Sorry for the rude treatment you have received LUWahoo! It's perfectly fine to ask questions on a forum I feel, although it is done on a regular basis, you probably didn't know that. There is a fairly large and active expat community which has formed several sports clubs and a various other groups. The nightlife isn't bad. There are many many bars and cafes around town, a few of which are frequented by expats on a regular basis (mainly the ones run by foreigners as they can publicise their business in English more effectively and tend to be more in tune with the kinds of offers and events that draw foreigners in). If you like nightclubs, there is a purpose built area in the centre of town which has several, but having not been to them I can't comment.
You would have to fly to Shanghai or Beijing. If you have the money for the flights & taxis, it's not much hassle at all. Probably not worth it for 2 days, but a long weekend perhaps.
Yunnan has a lot of variety due to its position and range of altitudes. The north west of the province has snow capped mountains and air so thin as to make you breathe heavily just to walk. The south is constantly warm and has forest containing elephants. The east is where the only 2 big cities are (Kunming and Qujing). The north east has rape seed fields. From Kunming you can take a train to the Vietnam border, a bus to the Laos border, and if you are more adventurous, the Burma border. Yunnan has some of the most dramatic scenery I have seen anywhere (Tiger Leaping Gorge) and pretty towns and villages (e.g. Dali). It's not all good though. Yunnan is a bit 'backwards' compared with some parts of China. If you are looking for technical and cultural sophistication, that's a bit of a work in progress here. They are building lots of skyscrapers, so on the face of it it looks like a big modern city, but I'm not sure what they are going to do with all these huge buildings. Hangzhou, Shanghai, or Beijing have much more in terms of restaurants, bars, and general big city buzz, but they also suffer from dreadful air pollution and wet weather, which Kunming generally does not (though it can get very dry and dusty in winter and very wet in summer).
Very helpful Haali
I've gotten my preliminary list to 6 (Shanghai, Shenzhen, Suzhou, Qingdao, Hangzhou, and Kunming
I used to live in Hangzhou, so if you want any info about it, just ask. I haven't been there for 14 months though, so my info may be slightly out of date
Most definitely, Haali.
Open to hearing experiences from any and all of those areas
okay, same questions as for kunming? I can send you a message. Or if you have different questions, send me a message
@Luwahoo, you said, "to get a start in IT" and I suggested Kunming is not a good place to start anything.
IMHO unless you are experienced in IT you would have real problems here, more so than other cities.
Firstly, you would probably be working alone, and your opportunities to learn from others would be limited. In BJ, SH, HZ, and SZ you could be working in a larger company with an IT dept/colleagues to learn from.
Secondly, even in Universities and public sector bodies here, your system/network will probably be running multiple versions of pirated software, with many compatibility issues, all in the Chinese language.
Thirdly, most unis IT is run by a bunch of enthusiastic students (wanting to get something on their CVs) supporting a full time IT manager who speaks to the director. I doubt there will be any vacancies.
Fourthly, where there is work available it will go to someone who is fully IT literate in the Chinese language, English is merely an advantage.
Additionally, there are several F500 IT companies in the other cities, lots of jobs, including those with career progression in the other cities.
There is a job advertised on here for an IT English language hacker/coder. Perhaps not a job for a newbie, and this job is almost unique in Kunming.
In short, there really are much better opportunities for work in SH, HZ, BJ, and even SZ.
Shenzhen is where the money is. Many graduates go there to seek their fortune.
That being said - you MIGHT try to look for work with some of the IT companies that contract to NGOs (definitely NOT a lot of sustainable income there) and foreign companies.
The major IT outsourcing companies such as iSoftStone etc MAY be interested - but you'll be employed at local hire salary.
That being said - you'll also be exposed to the chinese concept of work, ethics, and work behavior (social interactions, etc) - so if you're NOT familiar with the Chinese work environment - this has the potential to be an eye-opening experience (or an incredibly head-banging experience in frustration).
Hong Kong is DEFINITELY out right now - as they're economy is constricted and with their current abrasive behavior towards chinese tourists - they're heading into an economic downslide.
You MIGHT want to also consider Taiwan...Macau used to be great because of the casino money - but that's all dried up also...
