Finding a Job / Applying for a Job / Medical Certificate /
Qualifications and Salary Negotiating a Contract / Standards of Employer
Provided Accommodation / Health Cover / Spouses and Children / Contract Starting
Dates / Official Letter of Invitation / Visas / Booking an Airfare Excess /
Baggage / Fare & Startup Expense Reimbursement / Getting an Employment
Certificate and Foreigner Residence Permit ("Green Card") / Handling Delays /
Evasions, Stuff-Ups, Low Standards, Language Confusion, etc. ... /
Part 2 Getting Around
Buses Taxis Three-Wheelers & Other Exotica Bicycles Walking
Crossing the road without getting killed Distances in Wuhan
Navigating & getting help when you are lost Driving Yourself
Getting a Chinese Licence Traveling to Other Parts of China Booking
Travel Air Travel Rail Travel Boat Travel Long-distance Bus
Travel Cycle Touring I nternational Travel Exit from China &
Re-entry to China Departure Routes from Wuhan
Types of Retail Outlets Fruit, Vegetable & Meat Markets
Note on making unpeeled, raw fruit and vegetables safe to
eat:
a) wash well in running water; b) half fill a plastic bag
with water; put in a tablespoon of salt, shake well; add the fruit
or vegetables to the bag, shake thoroughly; leave for at
least half an hour; drain and eat or refrigerate.
Small Grocery & General Stores Supermarkets - What you will and won't
find in a supermarket Department Stores Small Clothing Shops Small
Special-Purpose Shops (Electrical, Hardware etc.) Buying The Miming Game
- life without words Fixed" Prices Bargaining - when,
where and how Using a calculator to bargain with Comparison Shopping
Guarantees Faulty Goods
Part 4
Where Can I Find It, and What Will It Cost?
Maps of major shopping locations in the shopping districts of Wuhan's Wuchang
area.
Luojia Mountain Computer Shops
Asia Trading Centre
Foreign Language Bookshop area
Simenkou area
Hankou Hanyang
Typical Prices (1998 - 1999) Department Store versus Small Shop
Prices versus Market Prices "Back Door" Prices and "Discounts" A
Premium Price for Westerner Shoe & Clothing Sizes? Sample Prices
"Cheap Eats" in Wuhan - restaurants that offer good cooking at extra
cheap prices
- indexed by star rating (quality)
- indexed by location - indexed by typical menus
- indexed by price
Medium-priced restaurants in Wuhan - restaurants that offer very
good cooking in pleasant surroundings at reasonable prices (Y-- to Y--)
- indexed by star rating (quality) - indexed by location
- indexed by typical menus - indexed by price
Top-class restaurants in Wuhan - restaurants that offer
outstanding cooking and prestige surroundings at top prices (above Y-- )
- indexed by location - indexed by typical menus -
indexed by price
cultural attitudes to cinema in China - many Chinese I asked
about the cinema expressed disinterest and distaste. Cinemas have not yet
experienced the resurgence known to Western cities in the last decade or so.
For older Chinese, cinema is often strongly associated with government
propaganda, which they dislike. However, Hankou has at least one modern cinema
complex which tends to feature imported blockbusters and has a certain social
appeal to youth. [Thor]
location of major cinemas in Wuhan
specialist cinema (?) - e.g. foreign language films
Cultural ideas of friendship What to expect of a Chinese friend What
a Chinese friend expects Casual contacts "I want to practice English"
Common interests - a sport, music etc. .... Making contacts on the
Internet Clubs and Associations in Wuhan Clubs on university campuses
Sporting clubs Cultural clubs and associations Other sorts of clubs
working out a balanced diet with unfamiliar foods getting advice on local
foods basic medical self-help buying medicine Chinese medicine
well-intentioned advice from Chinese friends Chinese cultural attitudes
to illness what do you pay for and what is free? health insurance
local health clinics (e.g. on a campus) dental care eye care
doctors Chinese doctor-patient relationships getting a second
medical opinion specialists Hospitals
Documents you must have Your rights as a resident foreigner Your
obligations as a resident foreigner Renewing your visa Changing your
work permit Settling minor disputes Traffic accidents Encounters
with various security officials Disagreements with your employer Other
contract disputes and problems Marrying a Chinese citizen Commercial
disputes
a). minor disputes (e.g. with shops, banks etc).
b) larger issues (e.g. contracts, joint ventures etc.)
Being a victim of crime What to do if you are arrested Basic
philosophy and method of the Chinese legal system Chinese legal help
When to notify your embassy
a) Origins: Xia and Shang Dynasty Periods (2205 to 1122 BC)
- first evidence of settlement around
Wuhan area in the Shang period
b) Wuhan area in the Zhou Dynasty (1122 to 256 BC)
c) Wuhan area in the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BC)
d) Wuhan area in the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) -
Hanyang became a busy port; walls built around Hanyang &
Wuchang between the 1st & 3rd centuries AD.
e) Wuhan area in the Period of the Warring States (220 AD to 581 AD)
- The famous Yellow Crane Tower was first
built in AD223; it has been rebuilt many times since
f) Wuhan area in the Siu Dynasty (581 to 618 AD)
g) Wuhan area in the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 AD)
h) Wuhan area in the FiveDynasties (907 to 960 AD)
i) Wuhan area in the Northern Song Dynasty (960 to 1127 AD)
j) Wuhan area in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 to 1179 AD)
k) Wuhan area in the Yuan Dynasty (1179 to 1368 AD)
l) Wuhan area in the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 AD)
m) Wuhan area in the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911 AD) -
Giuyan Temple built in early Qing period - famous for its collection of
Buddhist doctrine - Hankou became one of China's top four trading towns
about 300 years ago - Foreign trading concessions in Hankou : British 1861;
German 1895; Russian & French 1896; Japanese 1898 - China's first
modern iron & steel works in Hanyang in 1891
n) Wuhan area in the early Republic Period (1911 to 1949 AD) - Wuhan area was a centre of revolt against the Qing Dynasty in
1911 - Beijing to Wuhan railway in the 1920s led to rapid expansion
o) Wuhan area since 1949 - The three cities of Wuchang,
Hanyang and Hankou were combined to form Wuhan in 1950 - China's first
bridge across the Yangtze (Changjiang) River in 1957 - Metropolitan Wuhan's
population has multiplied by about five times since 1950 - Wuhan's social
and commercial development was seriously affected by the Cultural Revolution
(1964-76) - Wuchang has become the administrative and university centre;
Hankou is the commercial centre; Hanyang has the Dong Feng car
plant; an industry development zone, and numerous factories, but is
relatively less prosperous than the other two cities