their length and content are reduced. For movies with foreign languages, usually two versions can are shown at the same time, one with dubbing and one has the original soundtrack but with Chinese subtitles. To a certain extent, this also limits the number of people who want to watch “original” foreign films. Many Chinese films also contain subtitiles.

Another reason many Chinese audiences prefer to watch films at home is that DVDs are rather cheap in China. While they are not fully established intellectual property, pirated DVDs and internet downloading are also common and popular but also illegal (for the record, TCN does not promote or support illegal activities).

Below are some cinema chains in China:

Digi film (China film group) 
Wanda film 
Ever Shinning Circuit (Shanghai Da Guang Ming)
Shi Ji Huan Qiu
Heng Dian Film
IMAX
Warner Bros. International Theaters

China living FAQ

Mobile phones can be purchased at department stores, supermarkets or the outlets of the telecommunication providers.

China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom are major mobile phone service operators in China. All the mobile phone service operators are state-owned enterprises. China Mobile and China Unicom have led the market for decades; China Mobile mainly operates GSM900 and 1800, while China Unicom offers both GSM and CDMA networks. China Telecom, which mainly provides land-line services, recently joined the market by offering the third generation (3G) mobile networks.

How to connect to the mobile phone network?

• Pay as you go

It is easy to buy a SIM card at most mobile phone counters of electronic appliance department stores and to use that for your regular SIM card.

The three network providers offer similar services to top-up your mobile :

• Go to a telecommunication provider outlet. 

• Get charge cards, which are widely available at supermarkets, newsstand, convenience stores, grocery stores and anywhere with an assortment of telephone cards in a plastic wallet hanging outside.

• Charge it online

      Online outlets of the three operators (in Chinese): China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom

• It’s not recommended to use unofficial mobile charge services online, which often lure customers with discounts. Be cautious because they may lack credibility.

• Pay monthly

Another option is to have a monthly phone plan provided by mobile phone networks. Package plans often offers certain amount of anytime minutes, inclusive or unlimited texts, and sometimes broadband services. For instance, China Mobile has phone plans such as GoTone, M-zone(for youth), and Easyown. For GoTone plans, the monthly payment is from 50 to 200 RMB.

However, it may be a bit complicated for expats to get these services. You may need to visit the office of China Mobile or China Unicom to register with a guarantee letter either from your employer or another person. You can dial 10086 to find out more details about the application process.

China living FAQ

Public transportation is usually cheap and convenient to use in many Chinese cities. But  driving your own car is an option if you don't worry about traffic jams and other aggressive drivers.

If you have a driver's license from your home country or an international driving permit, you are eligible to apply for a driving licence in mainland China.

The application needs to go through the same location as your residence permit. In addition, a translated version of documents that are not originally written in Chinese need to be provided. The translation agency you choose to use should be  appointed by the local Police Security Bureau.

The following documents are required for local driving licence application:

• Completed "Driving Licence Application Form"

• Passport (original copy and photocopy)

• Residence permit(original copy and photocopy)

• Your driving licence in your country of origin

• A translation of your original licence into Chinese

These documents should be taken to the local Police Licensing Department (at the Public Security Bureau) where you:

• Have your photograph taken for the licence

• Undergo a series of medical and optical tests

• You are also required to take a written and practical driving test before being granted a driving licence.

China living FAQ

The most popular and official postal service in mainland China is the China Post. China Post is managed under the State Post Bureau (SPB), both a government agency and a public utility enterprise.

Its branches can be found easily in most places. You can use stamps for most letters and parcels. In addition, special delivery such as Express Mail Service (EMS) is also offered.

• Charges for letters weighing less than 100 grams are 0.8 yuan locally and 1.2 yuan domestically. Charges for international letters and service charges for International Surface Air Lifted can be found on the China Post Web site.

• China Post offers banking and financial insurance services with its affiliated Postal Savings Bank of China. It also offers a variety of services, including magazine subscriptions, public utility charging services, etc.

• The contact number of China Post is 11185 and can be used for delivery collection booking information, inquiry and complaints. It is connected with the collection, delivery and EMS tracking services.

• In addition to EMS, there are many national and international express delivery service providers in China. For domestic deliveries, local express delivery companies could charge a lot lower than foreign express delivery companies. For international deliveries, UPS, DHL, TNT, FedEx, etc. are available in China.

• The Post Code in China (“You Bian” in Chinese) is a 6 digit number. The first two digits represent the province / Municipality directly under the central government/ Self-Administered Region; the third digit represent postal region; the fourth digit represent city/ county; the last two digits represent location of the post office. Post code in China can be browsed here and searched here.

