What is RSS?This is useful.
Check it out here.
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Although vietnam airlines have been offering exemplary deals, now asiana airlines as well as ata airlines are bent on competing. The aim is to beat swiss airlines.
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Recently, I have been receiving quite some mails from our readers relating to recommendations for job sites and recruitment agencies.
While there are numerous Shanghai / China job sites around, these are the few more reputable ones I would recommend, for reasons of database quality, ease of search and language options between Chinese and English:
1) www.zhaopin.com
2) www.chinahr.com
3) www.51jobs.com
For executive search and recruitment, you can try these 2 agencies:
1) www.wang-li.com
2) http://china.hudson.com/
(If anyone know of better ones, please let me know or post them in the comments sections. This might help some of our readers out there looking for a job in China)
Wang Li is the only executive agency in Shanghai I had prior contact with.
Some time back, I was approached by them for a senior position in a Fortune 100 US MNC in Southern China. My bio with them was one from 2 years ago, but they still managed to locate me. Subsequently, I cleared 5 rounds of interviews with the company, only to have them pull the plug due to a headcount freeze. No big deal I thought, cos I wasnt looking to move to the south anyway. Nonetheless, shortly after the recruiters in Wang Li knew about this, they came back to me with another prospective job and handled everything thoroughly.
Overall, I would say, throughout the entire arrangements, the Wang Li headhunters had been very responsive and professional. They gave some pretty useful tips and advices throughout the interview processes too.
And if you have to know, I didnt accept the other job due to the smaller scale level. Anyway, thats another matter altogether.
There is another category of that of readers as well that asked for tips on securing jobs in Shanghai. They want to relocate to Shanghai but at the same time, speak little / no Chinese and doesnt have considerable work experience.
For these readers, my advices are:
1) Dont give up, keep looking. I have seen many cases of people with no Chinese language skills or work experience find good jobs in Shanghai.
2) Present your value proposition to the hiring manager clearly during the interview. Tell him how your "foreign skills" can help the company.
3) You might want to start the job search with with MNCs, embassies and companies from your country of origin. Generally, chances are better.
4) Never underestimate the power of networking in China. Word of mouth recommendations from friends can go a long way.
Happy job hunting!
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Although vietnam airlines have been offering exemplary deals, now asiana airlines as well as ata airlines are bent on competing. The aim is to beat swiss airlines.
Check out their great deals !
____________________________________________________________________________
So you are all ready to move to Shanghai ? And your company has given you a blank cheque to look for accommodation of your choice?
Check out this site.
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Although vietnam Airlines have been offering exemplary deals, now asiana airlines as well as ata airlines are bent on competing. The aim is to beat swiss airlines.
Check out their great deals!
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Written by Stuart and Barbara Strother, this American couple
carries with them more than 13 years experience in living, traveling and
organizing tours in
Information is presented straight to the point, in plain language without overwhelming the reader. Practical advices on finding a home, budgeting, handling cross cultural issues, idiosyncrasies, embassy contacts and useful web sites addresses are all summarized in this nifty little package.
Sorry to have kept your folks waiting =)
It isn’t easy to fill the shoes left behind by Brad and
Sabrina. The lovely couple has since returned to Manly,
Too many things left undone back in Oz :
1) Getting THAT apartment in Kangaroo Point
2) Skydiving at Toogoolawah
3) Having a Big Aussie Brekkie by the beach at
4) Tucking into Yatala Pies along Pacific highway in the afternoon
5) Watching sunsets at Gold Coast
6) Backpacking Tasmania
7) Road trip round the Australia Continent
8) Exploring the Outback
And so many more…
In the meantime,
(Drafted on my Thinkpad at Changi Airport,Singapore before boarding the plane)
"Let that be a lesson to you" has been running around my mind all afternoon.
I went to the equivalent of the immigration department to put in my visa application for an `F' visa (see here for more information on Chinese Visa's).
Now I knew I was overdue to get my visa updated - we were meant to go to Hong Kong over a month ago where I would start the second leg of my L Visa. But we didn't end up going and I promptly forgot about my needing to leave the country.
