Working and staying in Qingdao, China

[Lycanthrope]

as above  .. any people experience before  ?  especially in shipyard / fabrication yard sector ? is it easy to deal with the local chinese ? and how is qingdao ? liveable ?

[Mustank]

angmo also say jin ho lim

 

[Myxilplix]

Been a few times, but always during the off-season. I hear it gets really packed with domestic tourists during the summer.

 

Off-season it can be brown, dreary and often smoggy, but when the wind blows in from the sea it's quite a pretty place.

 

The seafood and beer is fresh, the bays are pretty and the women too. I'd say it's my favourite place in China but I haven't been to that many places.

 

The port is huge and I hear the yards are too. I think the more established yards have come a long way in terms of quality and professionalism, of course the small ones don't say lah.

[Kangadrool]

First most important thing is to get your wages level right. LOL...

 

Not a laughing matter though, income tax for foreigners are extremely high. Almost half your pay is gone.

[Lycanthrope]

ya man , must negotiate for that too

[Carbon82]

as above  .. any people experience before  ?  especially in shipyard / fabrication yard sector ? is it easy to deal with the local chinese ? and how is qingdao ? liveable ?

I find Qingdao is a lovely place to be, as the weather is quite cooling most of the time (even during summer). Food wise, no issue, as long as you are ok with Chinese food. Transport, easier than taking buses in Singapore (to most area in the city), no joke. RMB1 for per bus trip, regardless of distance. Taxi is also inexpensive (clean and safe).

 

The people there are generally friendly, not too aggressive, and can speak mandrain (普通话). Standard of living are quite the same as S'pore (dollar to dollar). Anything else you want to know?

[Shull]

angmo also say jin ho lim

 

 

This Shit Is No Good. Take Another One

[Mustank]

This Shit Is No Good. Take Another One

  :XD:  

[Lycanthrope]

sounds good leh 

 

I find Qingdao is a lovely place to be, as the weather is quite cooling most of the time (even during summer). Food wise, no issue, as long as you are ok with Chinese food. Transport, easier than taking buses in Singapore (to most area in the city), no joke. RMB1 for per bus trip, regardless of distance. Taxi is also inexpensive (clean and safe).

 

The people there are generally friendly, not too aggressive, and can speak mandrain (普通话). Standard of living are quite the same as S'pore (dollar to dollar). Anything else you want to know?

 

[Shibadog]

of the handful of Chinese port cities I have been to, Qingdao is one of the my favourites. I've been there 3 or 4 times, each abt a week.

 

however, it's probably different when visiting there for a few days vs staying and working there for a longer period of time.

 

a guy I know was sent there for a year. Heavy engineering industry. Kept complaining abt the food and the dubious biz practices. His family in SG often sent him food products so as to minimise consuming the made-in-china stuff.... I dunno... to each his own.

 

I guess the key question is, do u have a choice in the matter?  

 

for typical expat positions, salaries are often set as net-of-tax. See if your company does this.

 

imo, it's relatively easy to work with Qingdao chaps compared to the pple from some other big cities. I think that company culture and individual personalities may play a bigger part than regional generalisations though.

Edited November 13, 2015 by JohnSHL

[nazerath]

as above .. any people experience before ? especially in shipyard / fabrication yard sector ? is it easy to deal with the local chinese ? and how is qingdao ? liveable ?

 

Never been to qingdao but experienced in China. shipyards tend to be polluted n dusty but you would probably be in aircon n chauffeured around. there is seafood n that is Something quite rare to get fresh in certain parts of China unless live ones.

 

Dealing with the Locals I think would be fun n easy because u are probably on top of the food chain. I think it is livable in a nice apartment or property with security but do consider the hours you need to get back to sg.

[A_korusawa]

excluding major cities like shanghai, beijing etc.......qingdao is considering a good place (xiamen is also my favorite) . . .

putting remunerations aside, you dun wanna stay in bj with shitty air, traffic and lousy food, and sh will be way too expensive for starters!

 

qingdao puts you in that marvellous stance where seafood, beer, meat etc. very available!

this means . . .  to sinkies, the food there is very very much 'bo beh zao' !!!

qingdao is also in the central attractions to s. korea, hong kong, japan etc..... its also very near guangzhou, foshan where most famous chinese brands are established......so, you dun lack of places for shopping!

