Post by Raoul Duke on Jun 8, 2005 22:35:23 GMT 7
I lived in Changchun about a year. Came to love it, but it took a long time to get there. I was moved there in December and was pretty sure I had taken an assignment in Hell.
This town is not exactly a tourit mecca. It's not close to much...Harbin and some tatty ski resorts and a forest or two. Changchun only really has one "tourist attraction"...the "Puppet Palace" that was home to "Last Emperor" Pu Yi in the Manchukuo days. It will fill part of an afternoon with mild interest. Jilin city, the next wide spot up the railroad track, has a nice lake and is famous for its hoarfrost on the trees, if you are willing to brave the -40 conditions in which it occurs.
The city can be pleasant enough...nice quiet tree-lined neighborhoods and some very nice parks. Food is great and the girls are pretty and alcohol is dirt-cheap. People are friendly. There is more than you might think for foreigners thanks to the long-term presence of Volkswagen and other companies, but it's going to be pretty dull and spartan compared to the Shanghai area. The city is gradually revitalizing and renovating. It still has a lot of that grimy brick Northeastern depressing ambience. The city was an industrial giant back in the heyday of the State Owned Enterprise, but the reforms of the last few decades have closed almost all of them. The economy was devastated and unemployment rates exceeded 25%. It's only just beginning to recover.
They burn a lot of soft coal there, leading to my one contribution to the Chinese language: Changchunde (adj): covered with 3cm of oily black filth. The air is not too good, especially in winter.
Weather is a major issue here. On the up side, summers are indeed great and the really hot part is about 2 weeks long. Fall is nice but rather short. Spring is rather long- hence the city's name- but marred by unbelievable dust storms. The correct answer to "How's the weather?" at such times is "Orange". Winters are looooong, dude, and brutally cold. There's nothing between you and Siberia but barbed-wire fences. I experienced a few nights of -50. The city seems eternally covered with a layer of hard snow and ice, blackened by coal smoke and peppered with garbage of all kinds. Having a good winter wardrobe is absolutely essential for survival here...this is definitely frostbite country.
Changchun is starved for water...if you move there make damn sure you are lodged in the few blocks of the city that get 24 hour water. Otherwise you get 2 short bursts a day- one at the crack of dawn and one about the time evening classes start. Local TV reports often covered apartment buildings that had been deprived of water completely for a period of months.
It may seem strange after this review, but I rather enjoyed my time in Changchun. I'd consider going back for a really good job, which are hard to come by up there.
Beware of the AES Aston School. A den of weasels. Columbia is, if possible, even worse. In fact Changchun, much like Dalian, seems to have a disproportionate number of ripoff schools for a city its size. Jilin University and Northeast Normal University seem to be good gigs although salaries are low. Might try a school called "Perfect English"...I didn't work there but I liked Jack, the American owner.
Ask around for a market called "Big Peace World"...it's right on one of the main drags of Changchun, whose name now escapes me. It's a multi-story indoor market with a million tables, showcases, and small-scale entrepreneurs. Much of my large collection of Mao badges comes from there.
This town loves its Hot Pot...all those long frozen nights. There's a place called "Spicy Girl Hot Pot" near Big Peace World; you'll know it from the girls standing outside in qi pao, even in winter, and the endless repetition of an incredibly stupid recorded song about "Ma La Tang" (Spicy Soup with Numb Peppers) that mercifully you can't hear from inside. I don't see how those poor girls endure it day in and day out. Anyway, this place has raised Hot Pot to an art form.
I'm not aware of a Carrefour etc. there but when I was leaving there was apparently a Wal-Mart coming in. Probably up and running by now. Best supermarket back then was Beijing Hualian, which isn't saying much. Poke your head into unlikely-looking small shops...I gradually found quite a galaxy of taco shells, cheeses, Dr. Pepper, etc. in the unlikeliest of places.
Insider tip- if you want the taxi driver to turn left, say "Da4 Hui4". Right turn is "Xiao3 Hui4". The drivers will like you...you talk like a local.
One small nice thing about Changchun...they speak a relatively pure form of Putonghua up there and are immensely proud of it. It's a good place to learn Chinese, and people there are relatively easy to understand when they speak.
Not too much to do and lots of long cold winter nights, so you'll definitely have ample opportunity to study.
