1 reply to this topic

[tatati]

hello trappers!

As there are a lot of chinese people on this forum, i would like to ask your opinion about Beijing. I want to hear all the good stuff!

I saw an article in a local newspaper on those "work and study abroad" program and got excited about it. Now I want to learn mandarin and do business at the manufacturing nation of the world. My friends tried to talk me out of it, they say the pollution is bad and the work is plenty, a 45 hour week. In Brazil is not rare to work 8 hour days and part time Saturday, so it´s not uncommon.
I will graduate in logistics in the middle of next year and i want to live abroad for 6 months or so. In this work abroad program they say the salary will cover only maintenance. I don´t know what that means, me i´m high maintenance

How long does it take to commute from the city to the nearest residential burrough that one foreigner earning an "only maintenance" salary would live?

How good is the public transportation system? does it function everyday?

Are there any curfews, do the shops close on any particular hour or day of the week?

Is the city violent? Is the police violent?

and most importantly, is Beijing friendly to foreign people? Can you get by without knowing how to read chinese characters?

okthxbai

[eInfiniti]

I am sorry that no one has responded to your post for so long. I have been in Beijing enough to answer most of the questions asked and hope the following will still be found useful.

Air quality is OK. It is only occasionally poor primarily because wind would blow pollutants into Beijing from the surrounding areas. Beijing is windy sometimes.

Local companies generally work longer than 40 hours per week. Other companies don't. Since you are a foreigner, I am fairly certain you won't have to work long hours even for a local company.

I don't think you need to worry about the cost of your room. If your pay is going to cover "maintainence", it should be enough for you to stay comfortably. I don't think you will have to commute a great deal. Because most people rely on public transportation, one can always find residential areas that are close to a certain commercial district.

Public transportation in the city is pretty good. I would think it is better than almost all the cities in North America and Western Europe. That is because the car ownership level is still relatively low today. Public transportation is a must for most people's everyday lives. If the system stopped functioning even for an hour, I don't know what would happen. It would be like New York City that lost power a few years ago.

I am not sure what made you think of curfews. Why would curfews be needed? I would guess most shops close between 9:00 and 11:00 at night. Some restaurants and bars stay open until much later because there are some many foreigners in the city nowadays. The facilities will generally be open every morning and each afternoon, 7 days per week. Their schedules really depend on whether there is enough business for them to stay open.

Is the city violent? I suppose you meant to ask whether there are a lot of crimes. If so, crime levels are low; carrying/keeping weapons is not allowed. Police is not violent either.

People in Beijing are very friendly to foreign visitors. Nowadays, not a small percentage of them can speak some English. English is used on most road signs and public transportation announcements. But, because the Chinese language is so different from English, it is probably difficult to read and understand the English signs if you know very little Chinese. I would think you have to deal with the language barrier. It won't be easy at the beginning. But, millions of foreigners have visited and lived in Beijing over the years. I believe you will be able to manage.

Good luck with your adventure! I wouldn't blame you for your concerns.