So, I was expecting to get a warning or a small fine, instead I got slapped with a 5,000RMB fine AU$850!
The fine is 500RMB per day! But they have a maximum fine of 5,000RMB - the equivalent of 10 days. (I was over by 39 days - oops).
Now despite the fact that we are working our butts off, a lot of our projects are still not paying us anything - so everything here has pretty much been expense with little income. Then to cop a 5,000RMB fine like that really hurts the small savings pile that we had!
So the lesson is - don't neglect your visa! Put the dates in your diary, your phone, your PDA, Outlook - whatever! Just don't let it run out.
I guess I am lucky in one sense, if it was the other way around and I was a Chinese passport holder and 39 days out of my Visa whilst being in Australia I am sure that I would now be locked up in Villawood or Baxter and be on a plane home without my belongings or any support! At least now I pay the money, get my F visa, and go home to my nice warm apartment for dumplings.
Brad
This morning we couldn't get onto our website yingconsulting. Neither could we receive or send out any emails through Outlook. I tried to login the server, but only "No data" message showed.
Brad tried anonymouse and it worked - we can view our website from there, but still can't get onto the server. Our conclusion is: Yingconsulting website is blocked in China! Why? We have no idea!
We already contacted our website hosting company and hopefully will get an answer from them soon.
At the moment, we feel isolated!
Anyone that knows me well knows my passion for coffee. In the past I have worked in coffee development and have opened a small chain of coffee shops in Sydney with its own blend of coffee (that I helped create).
The boys at CR Kennedy know that I am willing to travel to get good coffee. I used walk past about 4 coffee shops in Pyrmont (Sydney) to get to Talentino to get my coffee because they made, without a doubt the best coffee in Pyrmont - and quite possibly Sydney - go check it out for yourself (ask for Oscar to make it for you!).
So, people have been asking me how I am surviving and where is the best coffee in Shanghai. I am afraid that I have to report that the best coffee in Shanghai (that I have discovered) is right here in my apartment! I brought my stove top espresso maker and my own coffee - and its the best cup in town!
If I do find a good place, I will be sure to share the information.
Read more about the Coffee Culture in Shanghai.
Brad
In Shanghai, most hotels and modern apartments actually have 2 types of outlet available. There is the 3 pronged angle pins (Australian style) and the 2 pin that accepts the 2 pronged flat pin (like in the US but without the ground) and the 2 small round pins (European style).
The photo was taken in our lounge room showing how an outlet with the 2 sets of pin configuration appear (yes they put the Australian pins upside down - must have figured that makes sense since we are `Down Under').
Because of the different plugs, most tourists (especially Australians) can travel to Shanghai without the need for travel adaptors. I have a whole bunch of appliances from Australia that I plug straight into the Chinese sockets (phone and camera charger, external HDD etc) with no drama. However travel adaptors are readily available if required.
The only difference is that it is 220V in China not 240V.
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Although vietnam airlines have been offering exemplary deals, now asiana airlines as well as ata airlines are bent on competing. The aim is to beat swiss airlines.
Check out their great deals !
____________________________________________________________________________
Narrow minded overly opinionated people really annoy me, especially when they are passing judgement of a people or culture from the safety of the other side of the world. Both Sabrina and I enjoy reading Wang Jian Shuo's Blog primarily because the readers that leave comments are quite funny. But today I got a bit fired up with a Chinese guy who lives in America and his criticism of the people here, so I wrote a bit of dig back at him.
His Rant
I think that Shanghaise are materialistic. This is definitely true.
They discriminate more based on ECONOMIC CLASS than anything else.
But, the phenomenon isn't just in Shanghai, it's spreading everywhere in China, where money is more important than morality, where women throw themselves at foreigners and hating their own kind. That was the impression i got when I visited China in May of this year.
