[Paul Yeandle]

Used UBER a couple of times – and it is by far a superior service. From being able to link your Spotify to the speakers, drinks and drivers who smile, speak in clear Mandarin and are polite and helpful with bags etc. it’s worth doing for a special occasions.

I think it’s a shame if it’s banned – they is no price comparison and I still would take a taxi most of the time despite the issues mentioned above but even so it’s nice to have an option to show off, treat yourself to the airport when going on holiday or impress a date.

In the end only us the consumer will lose – and this as far as I am aware is the only service which allows you to order transportation via an English language app in China.

[Paul Yeandle]

Dear Ahmed / Stole543

I hope I can offer some assistance and advice.

Chengdu is a great place to find an internship – I started with a 3 month internship with the British Chamber of Commerce before taking over as Branch Manager for InternChina – a company who specialise in finding professional internships and graduate opportunities in second tier cities across China.

InternChina currently works with over 60 companies in Chengdu and has expanded quickly to place over 100 interns in a little over a year. We have 8 years experience in China and, are one of only 2 companies in China who can offer British Council funded internships showing the high levels of professionalism and support we guarantee.

I would like to refer you to our company video here and you will also find a lot of references from interns who have had a great time in Chengdu here

Please feel free to contact me directly – [email protected] and I will be happy to offer any advice on finding internships in Chengdu.

Good luck with your search!

[Paul Yeandle]

Met some friends at this Chuan Chuan place for dinner at the weekend – great food – but yea as others said it was for A&F -and not a topless person in sight!

[Paul Yeandle]

Hey Karim,

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our team!

I am also pleased to see you proactively using these forums – they are a daily read for me and very useful for getting an insight into what is going on in Chengdu!

Looking forward to working with you from next month!

Cheers,

Paul

[Paul Yeandle]

Hi Slavsky.

I can’t comment too much on Shenzhen – but for Kunming..

Positives:

Amazing weather – think California but never too hot – it has so much sun and I never got bored of that.

Air Quality – Sometimes not great but much better than Chengdu

Travel Options – Nice travel options all around and easy gateway city to Burma, Laos and Vietnam.

Food – Underrated in my opinion, really great food, great BBQ and really cheap and plentiful fruit and veg.

Cultural Diversity – Ethnic minorities-a-plenty and fascinating villages and towns in all parts of the province

Negatives:-

Jobs and Economy – Less developed than Chengdu and I certainly found getting work outside of English teaching easier here, also less options for Western food, shopping etc,

Public Transportation and Taxi’s – Kunming is often at a standstill and the infrastructure projects make ones in Chengdu look carefully planned and well organised.

I believe Shenzhen is great for Business and is a very young city but don’t expect the culture you find in Chengdu or Kunming, I also don’t think the food is that great. You do have HK on your doorstep and it is certainly a better place for work I would say.

[Paul Yeandle]

Happy to help! What Mike said is great advice for Jinghong. Since it’s holidays it might be (will be) more difficult – you should maybe go to The Hump Hostel – they always booked tickets for me to various places (for around 10RMB commission saved a lot of waiting in line / disappointment.

[Paul Yeandle]

Nice travel plans! Two years ago I was living in Kunming and took a trip to Laos overland during the spring festival. I went to Jinghong first (worth a stop at least) and then there is a bus to Luang Nam Tha (also worth a stop) from there you can also go to other parts of Laos, vietnam, etc. – although I headed back to China and only stayed in North Laos.

Travel is pretty easy from Jinghong and the border is easy (make sure you have some passport photographs). I think from Jinghong to Luang Nam Tha took around 4 hours. Which nationality are you? Some nationalities got free visa’s (Korean and Swiss I think) and everyone else paid on the border, filled out some forms and got the stamps bus will wait on the other side and it took around 45 minutes for everyone to cross.

There is lots on gokunming.com about this and if you want to know more send me a private message and will try to advise more.

