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Pro-PRC Laowai posted:weather Sounds a lot better than Hangzhou's summer which is also a cycle: Day 1: 30+ and 9,000% humidity Days 2-15: 30+ and torrential rain Repeat until the week of autumn before winter and 4 months of below freezing weather in a city with no heating or insulation. CHINA #1 TOURIST CITY
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 01:26 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 19:43 |
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caberham posted:The overnight train from Beijing to Shenzhen was around 30 hours straight. Screw that I rather fly or just road trip to other cities along the way. There are like five different classes of trains, and that is just the slowest one. The direct train from Hong Kong does not stop, and while it isn't a maglev or anything it will definitely get you there a lot faster than 30 hours. It's kind of confusing - from where I live you can either take a 14 hour train to beijing, or a 10 hour train, or take a half hour train to another city and connect to a 5 hour train. I usually take the 10 hour train, because it's overnight and a lot cheaper than the high-speed train. edit: yeah, the Kowloon-Beijing train is about 24 hours and only runs every other day, but has the deluxe sleeper cars so you can get privacy if you want to pay for it. It's definitely going to be the cheaper option and doing a "high speed rail road trip" probably wouldn't get you there much faster anyway. Plus you don't even have to go to Shenzhen. But I don't know - I have always found kicking back on a train reading a book, watching movies, playing DS or whatever to be kind of relaxing, and a lot better than hanging around train stations waiting for connections, trying to buy tickets or whatever. Plus with the overnight trains you can just get really wasted and pass out, then you wake up and in a few hours you have arrived. Be Depressive fucked around with this message at Jun 14, 2011 around 01:53 |
| # ? Jun 14, 2011 01:32 |
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Pro-PRC Laowai posted:Actually, yes she can sue over it, she would need to get in touch with a lawyer for all the specifics.
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 01:47 |
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waloo posted:She'd have to be really really interested in not being associated for this to be worthwhile though. The costs in both time and money seem like they wouldn't be worth it for most. Yeah, it's probably not worth the time/effort, and she's not going to see any money out of this. What sort of event was this, anyway>
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 01:50 |
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Be Depressive posted:There are like five different classes of trains, and that is just the slowest one. The direct train from Hong Kong does not stop, and while it isn't a maglev or anything it will definitely get you there a lot faster than 30 hours. It's kind of confusing - from where I live you can either take a 14 hour train to beijing, or a 10 hour train, or take a half hour train to another city and connect to a 5 hour train. I usually take the 10 hour train, because it's overnight and a lot cheaper than the high-speed train. It is nice having options like that isn't it  I was putting in a bid for some on-site projects in the US last week and got this funny idea that I would train it from San Fran to Seattle instead of flying. Seeing as the train is frequently 8-9 hours late and eats 24 hours (when it's on time) and the cheapest option for a bed for 2 people puts the price up to $567 for a one way and there's only one damned train per day that stops at every god damned station.... haha, yea. A train it shall not be. My time's worth more than that and I'd rather fly first class.
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 01:52 |
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waloo posted:She'd have to be really really interested in not being associated for this to be worthwhile though. The costs in both time and money seem like they wouldn't be worth it for most. Yea, also consider the fact that the lawyer fees are (most likely) not going to be paid by the losing party (way too much room for abuse). It would be easiest to just contact the company directly and failing that get a lawyer to serve them with a cease and desist notice with the threat of a lawsuit if they fail to comply. Damages would probably only amount to a few thousand unless it was being used in some vile manner. edit: http://bw.zjol.com.cn/07bw/system/2...008907654.shtml Similar story. A shoe store took their pictures and used them for advertising. In the end they got the store to stop and pay 1000 in damages to each. Few years back, so damages would be more now. The only real need for a lawyer is a short consultation to figure out what can be done and maybe aid with some paperwork. Pro-PRC Laowai fucked around with this message at Jun 14, 2011 around 02:10 |
| # ? Jun 14, 2011 01:57 |
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Pro-PRC Laowai posted:Yea, also consider the fact that the lawyer fees are (most likely) not going to be paid by the losing party (way too much room for abuse). It would be easiest to just contact the company directly and failing that get a lawyer to serve them with a cease and desist notice with the threat of a lawsuit if they fail to comply. Damages would probably only amount to a few thousand unless it was being used in some vile manner. Ok, that's about the info I was looking for. Thanks! Re: the event, I don't particularly want to say-- Let's just say that if people recognised her from this ad, it would probably negatively affect her. It's nothing illegal, but it could be embarrassing for her. In my opinion, the damage is already done-- the ad is out there. I don't think it's *obvious* that it's her, but she's been recognised once already by it. I think at this point the best case scenario is talking to the guys and making sure her image won't be used again. I'm not sure that she's looking for money, just for it not to be used again. Thanks for the help, anyhow!
