Zhuhai Newbie

I spent a year there until about July 2006. My tutor was quite good. Her english name is Rita Wang. Her local phone was 667 7053. If you reach her, please tell her that Jeff provided the referral and send his regards. I do not know if the number is good or if she is still doing tutoring.

There is a Sports Club in Zhuhai called FISC, check this link:
http://zhuhai.expat9.com/atoz/foreign-investors-sport-club---zhuhai
JJ

The locals here don't ever speak English lol. At least, where i am. I am in Gongbei, by the sea. Me and my friends bike by the sea.

There are many college students who speak good English you have to know how to find them !

hi john,
wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a bike here in zhuhai? at special shops there are good bikes for reasonable price.
heidi

By road bike do you mean a motorcycle?

Hi John. Nice to hear from you. I hope you settle in and find some local friends and some foreigners. Many locals can speak English but of course it will help you to learn some Mandarine or Cantonese. There are not that many Expats but what there is of them tend to keep to themselves unless you work with them or know them as part of their 'Clique'. But in saying that many expats frequent a small but friendly BBQ restaurant called Michelle's barbecue, in Xiangzhou. Just catch the bus 69 or 22 to Wanzaisha...about 4 stops from Jida, where you are. It is not busy every night with foreigners but often someone rocks in. And yes they speak English. Keep your bike as Zhuhai is great for cycling. There are parks and the sea front. Its all pretty flat so not too difficult. There are many sports clubs and basketball it seems to be the national sport. Just ask around. Many of the local schools will offer you Mandarine or Cantonese lessons. Try Fountain School in Juda or TPR. If I can help you settle in you can call me. When you reply i will arrange my ph. no# for you. Good luck.

I have noticed what Matt says about expats staying to themselves. It almost seems to me that they are trying very hard not to look like an expat. I pass expats on the street or in the shopping mall and none of them even look me in the eye. What's up with that? What's wrong with a simple hello on the street? Seems like they are trying too hard to be "Chinese" instead of remembering who they really are and where they come from.

imho....

"It almost seems to me that they are trying very hard not to look like an expat. I pass expats on the street or in the shopping mall and none of them even look me in the eye. What's up with that?"

Aha! The "Marco Polo Syndrome!" Read on...

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2005/03/30/marco-polo-syndrome
(for you old-timers, look up the "Laowai death stare"...)

Oh, @Matt:
Where are all these English-speaking locals again??

Read my comments above!

Very interesting reading. Seems to be a wide difference of opinion. I'm not looking too make friends with every foreigner I meet on the street. I'm just used to a bit more of a friendly atmosphere. Do I strike up a conversation with everyone I meet on the street back at home? No. But I will make eye contact and give a friendly nod or even, OMG, say hello.

At least when a local ignores me on the street here inj Zhuhai it is because they are just not interested. The foreigners who ignore me look away in apparent disgust or scowl, generally making me feel like a leper or something.

hahaha i love this so much i gotta post it here.

The asshole foreigner is here on business. Perhaps unwillingly. You will often see him at Starbucks and overpriced bars. He may take a fork with him to restaurants. Perhaps he is focused on his job and not interested in meeting new people. Perhaps he realizes that most foreigners in China are backpackers or teachers and feels a natural sense of superiority, preferring to associate only with other people who wear suits.

Do unto others, as others do unto you.

I agree ddblough .. i have noticed some foreigners, i wont say trying to be chinese .. but more of ignorant types, we don't see a huge Expat community in zhuhai here .. but the ones those are here .. at least say hi !

-Anu.

"Read my comments above!"

Seeing as how I don't spend a whole heck of a lot of time cruising the English dept. at Zhongshan U, I don't know how that's gonna help me find DVDs, buy a ferry ticket or order a steak.

Wait... That's why I married a local. Heh. ;)

Hi John,

Zhuhai a good place to go riding - not on your life. But we do it anyway. Until recently that is, weekly after-work ride home from SanZao has been aborted due to lack of daylight after 6pm, however weekends are good and the weather is cooling off.

Yes there are good rides available, wouldn't hesitate to ship that bike. There's also a good shop in town for parts and such, even carries some plush stuff.

If you run, there's several races coming up in Macau and HK, and plenty of local guys hosting regular b-ball or football (soccer) matches. Even baseball when you can round up enough Meiguo's

If interested, just shout.