China living FAQ

It's smart to open a bank account soon after arriving in China. Here is a list of common banks that can be found easily throughout China:

• Bank of China (Zhong Guo Yin Hang)  

• ICBC or Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Zhong Guo Gong Shang Yin Hang)

• China Merchants bank (Zhao Shang Yin Hang) 

• Agricultural bank of China (Zhong Guo Nong Ye Yin Hang)

• China Construction Bank (Zhong Guo Jian She Yin Hang)

• Huaxia Bank (Hua Xia Yin Hang)

• Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (Shanghai Pudong Fa Zhan Yin Hang)

• China Minsheng Banking Corp. (Zhong Guo Min Sheng Yin Hang)

• There is also a full list of China’s Major banks on the government’s website. 

The Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China are the “big four” state-owned commercial banks, while the rest are second-tier commercial banks. There are also smaller local joint-stock commercial banks in many places.

ICBC is the largest bank in China and the world’s largest bank in terms of value.

More than 30 foreign banks, such as HSBC, Citybank, Standard Chartered, etc., can also be found in big cities. In some foreign banks, a new bank account can be arranged before arriving to mainland China. However, compared with the local banks, they have usually have fewer branches and are more costly because of banking restrictions.

China living FAQ

Coins

1 yuan     1 jiao       2 jiao      5 jiao
1 fen        2 fen        5 fen

Notes

1 yuan     5 yuan    10 yuan    20 yuan    50 yuan    100 yuan

• In more common, casual Chinese language, “yuan” is usually called “kuai”, while “jiao” is called “mao”.

• Though the “fen” coins are still available, they are rarely used nowadays.

China teaching FAQ

SAFEA published “Trial Salary Guiding Scales for Foreign Cultural and Educational Experts” in June 2009:

• First category: teachers of institutions of higher education with bachelor's degree and over two years of work experience, or teachers of other educational organizations with over three years of teaching experience.

             Region 1   RMB 3,500-4,800
             Region 2   RMB 3,300-4,500
             Region 3   RMB 3,000-4,100

• Second category: assistant professors or lecturers of institutions of higher education, or middle school teachers with over five years of teaching experience, and professionals with corresponding titles and business levels.

             Region 1   RMB 4,200-7,600
             Region 2   RMB 4,000-7,200
             Region 3   RMB 4,200-7,600

• Third category: professors, associate professors of institutions of higher education, and professionals with corresponding titles and business levels.

             Region 1   RMB 6,700-15,000
             Region 2   RMB 6,400-12,000
             Region 3   RMB 5,800-10,000

N.B.

• Region 1 refers to highly developed economic regions, high income level regions and China’s east coast regions. Region 2 refers to medium developed economic regions, decent income level regions and central China. Region 3 refers to less developed economic regions, low income level regions and China’s western regions.

• “Salary” refers to average monthly income before tax, including basic salary, merit pay, post allowance, class hour subsidies, bonus etc.

• This guideline is for reference only. The amount of salary could be based on the supply and demand of the local market, expertise of the professionals, and work loads. But above all, salaries should never below the national standards.

• Subsidies for volunteering cultural and educational experts overseas do not apply to these standards, while high-level talents badly needed in China and difficult to recruit are encouraged to be employed with high salary.

China teaching FAQ

State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) is authorized by the State Council. Its duties include supervision, support, providing job services for overseas experts, formulating regulations, and carrying out overseas training programs. It works under the principle of “overseas expertise introduction (OEI in brief)” proposed by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

More specifically, its duties include:

• certifying overseas experts organizations and overseas training institutions

• certifying qualifications for institutions to conduct international personnel exchanges activities

• giving guidance to provincial and local foreign experts bureaus

• collecting and forwarding advices of the overseas experts to relevant government departments

• recommending overseas experts with specialized skills

According to their Web site, SAFEA’s main functions include:

◎ Devising plans and policies for OEI, drafting relevant laws and guidelines, formulating administrative measures for OEI and supervising implementation.

◎ Examining and approving key plans financed by special State fund for employing overseas experts and organizing and implementing State key plans for employing overseas experts.

◎ Compiling the budget for special funds for OEI, supervising the use of the funds and providing assistance in major events concerned.

◎ Administering relevant international exchange and cooperation, establishing a service system for OEI, regulating the intermediary agencies involved, managing OEI information, and organizing and coordinating exchanges with experts from Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan Region.

◎ Managing annual overseas training plans, examining and approving overseas training programs financed by special State fund and other training programs, and organizing and implementing key overseas training programs.

◎ Undertaking other matters assigned by the State Council and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.