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 03:12 |
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Bloodnose posted:Definitely at least a day trip to Tianjin. You probably only need a day here. And I'd love to meet up if you're looking to meet up with a goon, but I'm out of here in a week. Let me know if you have any questions or need some contacts here.
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 04:35 |
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Wow the weather in Beijing was really bad and smoggy. It's weird that my throat starts getting all scratchy from leaving the plane. I'm not even from a pristine whitebread town and I am still getting weird symptons  I thought parts of Shenzhen and Dongguan was bad enough but drat this place reminds me of the early 90's. THE PRICE OF PROGRESS TO MAKE CHINA STRONG~ So strong that people just buy loads of baby forumula. Melamine free products make wonderful souvenirs  I'm in the Beijing airport with a 3 hour overlay so I just used took a small tour around the airport. The food court is nothing special but it does have an awesome burger king with a quadruple burger! Even the BBQ sauce is spiked with spice. Must be a northern thing. Still fun, kind of neat to see more Russians and all the Russians buying bottles of duty free vodka! But there's not too much going on in the airport and not much souvenirs or knick knacks to shop for. And a really small book store. At least theft won't be a problem because there's not much hustle and bustle. The nice thing is that I have commandeered a resting area and set up shop to charge all my devices, my goon outpost of iphone, ipad, laptop, camera gear, and playing Gran turismo 5. Too bad I don't have enough time to stay in Beijing and see the town outside. Oh well. That's the price of getting a cheap ticket and doing a longer overlay. And getting hit by country bumpkin obnoxious passengers. Be Depressive posted:I usually take the 10 hour train, because it's overnight and a lot cheaper than the high-speed train. First of all, you have a wife and so a nice private area to spend the night which makes everything a lot more fun  All I do is set up a goon base and do computer related stuff  10 hour overnight is the magic sweet spot for the price. I hate long day trains or long day boats or anything where I'm not feeling like I'm going anywhere. The first time is a novelty but things can get pretty boring quickly  Only exception is the swiss alpine train ride! But that's just because I'm not from Switzerland. The Pacific Northlight express is something similar from Vancouver ---> LA at a exhorbiantly high price which only retiring seniors are willing to pay. Scored a $260 ticket from Seattle ---> Sanjose 4 days --- > Boston. Love kayak.com hitension posted:There is also the option of permanent straightening. Hair hair hair. I think it's called an ionic perm and supposedly the pricicer/better the job the longer the duration and the straighter it gets. I think it looks pretty awkward during the first week and inaddtion to the foul smelling hair since you are not allowed to wash it for a week :gross: Western hair is nice as it is. I personally like the curly and thin nature of it. It's like Angel hair! Chinese girls with long straight hair just looks like a oversized caligraphy brush. Hairy bodies and arms on the otherhand...
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| # ? Jun 14, 2011 06:19 |
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I'm going to be in China this Saturday for two weeks and I will be bringing my iPhone 4 with me. I signed up for the International Data plan (50 mb) and was wondering if I am going to be able to use it to check my email and what not. Will it be pretty trouble-free or will I have problems finding a network?
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 02:17 |
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Are you from the US? Which carrier are you on?
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 02:39 |
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Pro-PRC Laowai posted:It's a 2.5 hour flight and it looks as if the airlines are dropping their prices to around 510-530 each way to try and compete with it.. but the 130 extra in fees just kinda kills that... and the 130 isn't gonna do anything but go up. While as the bonds for the trains gets paid off and ridership increases, the speed will be increased and fares lowered. Just bought plane tickets yesterday for SH-BJ, and the taxes and fees were 190 each way now , so the train, even at 555, is looking like a very appealing option.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 04:12 |
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MeramJert posted:Are you from the US? Which carrier are you on? Yes and AT&T
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 05:09 |
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Yeah you'll be able to connect. If you want to use 3G I think you'd be able to on China Unicom's network, but with a 50MB limit I don't know if 3G is really worth it. AT&T is GSM though, so you're covered with an iPhone 4 because I'm fairly sure the iPhone 4 has quad band GSM.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 05:15 |
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MeramJert posted:Yeah you'll be able to connect. If you want to use 3G I think you'd be able to on China Unicom's network, but with a 50MB limit I don't know if 3G is really worth it. AT&T is GSM though, so you're covered with an iPhone 4 because I'm fairly sure the iPhone 4 has quad band GSM. Yea I will just be using my iPhone to reply / receive emails on the go.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 05:20 |
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Well you should be able to get EDGE anyway even if 3G doesn't work, which I've found good enough for email
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 05:30 |
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Busy Bee posted:Yea I will just be using my iPhone to reply / receive emails on the go. You'll be fine, but you might want to turn off your data or put the phone in airplane mode when you're not using it. I think you'll find that you can burn through 50mb fairly quickly. Especially since the iPhone is an "always connected" kinda phone and likes to poll for things relatively often. Don't want to make any expensive "butt-dials" either. At least this has been my experience. SB35 fucked around with this message at Jun 15, 2011 around 06:06 |
| # ? Jun 15, 2011 06:00 |
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I'm going to be coming up on 5 years in China later in 2011 and I'm a little bit confused by the mixed information I'm getting about this supposed change in tax status I'm facing. Do any of you guys know what the deal is with this?