I recommend acquiring a ski mask, a DVD player, and a girlfriend as quickly as possible.
This town is not exactly a tourit mecca. It's not close to much...Harbin and some tatty ski resorts and a forest or two. Changchun only really has one "tourist attraction"...the "Puppet Palace" that was home to "Last Emperor" Pu Yi in the Manchukuo days. It will fill part of an afternoon with mild interest. Jilin city, the next wide spot up the railroad track, has a nice lake and is famous for its hoarfrost on the trees, if you are willing to brave the -40 conditions in which it occurs.
The city can be pleasant enough...nice quiet tree-lined neighborhoods and some very nice parks. Food is great and the girls are pretty and alcohol is dirt-cheap. People are friendly. There is more than you might think for foreigners thanks to the long-term presence of Volkswagen and other companies, but it's going to be pretty dull and spartan compared to the Shanghai area. The city is gradually revitalizing and renovating. It still has a lot of that grimy brick Northeastern depressing ambience. The city was an industrial giant back in the heyday of the State Owned Enterprise, but the reforms of the last few decades have closed almost all of them. The economy was devastated and unemployment rates exceeded 25%. It's only just beginning to recover.
They burn a lot of soft coal there, leading to my one contribution to the Chinese language: Changchunde (adj): covered with 3cm of oily black filth. The air is not too good, especially in winter.
Weather is a major issue here. On the up side, summers are indeed great and the really hot part is about 2 weeks long. Fall is nice but rather short. Spring is rather long- hence the city's name- but marred by unbelievable dust storms. The correct answer to "How's the weather?" at such times is "Orange". Winters are looooong, dude, and brutally cold. There's nothing between you and Siberia but barbed-wire fences. I experienced a few nights of -50. The city seems eternally covered with a layer of hard snow and ice, blackened by coal smoke and peppered with garbage of all kinds. Having a good winter wardrobe is absolutely essential for survival here...this is definitely frostbite country.
Changchun is starved for water...if you move there make damn sure you are lodged in the few blocks of the city that get 24 hour water. Otherwise you get 2 short bursts a day- one at the crack of dawn and one about the time evening classes start. Local TV reports often covered apartment buildings that had been deprived of water completely for a period of months.
It may seem strange after this review, but I rather enjoyed my time in Changchun. I'd consider going back for a really good job, which are hard to come by up there.
Beware of the AES Aston School. A den of weasels. Columbia is, if possible, even worse. In fact Changchun, much like Dalian, seems to have a disproportionate number of ripoff schools for a city its size. Jilin University and Northeast Normal University seem to be good gigs although salaries are low. Might try a school called "Perfect English"...I didn't work there but I liked Jack, the American owner.
Ask around for a market called "Big Peace World"...it's right on one of the main drags of Changchun, whose name now escapes me. It's a multi-story indoor market with a million tables, showcases, and small-scale entrepreneurs. Much of my large collection of Mao badges comes from there.
This town loves its Hot Pot...all those long frozen nights. There's a place called "Spicy Girl Hot Pot" near Big Peace World; you'll know it from the girls standing outside in qi pao, even in winter, and the endless repetition of an incredibly stupid recorded song about "Ma La Tang" (Spicy Soup with Numb Peppers) that mercifully you can't hear from inside. I don't see how those poor girls endure it day in and day out. Anyway, this place has raised Hot Pot to an art form.
I'm not aware of a Carrefour etc. there but when I was leaving there was apparently a Wal-Mart coming in. Probably up and running by now. Best supermarket back then was Beijing Hualian, which isn't saying much. Poke your head into unlikely-looking small shops...I gradually found quite a galaxy of taco shells, cheeses, Dr. Pepper, etc. in the unlikeliest of places.
Insider tip- if you want the taxi driver to turn left, say "Da4 Hui4". Right turn is "Xiao3 Hui4". The drivers will like you...you talk like a local.
One small nice thing about Changchun...they speak a relatively pure form of Putonghua up there and are immensely proud of it. It's a good place to learn Chinese, and people there are relatively easy to understand when they speak.
Not too much to do and lots of long cold winter nights, so you'll definitely have ample opportunity to study.
I recommend acquiring a ski mask, a DVD player, and a girlfriend as quickly as possible.