HOW TO Beijing

HOW TO Find a Job in Beijing

Put simply, getting a job in Beijing comes down to who you know. I know that this is a universal tenet of job hunting, but networks count more in China. Reason being that expats work in smaller circles than they usually do back home, so the “value” of each connection is greater.

Know that you are at a big disadvantage if you are starting your job search outside of Beijing/China. Unless you have specialized skills at the executive level, chances are that there is someone in Beijing who has a comparable resume.

You can get a job by emailing CVs and cover letters, you just have to be very patient and hope for a stroke of luck. Ideally, you have at least an intermediate level of Mandarin skill. With the increasing amount of foreigners in Beijing, Mandarin quickly distinguishes you from the competition.

There are jobs here for non-senior foreigners who can’t speak Mandarin; they’re just extremely rare (outside of teaching English) and you usually get them through networking and luck.

Beijing job classifieds

Here are a few websites you should be glued to and checking semi-daily during your Beijing job search.

• The Beijinger
• City Weekend Beijing
• Beijing Craigslist
• Job China
• EChinaCities
• China Job

Job search engines

The below sites are great for tracking down hard-to-find corporate job postings. Set the job search city to Beijing and make sure to check the posting date(!) as sometimes they will pick up outdated job ads.

• Meijob
• Indeed
• Careerjet Beijing

Teaching English

Teaching English in Beijing is as close to a sure thing as you can get. Despite the fact that the city is teeming with foreigners, the demand for English teachers continues to rise. Yes, a white face makes it easier, but as long as you graduated from the UK/Australia/New Zealand/USA/Canada you should be okay.

Most of the advertised jobs are for teaching kids, so if you like working with little ones, you’re in luck. There are well-paying jobs out there teaching adults, but the standards are a little higher and there’s more competition for them.

If you’re teaching English at a private company in Beijing (or another tier-1 city like Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc) you should be making at least 8000 RMB (gross) for a full-time position. Universities and colleges should be paying you at least 6000 RMB  since you won’t have to pay for housing. Anything less than these figures and you’re being taken advantage of.

Craigslist and Beijinger should have enough job listings to get you a few leads, but you may also want to increase your chances by checking out Dave’s ESL Cafe. 

If you go this route, I would strongly recommend teaching English in Beijing or Shanghai. Make sure that you use your free time to network and meet as many people as you can. It’s very easy to get stuck in the ESL circle because it’s a comfortable lifestyle, so make sure you have some direction.

Interning

If you want to increase your chances of getting work in Beijing, offer to work for peanuts (or in some cases, for free). You’ll book the plane ticket and pay for housing on your dime, but the company you intern for should cover your visa costs.

A search for “Beijing internships” should keep you busy for a while. You can also try contacting companies directly. Small-to-medium sized companies are usually more eager for interns.

From what I’ve seen, heard and experienced, you’ll want to end up in a Western company if you choose to intern in Beijing. Foreign interns at Chinese companies usually don’t end up with worthwhile internships. Typically, they become de-facto English teachers, translation polishers or “token foreigners” that get paraded in front of clients. Either way, once you get in the country, make sure that you use your free time to learn Mandarin or to meet people. 

Always remember that the value is being in China and being able to build connections with people who have established networks.

HOW TO Extend or Renew Your Visa in Beijing

Visas are always an important part of foreigners’ lives in China. This article is all about how to renew or extend your visa with a focus on Beijing. Getting the first-entry visa to begin with is a whole ‘nother story, so I’ll save that for another time.

Many details (price, eligibility, allowed length of stay, etc) regarding visas are country-specific so make sure you have contacted an embassy/consulate to get specifics and details regarding regulations for your country!

About Visa Agencies

A quick Google search will give you a list of visa agencies that guarantee you a smooth visa renewal process. I have used one and have known many others who have done the same. They will get the job done, but prices can really vary, so make sure to you ask around.

Visas require a lot of rubberstamping, documentation and legwork. These agencies streamline the process and guarantee successful processing of your visa. The price they will charge you is related to the amount of paperwork you need for your visa. Sometimes, you will be missing paperwork (e.g. diploma, work history evidence, etc) and they will do some “visa magic” to make sure missing paperwork is no longer a problem.

Are they legal and legitimate? Who knows. They get the job done. Besides, in China, there is no black and there is no white. There is only gray.

F-Visa renewal

Depending on how much “magic” you need, the price will vary a lot.

A visa agency needs only your passport to complete the whole process. It takes about 5 business days for you to get your passport back with your new F-visa sticker. You can expect to pay 3000-4000 RMB for this privilege to get you an F-visa for 180 days.

If you want to try it yourself, or if you don’t feel comfortable handing over your passport to a stranger, look at the list of required documents. See this link from the official Beijing government website for F-Visa requirements in Beijing.

Doing the whole process on your own with all the required documents costs at least 160 RMB, depending on your passport. You’ll notice that this is a huge price difference from agencies. Make sure that you have all your documents in order.

L-Visa renewal

When you’re renewing a holiday visa or extending into a holiday visa in Beijing, you have a few options. 

Hong Kong visa run. Expect the roundtrip flight (from Beijing) to cost you at least 2000 RMB. Also factor in the costs of staying in Hong Kong for a few days, as well as visa fees (which are dependent on your passport). Your passport also determines the length of time you can stay in China thereafter. 

You can always go through the visa agency to save yourself a trip to HK and the time involved. For a 90-day L-visa extension, expect to pay around 2500-3000 RMB with a turnaround time of 5 business days.

Getting the L-visa yourself involves a trip to the Beijing visa office in Dongzhimen. Just make sure you have the list of required documents for an L-visa.

Visa expiry

As long as you have submitted your passport for processing before the visa expiry date, you are in the clear.

Further reading

Beijing Government visa information

http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/visa

F-Visas for US citizens

http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84247.htm

HOW TO Take The Bus in Beijing

Learning how to take the bus in Beijing and learning Beijing bus routes are two entirely different experiences. Indeed, both require lots of patience. However, you need more than patience when riding the bus in Beijing, especially if you’re new. Here’s a few things you need to know:

How to pay

There are 3 ways to pay on buses: public transit card, cashbox, or pay cash to the bus conductor. For most trips, bus fare is 1 RMB (0.40 with a public transit card). 

If you board a bus with a bus conductor, you’ll need to know where you’re going as the fare depends on how far your destination is. You should know how to say your destination or at least make sure you have it written down.

How to get on

There are 2 kinds of buses: 2-door and 3-door. If it’s a 2-door bus, you board at the front. For 3-door buses, board using the middle door.

This is important because the method of payment is near the boarding door. Also, this helps you avoid the stream of people exiting the bus.

How to keep your sanity despite the crowd

Just make peace with the fact that at some point in your Beijing bus-riding career that you will get elbowed in the spine; that some lady’s purse will hit you in the face; that someone will sit in a seat that you were clearly about to sit in.

I’ve rode some buses that were so crowded that when I got off, I noticed I had at least 4 different sweat stains on my shirt, none of them being mine.

So how can you deal with it? You either get used to it, or take a taxi that costs at least 10x as much. It’s that simple.

How to get off

On your first few bus rides, you should be constantly looking outside the window to familiarize yourself with landmarks. This is important because for newcomers to Beijing, it is difficult to know where to get off. The announcements are in Mandarin and English, but the station names are always said in Chinese. Eventually, things will click, but it’s always good to have a visual picture of your surroundings.

Also important is how to politely get off the bus. Use the phrase “xià chē ma?” which means “are you getting off the bus?” if someone is between you and the door. They may respond with “xià”, which means yes; in which case just stand behind them and follow their lead.