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 07:08 |
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waloo posted:Do any of you guys know what the deal is with this? Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, characterized it as  ABANDON SHIP ABANDON SHIP NO MORE MONEY IN CHINA Certainly made me rethink seeking employment in the mainland.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 09:48 |
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Anyone interested in this laptop around Shanghai? I bought it before I came to China about a month ago and realized all I need is like a $300 netbook and I don't want to keep using this computer. It's in almost brand new condition every time I travel with it I put it in a notebook case. It comes with the case and an adapter for Chinese outlets. I'm willing to post a thread in SA-Mart if anyone wants it. Spent almost $900 on it so I'm hoping for a reasonable offer.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 11:32 |
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Bloodnose posted:Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, characterized it as Does this count against foreign teachers on 2-year contracts?
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 14:42 |
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B-Rad posted:Does this count against foreign teachers on 2-year contracts? I couldn't find the SCMP article since I'm not a subscriber, but they certainly presented it as all foreign workers having their income taxed up to 20% for a new social security scheme. 'Foreign' in this case including Hong Kong but excluding Koreans and Germans for some reason.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 15:23 |
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I'm a little confused. Is this an American tax we're talking about or a Chinese one?
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 15:55 |
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Chinese.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 15:58 |
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What was the rate before? I don't pay as much attention as I should...
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 18:05 |
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waloo posted:I'm going to be coming up on 5 years in China later in 2011 and I'm a little bit confused by the mixed information I'm getting about this supposed change in tax status I'm facing. They are currently in talks over it. The plan was to up the exemption to 3,000 from 2,000 and then consolidate the 9 brackets into 7. The net effect would be if you earn under 19,000 a month you see a tax cut, over 19,000 you see a tax increase. However... http://news.cn.yahoo.com/ypen/20110616/417837.html There is all kinds of debate saying that 3,000 is too high in some places, too low in others and there needs to be more thought put into it. Jacking up taxes on rich people though... yep, they all for that.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 18:32 |
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Ill be moving to China in just over 2 weeks, what is the current internet status in China? The OP was updated about a month ago with a bunch of goons complaining about errors, but I havent seen anyone posting about it since. Are VPN's working? I want to try and grab one before going to China but if they are not working, Ill hold on it.
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| # ? Jun 15, 2011 23:34 |
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It's about the same as it was - most things work fine outside of the stuff that's been blocked for ages (youtube, facebook, twitter, blogspot) and some vpns and web proxies don't work, but others do. I've noticed the internet has been really slow sometimes and very fast at other times. I think it also depends on where you are. Gmail has been working better lately.
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 00:15 |
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It also seems to vary by region or provider. Tumblr and a few things don't work for me in Ningbo, but in Shanxi or Jiangxi I was having no problems a few weeks ago. But I'm using StrongVPN now. It seems to be working fine.
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 01:29 |
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Pro-PRC Laowai posted:They are currently in talks over it. The plan was to up the exemption to 3,000 from 2,000 and then consolidate the 9 brackets into 7. The net effect would be if you earn under 19,000 a month you see a tax cut, over 19,000 you see a tax increase. Soooo basically I should take off for a 30+ days lest I suddenly find myself in a new tax bracket? balls
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 01:56 |
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TheBuilder posted:It also seems to vary by region or provider. Tumblr and a few things don't work for me in Ningbo, but in Shanxi or Jiangxi I was having no problems a few weeks ago. Really? I hear StrongVPN got blocked (in Shanghai at least).
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 02:13 |
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waloo posted:Soooo basically I should take off for a 30+ days lest I suddenly find myself in a new tax bracket? balls I've been here over 5 years without a 30+ day break and I still pay the same taxes I did before the 5 years hit. I still get the foreigner's exemption too. I've never met anyone where the lower tax brackets started applying after 5 years either. My taxes are done through probably the most reputable tax and HR agency in China as well. Obviously this is just anecdotal, but unless you're making tons of cash, I don't think anyone will notice you've suddenly reached 5 years. They still can't even figure out how to track your work history from one province to another, it's not like there's some computer database with a timer ticking down to Waloo's five year mark.
