Download
The living environment has become a growing concern for expatriates working in Shanghai and Beijing, although the two cities topped a list of the most attractive Chinese cities for expats, a new study found.
The survey - 2017 Amazing China, conducted between September and December by International Talent, a magazine under the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs -gauged views of 175,400 expats working in China about their favorite Chinese cities.
Among those expats, 1,050 were surveyed about their opinions on the policy, administration, and working and living environments of their cities.
Shanghai and Beijing topped the list, followed by Shenzhen, Suzhou, Kunming, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Xiamen and Qingdao.
In Shanghai and Beijing, their living-environment scores were lower than those of other cities, said Zhang Xiao, who was in charge of the survey.
Cities such as Suzhou, Kunming and Hangzhou received comparatively high scores in living environment, and that helped boost their rankings, she said.
Despite topping the chart for three years, Beijing and Shanghai underperformed this time in living environment as foreigners living in these two cities have complained about the worsening air pollution, according to the survey.
The smog-shrouded sky over Beijing is discouraging expats from staying longer and scaring away others who would otherwise love to visit, work, and live in the city, the study showed.
"Recruitment has become difficult as the number of foreigners who are applying for teaching positions in Beijing has decreased by at least half compared with the same time last year," said Yang Sha, general manager with Angelina International Placement Service in Beijing, which specializes in hiring foreigners to teach languages in schools in China.
"Air quality is absolutely the main reason," he said.
All four foreign staff members in Yang's company left Beijing this year because of the smog.
One left for the southern city of Xiamen, Fujian province, and the others went back to their home countries, Yang said.
Elisabeth Anderson, a Swede who works in Beijing, said a Swedish friend of hers just left Beijing because of the air quality.
Anderson said her friend had spent most of her time working in Beijing during her 10-year stay in China.
"She has contracted a lung disease, so she is worried that a longer stay will make the illness worse," she said.
Rhio Zablam, from the Philippines, works at a media firm in Beijing. He married a Chinese woman in 2011, and they had a baby in February.
"My wife and I are worried about the air pollution in Beijing because it might be harmful to the growth of my baby," the 34-year-old said. "Although the smog does not occur every day, I have not yet brought my baby out of the house till now."
Zablam said he plans to buy an air purifier as many of his European friends in Beijing have done.
Zablam said he hopes the government takes concrete measures to clean up the air.
"Our foreign colleagues have concerns about Beijing's air quality when they are asked to make a business trip to the capital," an employee of headhunter Adecco Description's Shanghai office said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"Shanghai is definitely my favorite Chinese city," said William Hatcher, who has been living and working in the metropolis for about two years, after living in Changsha, Hunan province, for two years. Hatcher said the difference between the two cities is like " night and day ".
Hatcher, a 25-year-old English-language teacher from the United States, said the best part of Shanghai is the variety of food, culture, people and places to go, while the disadvantage is dealing with the bureaucracy when applying for things like visa renewals.
"It's tolerable, but can be frustrating," Hatcher said.
He said he is not worried about the environment problems, adding: "After all, they are not as bad as in Beijing."
But for James Eron, a US citizen and father of two girls, air pollution and food safety have been the biggest worries related to his girls' health. And his solution is having air purifiers in his house and trying to eat organic food and at well-known places.
What appeals most to the 43-year-old entrepreneur, who now owns a cloud computing and server operations company in Shanghai, is the "multiculture" of Shanghai, which has people from different places.
The survey by International Talent magazine also found that among the 1,050 foreign professionals surveyed, 30 percent plan to settle down in China, and most of them are 35years old or older who have families with them in the country. They prefer to live in cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou, where they can enjoy better living environments.
Expats also expect more simplified visa procedures and easier access to China's green cards, the survey found.
Questions:
1. Which months was the survey conducted:
2. How many expats were surveyed?
3. Who conducted the survey?
Answers:
1. Between September and December
2. 1,050.
3. International Talent Magazine.
About the broadcaster:
Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.
2017英语考前冲刺Ⅳ专题03 完形填空
2017高考冲刺短文听力练习(附文档)passage 86
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题16 情景交际
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题01 名词
2017届高三英语备考复习课件6
2017英语考前冲刺Ⅳ专题04 动词不定式
河南省卫辉一中高三二轮备考抓分点透析英语专题1:冠词(升级版)
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题05 情态动词与虚拟语气
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题08 代词
2017高考冲刺短文听力练习(附文档)word90
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题09 it的用法
2017届高三英语备考复习课件23
2017届高三英语教材知识复习课件20
江苏省启东中学2017届高考考前英语最后一讲:听力+单选题
2017英语考前冲刺Ⅳ专题16 动词的时态与语态
2017届高三英语备考复习课件8
江苏省启东中学2017届高考考前英语最后一讲:书面表达
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题10 冠词
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题14 状语从句
2017届高三英语备考复习课件24
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题02 名词性从句
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题13 定语从句
2017届高三英语备考复习课件1
2017高考冲刺短文听力练习(附文档)passage 90
英语复习精品语法课件:动词的时态、语态
2017届高三英语单元总复习课件5
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题11 连词和介词短语
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题12 数词与主谓一致
2017届高三英语备考复习课件7
2017英语考前冲刺Ⅳ专题07 名词和主谓一致
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |