Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with each other for clients who believe English will allow them to bypass the ladder and
take the elevator to the top.
The reality, though, is that English is still not the dominant workplace language, and,
unless you live in a tightly sealed bubble of expats, many people around you will not have
a level of English that will allow you to deepen your friendship beyond anything other than
shopping or ordering at a restaurant. Waiters, local realtors, and shop attendants will of-
ten have reasonable English, but bank tellers and police officers may not. That said, most
banks, travel companies, and cell phone companies have English help lines and websites.
Never assume there isn't one—always check. You'll often be surprised and find you've
been wasting time waiting for a Chinese friend to help when you could have quickly solved
the problem yourself over the phone or online.
If you want to work in a Chinese company, then your Chinese skills had better be in tip-
top shape. Most official information comes in Chinese, and the legal version of contracts is
almost always the Chinese version, not the English version. Even in international compan-
ies, you'll often find that Chinese is a prominent language in the office.
Many extremely useful websites don't have English versions, and for those that do, up-
dating them or furnishing them with complete information rarely seems to be a top pri-
ority. Sites such as Danwei and the Marco Polo Project, which provide translations of
Chinese news and other writings, can offer windows into the written Chinese world. To
get around the Chinese-only sites, try tools such as web browser Google Chrome, which
gives reasonable translations of entire pages, and Mandarin Spot's annotate function (
ht-
tp://mandarinspot.com
)
, which gives instant word-by-word translations.
Around town, the government is trying to make improvements on signage, especially
for roads and on public transport. On the subways, English is everywhere and easy to un-
derstand. Street signage, however, is a little chaotic. Chang'an Jie, for example, the main
street that runs through the city center, goes by English names that include Chang'an Street,
Chang'an Road, Chang'an Boulevard, Chang'an Avenue, and Long Peace Street. These at-
tempts at translation may make you feel temporarily at ease, but that will quickly pass when
you try to use them on a taxi driver or anyone else who has mediocre English abilities. It
really is best to forgo English words and commit yourself to learning the Pinyin and pro-
nunciation of street names and buildings.
Ultimately, if you have no inclination or time to learn Chinese, don't worry. Many expats
successfully get by with no Chinese. If you have the means you can employ an English-
speaking
ā
yí
(housekeeper), who'll be able to take care of a wealth of problems for you,
from paying the rent to negotiating with repair workers. Beyond that, the expat community