N.B. There used to be a 28hour bus from Kunming to Luang Prabang but I believe overnight buses may be banned in Yunnan now.

[Paul Yeandle]

Hi Mike – I have a contact in one of the 5 star hotels in Chengdu – they asked if I could forward them your CV and covering letter – if you can email me (I will send you a Private message) happy to help you out! Welcome to Chengdu!

[Paul Yeandle]

This made for fairly entertaining, and at times frustrating, reading.

I think the last few points i.e. good and bad people everywhere hold true. But also I feel that as members of the community we should be entitled to be sensitively critical of things that are frustrating. Moaning or venting is important to do at times (but not excessively – I agree if you don’t like it – the world is a big place), and often leads to a helpful response/explanation from a Chinese individual about the cultural difference.

It is interesting you chose to point at US media when I would argue that Chinese media is far more critical of the West – but this will always occur as really the media is the extended arm of the government.

Finally, to poke fun at English teachers is just immature and insulting, I started life in China as a teacher and feel I contributed more to a rural area of Yunnan than perhaps anywhere else in my life. Foreign teachers offer a bridge to other cultures and hopefully lead to less confusion than you seemed to show in this thread.

I believe you probably were angry with a foreigner in making this thread but please remember there is no “foreigner” race in Chengdu we are a mix of nationalities, cultures, religions with diverging interests, differing amounts of experience in China and with different norms and values.

I hope you can appreciate and not hate Laurence as 99.9% of those in China only want a better life and to contribute to a culture which is at times very confusing and difficult to understand.

[Paul Yeandle]

Cheers for the information! Much appreciated, good service indeed!

[Paul Yeandle]

I have the card you are talking about – but left it at home by mistake. Sorry just needed to have a rant!

[Paul Yeandle]

I have just got back from the the PSB exit and entry bureau and have a wait until 23rd for my residency permit – I was told no travel outside Chengdu (apart from day trips) during this time and I would imagine they would be closed all holiday – hence the backlog and long waiting times.

Hope you can sort it out though!

[Paul Yeandle]

Hi ok so I will arrive back in Chengdu on Thursday and was wondering if there is still space on any of the teams?

[Paul Yeandle]

Hi Dave,

I sent you a private message – not sure if you got it – I would be very interested but wont be in Chengdu until 3/4 weeks later – let me know if anyone wants a player

[Paul Yeandle]

I would be really interested in playing – but not played anything but 6-a-side for a long time – how high is the standard?

[Paul Yeandle]

Have these gone yet?

[Paul Yeandle]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the response, basically yesterday night nothing was working, now I am almost fully operational. I think the only place water went in was the speakers, as they are still not working properly.

Cheers

[Paul Yeandle]

I would echo what has already been said here with regards to communication – Skype is convenient, whats app etc are good – and I would suggest getting wechat (Chinese based whatsapp basically) but almost everyone with a smart phone is using it here so it allows you to contact your new friends in China as well as home in one place.

With regards to Cultural differences between the UK and here (I am also British) I think it is best to enjoy them. Chinese people on the most part are fantastic, and life here is very enjoyable with a large expat community and local flavours all around as well. Maybe the food is a big difference (do you like spicy food) and just the masses of people are sometimes the biggest challenge. But as Brendan says you won’t regret making the leap, I have lived in a very small city in China and now in Chengdu – both were fantastic and I have never regretted the choice.

Hospitals are in general much worse than the UK but it does depend where you are and how much you pay, in Chengdu I heard there are some doctors which speak good English and some international standard places for treatment as well.

Anyway if you have any further questions – I would be happy to help.

[Paul Yeandle]

I will come to Chengdu in 3 weeks. I am really looking forward to it! I was in Chengdu for travel last year and loved the place.

[Paul Yeandle]

Hey Ria,

Thanks for your kind words, you are definitely right about the weather, I am currently in Glasgow in Scotland and the weather is still cold even in May!

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