Me and my wife (both ethnic Chinese) dress as what we would do in the US, casually, went shoppin gin Shanghai one day. You should see the type of uppitiness from some of the SERVICE people. We're basically upper-middle class, own our own home, etc. in the US. I guess we just don't wear some stupid business suit when we go on vacation, unlike most mainlanders. Anyway, she heard of some shop that makes good traditional chinese dress on Nanjing road and went into the Peace Hotel for directions. The lady in there was soooo rude -- it's funny, because she's really nice to the white guys and gals there, just not us. She even tried to talk to us in her BROKEN-ASS English in order to impress us, and my wife just reply back in English back to her face.
The store isn't much better, until we spend $100 USD on a single dress. Then you see them FLOCKING toward servicing us - i.e. materialistic.
It's pretty pathetic that Shanghai will assume that just because you're a white guy, you're rich, but when an ethnic overseas Chinese come back, they're automatically assumed to be poor. Here's a hint -- most of teh white guys who teach English in China are POOR ASSES when they get back to the US -- they're only advantange is the cost of living adjustments. And, most of them are extremely conservative and would love to see China fall onto its ass and engage in civil war (they're also proud supporters of Japan).
Patriotism in China? I see none, i just see a bunch of whores thinking foreigners are better than their own. It's the sad truth.
However, unlike the previou poster, i'll say that the Chinese space program is something to be proud of. To be sure, the design of the original space craft was based on an older Soviet design -- however, every space expert agreed that the design was heavily modified and changed and you really cna't say it's just another Russian copy. And most if not all of the major components are manufactured in China. Sure, it's late, but only 3 countries in the world have sent people to the space on their own - and let's not forget that the entire US shuttle fleet is GROUNDED right now. Unlike the US, i don't think China will stop its man-space flight program.
As far as the poor goes -- there have always been a wide gap between rich and poor in China -- the solution isn't economic re-distribution, but to enforce a fair and equitable treatment of the poor in terms of LEGAL and LAW and ORDER, something for which China lacks. And if this isn't addressed soon, all the Shanghaise are gonna suffer big time when the next revolution occurs. If CHina doesn't address it's lack of law and order (it's legal system is about who has politcal power or money, not about justice), there will be another revolution and civil war.
Posted by: Tony on November 4, 2005 07:52 AM
My Response
Tony
I find it quite funny how judgemental you are of people living in your `old' country when you and your wife obviously couldn't get out of the country fast enough. You have a very narrow view of the world and you paint with a very wide brush.
You also call the people of your `old' country whores who think foreigners are better. Well, you are the one who sold out and moved to a foreign country - for what purpose? Better opportunities? More money? Aren't you the whore in this context?
You also suggest that every `white guy' who teaches English in China wants to see a civil war in China and they support Japan! What are you talking about?
Finally, you have the audacity to say that the Shanghainese are materialistic and discriminate about class - then in the next paragraph you talk about how you are `Upper Middle Class' own your own home in the US and went to spend $100 on a dress! Can you say `Hypocritical'?
Take a look at your own attitude before critisicing others. Maybe the lady was rude to you because she was sick of the attitude some expatriated American Chinese like you have.
I am an expat living in Shanghai, I love the people here. They have a vibrance and enthusiasm about improving their life that many people don't have. I can smile and laugh with the people, even when they are focusing on making money (like trying to sell me something). Making money is what people all around the world do. Money provides a lifestyle and better living standards, this is a relatively new experience here, and people in China are wanting to catch up on what they have missed out on over the previous 60 years. So please don't be so judgemental on people that you don't know whilst you sit in your nice Upper Middle Class house in the US where all the struggle of trying to establish good living standards by the people was done long before you got there.
Ps. I know I'm not Chinese, so I may get treated differently, however my girlfriend is Chinese, and I experience a lot through her. And no Tony she is not a `whore' that threw herself at me. We met in Sydney, and I in fact pursued her for some time. We decided to move to Shanghai for a few years so I could be exposed to the culture. I am not afraid of living here - why are you?
Posted by: Guran on November 4, 2005 12:19 PM
Judgementalism is one of the very few things that actually get me fired up - so don't worry, I don't go around sticking it up people too often!
I thought it would be a good idea to share what camera gear I use. I shoot (sometimes) with a Canon EOS350D with standard EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 II lens. 
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