 

weather is marvellous..... you enjoy the 4 seasons with a good stretch in the summer (plenty of sea sports and bikinis etc.)..... and winter is not as cold as beijing & seoul ..... autumn is full for events and festivals..... beer fest in QD stretches for weeks!

here, we have haze from sumatra..... there, those are fogs...mist from the sea shores

 

qingdao ppl (shhhh, something like E meets W germans! if you know the history and their ancestral backgrounds) comes in 2 formats..... the very 'in' city developed ones (very modern) and the 'kampong' ones striking out from their refurbishing hometowns...... 

they are down to earth and very very neutral . . .  i.e. very much 'xiao kang zi zia'

 

cars are not cheap to locals there but easily accessible with $ (top models you dreamt of, can be easily assessible).

 

the cities are developing fast with super hi-ways above seas, the chinese' hollywood equivalents there, sub-way operation is target by 2016, and most of ...... qingdao is regarded as the new 'pharmaceuticals' by foreign giants ..... this means that execs and workers there are "trainable" & "kuai kuai" like sinkies in the 70s & 80s . . . .

 

there will always be "wrong place, wrong time" if you know what I mean . . .  like dodgy ktvs, chio bo for $, thugs, hooligans in night clubs etc...  but afterall, qingdao's security is good and peaceful ..... 

 

I frequent qingdao to train, consult, audit, establish factories there...... so I witnessed the fast developments in qd for past few years.

 

it all boils down to what level of standards you can afford there..... a bungalow by the sea, poshy condos in the city hoteliers or developed residential in downtowns....... qingdao is also family-frenly with kids coz int'l educations are avaliable ..... with ang mo teachers too!

 

lastly, dubious practices, socializing with 'bai jiu' & chio bu$ etc. - you must always know how to handle them - this is norm in all cities in china.......

 

all in all...... I'd choose qingdao above others developing cities in china......(next to shanghai & xiamen)

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[Piyopico]

excluding major cities like shanghai, beijing etc.......qingdao is considering a good place (xiamen is also my favorite) . . .

putting remunerations aside, you dun wanna stay in bj with shitty air, traffic and lousy food, and sh will be way too expensive for starters!

 

qingdao puts you in that marvellous stance where seafood, beer, meat etc. very available!

this means . . . to sinkies, the food there is very very much 'bo beh zao' !!!

qingdao is also in the central attractions to s. korea, hong kong, japan etc..... its also very near guangzhou, foshan where most famous chinese brands are established......so, you dun lack of places for shopping!

 

weather is marvellous..... you enjoy the 4 seasons with a good stretch in the summer (plenty of sea sports and bikinis etc.)..... and winter is not as cold as beijing & seoul ..... autumn is full for events and festivals..... beer fest in QD stretches for weeks!

here, we have haze from sumatra..... there, those are fogs...mist from the sea shores

 

qingdao ppl (shhhh, something like E meets W germans! if you know the history and their ancestral backgrounds) comes in 2 formats..... the very 'in' city developed ones (very modern) and the 'kampong' ones striking out from their refurbishing hometowns......

they are down to earth and very very neutral . . . i.e. very much 'xiao kang zi zia'

 

cars are not cheap to locals there but easily accessible with $ (top models you dreamt of, can be easily assessible).

 

the cities are developing fast with super hi-ways above seas, the chinese' hollywood equivalents there, sub-way operation is target by 2016, and most of ...... qingdao is regarded as the new 'pharmaceuticals' by foreign giants ..... this means that execs and workers there are "trainable" & "kuai kuai" like sinkies in the 70s & 80s . . . .

 

there will always be "wrong place, wrong time" if you know what I mean . . . like dodgy ktvs, chio bo for $, thugs, hooligans in night clubs etc... but afterall, qingdao's security is good and peaceful .....

 

I frequent qingdao to train, consult, audit, establish factories there...... so I witnessed the fast developments in qd for past few years.

 

it all boils down to what level of standards you can afford there..... a bungalow by the sea, poshy condos in the city hoteliers or developed residential in downtowns....... qingdao is also family-frenly with kids coz int'l educations are avaliable ..... with ang mo teachers too!

 

lastly, dubious practices, socializing with 'bai jiu' & chio bu$ etc. - you must always know how to handle them - this is norm in all cities in china.......

 

all in all...... I'd choose qingdao above others developing cities in china......(next to shanghai & xiamen)

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I just like to know if Qingdao is worth a short visit of 5 days for me and my wife. So no chiobus for $ type of activities.