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1.BACKGROUND For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision-making. Output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight while economic controls continue to be relaxed.
2. LOCATION: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
3. CAPITAL: Beijing (Area: 16,800 square kilometers; Population: 12.59 million)
4.ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: China has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao). For the locations of these administrative divisions, please click MAP OF CHINA .
5. ECONOMY-OVERVIEW: In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2002, with its 1.3 billion people but a GDP of just $4,400 per capita, China stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen China's ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, and while many observers believe the official figures over the past two decades overstated China's real economic growth by 2 to 3 percentage points, China's official national growth rates of the past two years are fairly close to actual GDP growth.
6.HISTORY: China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, paper, gunpowder and printing. The Great Wall, the Grand Canal and the Karez irrigation systems are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. Now they are the symbols of the rich culture heritage of the Chinese nation. China has gone over a long history of primitive society, slavery society, feudal society and semi-feudal semi-colonial society and the present socialist society. (For a brief history of China, Click Here )
7.CLIMATE: China lies mainly in the northern temperate zone under the influence of monsoon. From September and October to March and April next year monsoon blows from Siberia and the Mongolian Plateau into China and decreases in force as it goes southward, causing dry and cold winter in the country and a temperature difference of 40 degrees centigrade between the north and the south. The temperature in China in the winter is 5 to 18 degrees centigrade lower than that in other countries on the same latitude in winter. Monsoon blows into China from the ocean in summer, bringing with them warm and wet currents, thus rain. Great differences in climate are found from region to region owing to China's extensive territory and complex topography. The northern part of Heilongjiang Province in the northeast has no summer, while Hainan Island in the south has a long summer but no winter. The Huaihe River valley features four distinct seasons, and the western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is covered by snow all year round. The southern part of the Yunan-Guizhou Plateau is spring-like in all seasons; and the northwestern inland regions could see great variations of temperature within the day. Annual precipitation also varies greatly from region to region, which is as high as 1,500 millimeters along the southeastern coast, and as low as 50 millimeters in the northwest.
Teaching materials and documents You will be teaching oral English and listening skills to the students. The schools will offer you a textbook and the curriculum for the grades you will teach. You will have to do your own lesson plans to meet the needs of the students. Picture dictionaries, simple word games, flash cards and magazines with lots of food, clothing and homes will be useful. Most of our students are children (7-12 years old) and teenagers (13-18 years old) with low and intermediate English level. The hard copies of all your documents (Diploma, certificate, reference letters), the original Physical Examination form and 8 passport size pictures. A traveling book, such as the Lonely Planet about China will be very useful for you traveling all over China during your holiday. Clothes Clothes are very cheap to buy in China . Our teachers are required to dress in a professional manner. This does not mean that you need to bring your best suite, a T-shirt and Jeans are acceptable as long as they are neat and not ripped. Shorts and muscle (tank tops) are forbidden in the classroom. Modest sun dresses are allowed, but be conscious about wearing any dresses, sweaters or tops that are low cut and tight. We recommend that you bring the basics with you and then go shopping once you are here and find out what you still need, after all you will want to travel light. Please use common sense and bear in mind that China is a more conservative country than the country you are coming from. Teachers are held in high regard, dress like a professional. Daily toiletries and cosmetics are also very inexpensive and available everywhere. Again we recommend travel light and buy when you arrive. The weather in Hangzhou on February is still quite cold and rainy, about 0-4 centigrade degree; 25-33 centigrade degree during the Summer. Medical supplies If you require prescription medication bring as big a supply as possible with letters from your doctor and other documents supporting what the medication is and why it is needed. We also recommend that you bring a good supply of pain killers such as Ibuprofen, a multi vitamin and anti-diarrhea and/or travel sickness pills. Most other medicines such as cold and flu tablets etc. are available at all Chemist's shops in China . Gifts for students and Chinese friends Chinese people love receiving gifts from other countries. Small flags, pins, post cards, coins, and inexpensive stamps make excellent gifts and also good rewards for students with outstanding work. Try contacting your national heritage office or government representative, they will usually supply you with many of these items free of charge, such as flags, pins, stickers. A map of your country is also a good thing to bring. Money You should bring enough money with you for the first month, we suggest between 300 and 500 USD. This will get you through the first month as you may not get paid until the end of your first teaching month. The living expense is very low in China , about 500 Yuan RMB per month is ok. Travelers Cheques can be exchanged in Hangzhou or Maoming. The VISA and other international credit card are also acceptable in the Bank of China. Electrical goods One thing you need to know is that Power Voltage in China is 220 V and Power Frequency is 50 H. This is the same as Europe, so if you are from America or Canada then you may want to consider bringing a travel plug. The Video operating system in China is as same as the European System (PAL System).