Not much to do in Zhuhai..unless you are a drinker.

"At least when a local ignores me on the street here inj Zhuhai it is because they are just not interested. The foreigners who ignore me look away in apparent disgust or scowl, generally making me feel like a leper or something."

HAHAHA THATS HILARIOUS!!!

I see a lot of foreigners in Gongbei but they usually ignore me either.

Hi John,

ZH is a good place to bike and for sports of all kinds. The roads are certainly more biker friendly than Market Street in SF. The local drivers subscribe to the ethics of "chicken" in their driving ethics, but there is method to their madness. You will get use to it after a few hours. there is a fairly active biking community in Zhuhai and Macau that takes short and very long rides. Couple of local groups just return from a two month long trip to Xinjiang and Manchuria.

I bought three bikes here from the States. You can also buy pretty good Trek, Bianchi, Giant and some exotic carbon fiber bikes here. Price wise it is about the same as the States, but you get a lot more service. The shop will do all kinds of maintenance for you for free. As for making local and foreign friends, i think a lot depends on the effort you are willing to make. You will find many Chinese who can read and write English, but can't speak it because they just don't have the chance to practice. They will appreciate any gesture you make to communicate. As for making foreign friends, i think after three months you will realize for yourself that you have made more friends here than if you moved to El Paso.

Note, you should go to Ryan's Bar, the best Irish Bar in ZH. He has magically tuned into all the current major Western sport events. You are welcome to write me privately if you need more info on local sport venues.

John wrote:
1. Is there a large expat community in Zhuhai? If so, where is everyone? I have walked around the neighborhood a few times and rarely see any foreigners besides the ones in Holiday Inn.

Depends on how you define "expat" and on who takes the census. (to JJ: do you know if there is any freely available gov. data on this?) I would hazzard that Native Speaking English [NSE] foreigners are not in the vast majority. I would also hazard that foreigners here fall into three main groups: Business oreinted (like yourself); Teachers; and, Spouses and Children. Tourists and backpackers are not 'expats' imho, but you will also see them around from time to time.

John wrote:
2. Do many of the locals here speak English? Again besides the ones in Holiday Inn it does not seem very common.

No, not many.

John wrote:
3. I have a road bike boxed up and ready to be shipped from the US, but unsure if Zhuhai is a good place to go riding. What do you think?

If it's a motorbike forget it! It is next to impossible to register such a beasty and some of the rumours suggest that local traffic regulators plan to do away with all motorised bikes (including mopeds and e-bikes) within the metropolitan region of Zhuhai. [Who can define that?]

If you are talking cycling, as already mentioned, there is an active cycling community here. I've seen groups out practicing as well as a few road races go by. Serious cyclists seem to be treated as somewhat different to the average citizen trying to get from point A to point B.

John wrote:
4. Are there any sports clubs in Zhuhai? I am a pretty athletic guy (at least I think I am) and would not mind some basketball, soccer, squash, etc.

As mentioned above there is FSIC, if you browse the forums you'll find mention about fencing, bush walking/hiking, football/soccer, baseball, martial arts, etc.There is a large football stadium here in Zhuhai but I've never heard of when there's a game on. Some of the Housing complexes have their own sports centres which may have organised group/team sports, but that's a drop in and take a look issue unless someone else has more complete information about that.

John wrote:
5. Does anyone know of any good Chinese tutors or language schools in Zhuhai?

There are a number of different language training schools around, some advertise on this site. You can also usually find occasional postings from people looking to freelance or follow up a recomendation, like the above.

Alternatively, if you just want to focus on speaking a bit of the language, you could try one of the Pimsleur Language programs - 30 min. per day, 30 lessons per set. I've found them to be excellent for getting a start on the language. As for characters, I then only try to learn the most important ones I need from time to time, e.g. the men's room: a four pane window on legs.

regards,

T. Tempest. DCA
____________________
"I'd love a thousand words in a foreign language." Tang Yuchuan

"But in saying that many expats frequent a small but friendly BBQ restaurant called Michelle's barbecue, in Xiangzhou. Just catch the bus 69 or 22 to Wanzaisha...about 4 stops from Jida, where you are."

Can anyone give more specific instructions as to Michelle's location? I wanna try it out. Thanks!

