Shenzhen forums/help

[creztor]

Hi firstly sorry I do realize this is a HK forum/site. I am curious if anyone knows of a similar site with forums etc for Shenzhen? As I am currently in Taiwan and considering moving to SZ but have a many questions I need answered or help on first. If anyone has any info please let me know and again my apologies for posting this on a HK site.

[JAherbert]

http://www.shenzhenparty.com/

[JAherbert]

perhaps you might post your questions here, or PM me. many Hongkonger's know Sz pretty well.

[creztor]

Ok I'll give it a shot My questions are below, apologies if its a bit long :|

Visa
Ok basically I am thinking of moving to Shenzhen due to business and personal interests. Business is my own and there is no way I can get a visa based on this as its small and more of a hobby, so I assume I would have to just use a tourist visa or study chinese which I do want to do anyway. If I opted for the tourist visa, how hard is it to just go to HK and get a new one/extended when it expires etc? How long could I possibly do this before they asked questions? If I did move to SZ I would plan on staying for at least a few years.

Rent
What can I expect to pay for say 2 - 3 bedroom furnished/non-furnished apartment in not too remote yet doesnt have to be dead central in the heart of the city. I am currently paying 2700 RMB for a 3 room, 2 bathroom, kitchen, living room here in Taiwan.

Transport
Are foreigners allowed to own and drive motorbikes or cars? As I am no huge fan of public transport and prefer freedom of my own scooter/motorbike. Not sure what the laws on this are.

Study Chinese
Any places in SZ, that I can study chinese at and will also help me apply for a student visa or something similar. If so what is the going cost or typical cost of these classes per hour? Im not too interested in an intensive course, 2 hours a day and gets me a visa is what I currently do, so Im after something like this.

ADSL/Cable Internet costs
I would definitely need internet at my home, what type of plans/fees are available? Id be after a pure unlimited hours and download setup, ADSL/Cable at least.

Post Offices
Has or does anyone post parcels/letters out o the country by the government postal system? By this I dont mean Fedex/DHL etc. I do post small parcels back home now and then and I like to know if the postal system is reliable and quickish. I once sent a postcard from Beijing back to Australia in 1995 and it took about 3 weeks to arrive :|

Teaching English
If needed and I do need to teach English to make money to survive, what are the "usual' or starting pay rates? How many hours are normal schools etc have? I am not an english teacher by profession and while I do have a degree Im not certified in any special way to teach english, although I have taught it for 3 years in Taiwan. A typical teaching job here in Taiwan that gets you a visa is 4 hours a day and 18 - 24 hours a week depending on the school.

Travel to HK
I can see myself needing to go to HK at least once a week. How would this affect my visa status? I assume if I was on a visitor/tourist visa, I would have to apply for a multiple reentry visa if such a thing was possible, otherwise study chinese in SZ to get a student visa. Sorry Im not too clear on how visas work etc.

Im sure there are plenty of other questions I have forgotten to ask so I may add them here soon Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks all.

[JAherbert]

A lot of the answers to your questions would be based on your nationality, not mentioned in your post. I reckon, dictating your visa,

Anyway:
There are schools to study chinese, a google search will list them, if suscessful, you should get a student visa.
Fees for overseas students are of course higher than for local residents. I think to secure a visa the course would need to be full time.

Visa
via school, renewal via hk not so simple.

Work
To work, you need to issue an invoice in china, therefore need a company. Can't imagine that would be possoble to achieve on a student visa.



Driving License
You can, need to apply for driving license about 2000 RMB. However insurance and fake claims are common place.


Internet
available, no idea of the cost. Public internet limited to official websites. Internet is controlled and censored by the govt.


Post office
Postal system is slow.

Teach english
The cost of living is low, and the potential earning limited I would think.


Travel to HK
Very simple and easy. However visa status depends on your nationality and the visa re-entry (might not be permitted).

Rent
the cost of living is lower than Hong Kong 3000 rmb would be fine for an apartment, about 600 sq ft. Again there are adverts for Sz property check the net. Further from HK = lower rent.

A better solution, set up a company in HK, with a rep office in Sz. Bills issued and paid to HK.

[creztor]

Ok sorry I wasnt clear enough, I am Australian. I cant see myself setting up the business there so I am looking at either the tourist visa coming and going depending on how long it lasts or studying chinese and getting a visa that way. I have searched online for schools in Shenzhen, most of the ones I have found online are extremely expensive and there's no way I would ever pay what they want. So Im guessing there are more schools in SZ but I would have to be either go there or find someone who was familiar with SZ and knew of the schools. I would prefer to go to HK but rent is high and I am worried that it will work out to cost more than I can afford to live there. As I have compared Chinese class lessons from the sites I found online for HK and they were shockingly high.

[JAherbert]

for what is worth........overseas students always pay top dollar, it is the same in other countries. Go the UK, and a student must pay many times the "local" rate. and I reckon "small" schools, would not be geared up to take overseas students. Each organisation involved with oversea students needs,connections for obtain biz licences, connections with visa dept., etc, etc. too much hassle for a small outfit.
good luck

[creztor]

Many thanks for the help, found someone living in SZ who studies at SZ Uni and says he pays 8000RMB for a semester, semester being 3 - 4 months depending, this was 4 hours a day classes. Works out to be cheaper per hour than what I am paying here in Taiwan, so all looks good. I am however worried about the postal system in China, so might have to do some investigating about HK. Would love to live in HK but worried the chinese class prices, living costs etc would kill me

[tstexpat]

The postal system is not that bad. I ship stuff over to the US and Europe a few times a week with no problems ever.

Internet access is pretty good too. It's no different from Hk and I really did not find a lot of censorship with the sites I visited. I guess they must censor Porn or political stuff but that does not interest me.

Good Luck !

[PKS]

Hi Creztor,

Study Chinese
Any places in SZ, that I can study chinese at and will also help me apply for a student visa or something similar. If so what is the going cost or typical cost of these classes per hour? Im not too interested in an intensive course, 2 hours a day and gets me a visa is what I currently do, so Im after something like this.

If you live in Taipei you have probably heard of TLI. Well we have opened a branch in Shekou, Shenzhen. It is called the Shenzhen Interactive Language Center (SILC). The website is http://www.tliilc.com. The rates are fairly reasonable. If you have questions then please send us an e-mail to info@tliilc and we would be happy to answer your questions.

I hope that helps.

PKS