8. MONEY: Chinese Money is called Renminbi (RMB) (means "People's Currency"). The popular unit of RMB is Yuan. The official exchange rate between U.S. Dollar and RMB Yuan currently is about 1 : 8.3 (1.00 Dollar = 8.30 Yuan). 1 Yuan equals 10 Jiao, and 1 Jiao equals 10 Fen. (There are parts of China the Yuan is also known as Kuai, and Jiao is known as Mao.) Chinese currency is issued in the following denominations: one, two, five, ten, fifty and a hundred Yuan; one, two and five Jiao; and one, two and five Fen.
9. OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day: January 1 The Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year's Day ?between January and February: The exact date varies, depending on Chinese Lunar Calendar. Chinese New Year's Day in 2003 was on February 1 . The year 2003 is the Year of Goat in Chinese zodiac system. Labor Day: May 1 National Day: October 1 The working days are Monday through Friday. Official hours are from 8:00am to 17:00pm with one hour for lunch.
10. LANGUAGES: The national language is Putonghua (the common speech) or Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. Most of the 55 minority nationalities have their own languages. Cantonese is one of the local dialects of southern China. As a written language, Chinese has been used for 6,000 years.
11. NATIONALITIES: China is made up of 56 ethnic groups. The Han people make up 91.02 percent of the total population, and the other 55 national minorities 8.98 percent. They are Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyi, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Wa, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Benglong, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Gelo. All nationalities enjoy equal status according to the Constitution. The State protects their lawful rights and interests and promotes equality, unity and mutual help among all nationalities.
12. Education in China: Since 1949 when the People's Republic of China was founded, Chinese government has always been placing the education on its higher agenda. Through uninterrupted efforts in the past five decades, China has made significant progress in its education sector. The 9-year compulsory education is being implemented nationwide in stages in a planned way; primary schooling has been prevailed in areas concentrating 91% of Chinese population; higher education, occupational and polytechnic education, diversified adult education and ethical education have been developed rapidly. (If you have interest to know more, Please click here . )
13. China Weather Information : China can be visited through out the year because of the stretch of its territories nad sites and activities it can offer. Deciding when to visit China depends on which places you wish to visit, what type of weather you enjoy, and how much a bargain you want. China is a huge country with many different climates and types of landscape. Think of it in terms of the United States, which China resembles in size and shape. Traveling along the Golden Route (Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin) is like visiting New York, Chicago, Santa Fe, and Jacksonville, Florida all in one trip.(If you have interest to know more, Please click here . )
14. FAMILY NAMES: Chinese family names came into being some 5,000 years ago. There are more than 5,000 family names, of which 200 to 300 are popular. In Chinese names, family names comes first and given name second. For example, in the case of Deng Xiaoping, Deng is the family name, Xiaoping the given name. The most popular Chinese family names are ZHANG, WANG, LI, ZHAO, LIU, CHEN...
15. RELIGIONS: China is a multi-religious country. Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are the three major religions. Catholicism and Protestantism have smaller but substantial followers too. Different ethnic groups usually follow different religions. Islam is followed by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan peoples; Buddhism and Lamaism are followed by the Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and Yugur nationalities; Christianity is followed by the Miao, Yao and Yi nationalities; Shamanism is followed by the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur nationalities; and the majority Han nationality believes in Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity.
16. TELEVISION SYSTEM: PAL (In addition to Chinese language TV broadcast, English and Japanese TV programs are available in many hotels via satellite relay. China Central Television Station (CCTV) and some local TV stations also provide English news and other programs in English.)
17. TELEPHONE AREA CODE: Mainland China 86; Hong Kong 852; Taiwan 886. (Special Telephone Numbers: Police 110; Fire 119; Emergency 120.)
18. ROAD DRIVE SIDE: Mainland China: on the right Hong Kong: on the left Taiwan: on the right
19. INTERNET DOMAIN CODE: Mainlan China: cn (such as "....org.cn" , "...edu.cn" or "....com.cn") Hong Kong: hk Taiwan: tw