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 02:20 |
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I'm having some trouble getting my Z-visa and I was hoping I could get some advice. I sent in my package of documents, which my visa agent (the one mentioned in the OP) submitted to the Chinese consulate. The consulate rejected my application because the "physical examination record for foreigner" form was "not formal enough." I have no health insurance and am not rich, so I can't very well afford the $500-600 dollars to get all these tests done in the US, so I had my med student friend fill it out for me. Does anyone know exactly how this process works and what the minimum necessary level of credibility is? This is a gigantic pain in the rear end considering that I'm going to have to repeat this entire exam as soon as I step off of the plane. welcome to china, amirite?
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 05:39 |
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Spiderjelly posted:I'm having some trouble getting my Z-visa and I was hoping I could get some advice. I sent in my package of documents, which my visa agent (the one mentioned in the OP) submitted to the Chinese consulate. The consulate rejected my application because the "physical examination record for foreigner" form was "not formal enough." I have no health insurance and am not rich, so I can't very well afford the $500-600 dollars to get all these tests done in the US, so I had my med student friend fill it out for me. Does anyone know exactly how this process works and what the minimum necessary level of credibility is? This is a gigantic pain in the rear end considering that I'm going to have to repeat this entire exam as soon as I step off of the plane. welcome to china, amirite? Jeez I hope this doesn't happen to me. I got a physical done with my doctor, but just had him fill out the EKG and xray stuff with "normal", instead of actually doing the tests. I did have them stamp the last page with their office stamp which is just basically their name and address in black ink since they don't notarize things. My employer said just make sure you get the doctor's signature and a stamp. I sure hope that's enough, I'll let you know when I hear anything which should be soon. Maybe try and find someway to stamp it? My employer seemed to emphasize that part, because the Chinese sure love their stamped documents. And yes, it's dumb as gently caress that we need to get a physical done before we go to China as well as within 30 days of getting there, but that's Chinese bureaucracy for you. Did your employer use your health check to then apply for your foreign expert certificate? That's what mine is currently doing. I'm not sure if I will then need the health check to go to the consulate and apply for the visa, I assume I will just take a copy of the foreign expert certificate. Arakan fucked around with this message at Jun 16, 2011 around 07:00 |
| # ? Jun 16, 2011 06:20 |
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woops quote not edit
Arakan fucked around with this message at Jun 16, 2011 around 06:58 |
| # ? Jun 16, 2011 06:23 |
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It needs to be actually notarized or they will reject it every single time. You need to find a doctor's office that will notarize your tests with a state seal. It was a pain in the rear end to find one when I was doing it, took about two weeks to get everything straightened out. That is the way it was in 2009, don't know if it has changed or not by now.
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 08:47 |
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goldboilermark posted:It needs to be actually notarized or they will reject it every single time. You need to find a doctor's office that will notarize your tests with a state seal. It was a pain in the rear end to find one when I was doing it, took about two weeks to get everything straightened out. That is the way it was in 2009, don't know if it has changed or not by now. I have actually never once bothered with all that hassle prior to coming in. Every time I have just entered on an F and changed it to a Z once in-country. If you have all the paperwork already any agent will get it all taken care of for like 1000ish. Not technically the way you are supposed to do it, but it's easiest and cheapest.
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 09:08 |
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goldboilermark posted:It needs to be actually notarized or they will reject it every single time. But if you have the foreign expert certificate already is that good enough? My employer seems to think the health check I gave them with some black stamp is good enough. Ok yea here http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84245.htm It says nothing about a health check, just that you need the foreign expert license. Your employer should be taking care of that for you. You don't bring the health check to the consulate, you send it to your employer, they apply for your foreign expert license, then you take that and your letter of invitation to the consulate and apply for the Z visa. Arakan fucked around with this message at Jun 16, 2011 around 09:28 |
| # ? Jun 16, 2011 09:13 |
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Arakan posted:But if you have the foreign expert certificate already is that good enough? My employer seems to think the health check I gave them with some black stamp is good enough. gently caress, I've already done this. The embassy has my foreign expert's certificate, which I got without any trouble from my employer. So the central government took my form, but the goddamn consulate won't?
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 09:42 |
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| # ? May 20, 2013 19:43 |
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So what exactly did you do when you applied for it? I'm planning on just taking the expert license, letter of invitation, and Q1 form when I go. Did they specifically ask you for a copy of your health check or what?
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| # ? Jun 16, 2011 09:53 |
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