Living in Jilin

[willycalvin]

I am interested in anyone that can tell me about living in Jilin province (especially foreigners). Specifically I would like to know what the lifestyle up there is like, and what prospects there are for jobs. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Harvey]

I heard that Jilin university hires foreign teachers every so often.

Anyone here living in Jilin? I would like to hear waht it is like up there as well.

[haiyan]

Jilin University has loads of foreign teachers as do many other schools and universities in the province. Finding work would not be a problem. Lifestyle is much the same as anywhere else in China. The people are very friendly, the cities nice enough and most necessities are available. In general Northern Chinese are extra friendly which is a bonus if you want to learn Chinese or just integrate. It gets cold here in winter but it is hardly unbearable. Three layers most days. Changchun is the provinces largest city, linked by air to cities all over China and by train to Beijing which allows onward travel. It is a large city by most normal standards. The city is an industrial one and hence quite polluted although blue sky is the norm unlike many other Chinese cities. Changchun has a large expat population, mostly German, Korean and Russian (VW is based here and Russia/Korea aren’t all that far away). There are plenty of English speaking foreign teachers as well. Despite the large number of expats the bar scene is limited, mostly sleazy pick-up joints or over-priced and empty dumps. I am sure there are exceptions but the city is large and I have not been everywhere. Food is adequate, better than I had feared, while not a patch on Hunan food there are some good restaurants. There are book shops where you can pick up novels, an odd selection of them, and learn Chinese books. It might be worth checking out Jilin city as it seems nice enough, hopefully some one else can provide you with info. Being based in the province would allow you to explore Dongbei, Harbins’ ice festival and Russian architecture are a short bus ride away, Shenyangs’ under-rated Manchu Imperial Palace is also pretty close, the stunning Changbai Shan and Tianchi etc.

[Harvey]

I am considering this school now actually.

http://en.jlu.edu.cn/admissions/language.htm

Heard anything?

What attracts me to Jilin / Changchun is the clear putonghua, relatively low numbers of English speakers, and that I expect the area has a somewhat traditional Chinese feel.

Let me know if I'm off target on any of these!

Great info, thanks

[wushijiao]

What attracts me to Jilin / Changchun is the clear putonghua, relatively low numbers of English speakers, and that I expect the area has a somewhat traditional Chinese feel.

I haven't been to Changchun, but I love Dongbei, and I would suspect that it would be a great place to learn Chinese.

[Harvey]

When you say dongbei, do you mean just　東北 north east china... like, anywhere?

[wushijiao]

The term Dongbei (东北) usually refers to three specific provinces (Heilongjiang　黑龙江, Jilin　吉林, Liaoning　辽宁).

[stephanhodges]

Harvey - sounds like you've been talking to MrToga! (http://www.hyccchina.com/english/araq/index.htm)

He's been giving me almost identical advice. Except, he suggests I go to Dalian for summer classes first, then up there for the fall. It might let me "jump" ahead a bit in placement test.

(Not affiliated with him or his company)

[Harvey]

Indeed I have been talking to mr toga!

(I am not affiliated with him or his company)

Though, looking closer at his co, it's good stuff!

[Harvey]

I have had the "try to skip ahead" advice from other friends as well.

I'm going to try to have one last crazy adventure in Japan before I leave for China, so I'm not sure exactly when I'll get over... I think it will be in November though...

We'll see...

- Harvey