I told mattconoulty to write a A to Z review about this place but he hasn't... or if at least I could get a phone number, then we could contact them and do it ourselves :)
JJ

Hi John, welcome to Zhuhai. Like you I am here for work, but it seems the vast majority of foreigners you see will be teachers. I have been here for most of the year and have yet to speak to a foreigner on the street - normally a nod of acknowledgement is all you will get, as is probably appropriate as you are both going somewhere. I have been in and out and around China for a few years, and Zhuhai is certainly my favourite Chinese city. Bikes are so cheap it's hardly worth shipping. The footpaths are great, especially along the seaside, so enjoy the walk or the ride. I work long days so I don't get out much, but I am told there is a fair chance of bumping into expats along the bar street area of Gonbei. As for sports, no idea. The best thing you can do is learn some language skills, the locals will love you for it, and you won't feel like a fish out of water. Best to learn Mandarin, but be aware many of the locals speak a heavily Cantonese accented version.

JJ, here is Matt's number at Michelle's BBQ, im sure he would like to get a review up and running -13543874310. I was there the other night and had a great time drinkn ice cold beer and happily munching away on their awesome BBQ.

Do unto others, as others do unto you.

Thanks Kinga, I will contact him soon :)
JJ

"I was there the other night and had a great time drinkn ice cold beer and happily munching away on their awesome BBQ."

Man...8:30 in the morning and my mouth's watering! Chop chop JJ! This Georgia boy needs his BBQ! And I live in Wan zai sha! So close...and yet so far. ;(

I hope the Michelle's BBQ meets the "Texas" standard BBQ that you are probably used too. I'm from Texas as well, Dallas Texas! I sure miss Tex-Mex. I've been to Austin quite a few times it's an awesome city. Welcome to Zhuhai.
I've seen very few expats on my excursions outside my apartment. Although when we notice each other, my feeling is "they" don't want to make a big commotion when "the siting" happens.
As far as speaking the language, I don't speak a lick of it and I somehow have managed okay. I just mime to the cab driver on where I want to go. If I find a great place to eat; get a business card. Or usually on the restaurant napkins wrappers there's an address written in chinese keep it to for reference to the cab driver. Another method is take pictures of menu items or the restaurant using your camera phone. Keep receipts from the grocery store, they also have address written in chinese, use it to get around. My methods so far may sound like madness but it'll get you by until you get yourself into some language lessons in the meantime!

Wo hen xi huan Michelle shao kao,

No it isn't Texas style BBQ. It is strongly based on the guangdong school of cookery. Well worth a try, perfect with a couple of beers listening to Matts great range of western tunes.

可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

AYA! No one has said where it IS! I'm bloody starving at this point...give me Texas, North Carolina, Kansas...or even GD style! 我不在乎! 我饿了! ;)

Well, I dunno but would this be possibly an aid to getting there?

kingstadlux wrote:
可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前

Is that an address, or directions?

regards,

T. Tempest. DCA
____________________
"I'd love a thousand words in a foreign language." Tang Yuchuan

Matt is welcome to post an A to Z review... this would help everyone, including myself... would love some BBQ :)

At this point, I think we should just have a big welcoming party to zhuhai for John at the BBQ Place! Next thing, we'll end up finding out the John wasn't able to get in the place 'cause will be packed!

No Doc, its a reference to black beards hidden treasure.

可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

You guys are all becoming soooo Chinese!

Just...please...someone...answer the question without talking in riddles! Where is the restaurant????

I've never even been there but I think its over by fountain school in Jida by the food street place. Might be way off but at least I took a shot.

Followed your directions tonight...ended up at Pizza Hut! Not a total loss. ;)

Bullshit. I just posted it 2 minutes ago.

Big Jon taught me to eat quickly...

Sorry. I shouldn't drink and post.;)

Your Avatar has me green with envy. "I'm going back to Houstooon, Houstooon, Houstooon..." Long live Celebrity Roasts!
(This post is quickly becoming as asinine as the word- association thing. Ahem. BBQ address please!)

Kingstadlux wrote:
>No Doc, its a reference to black beards hidden treasure.

That it may be, I wouldn't know. Didn't know that Black Beard spoke/wrote Chinese?

Kingstadlux wrote:
>可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前
>Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

Since I'm pretty slow and thick at time, I'm now guessing that the Chinese text is the same as the English beneath? and that's your new signature text?

regards,

T. Tempest. DCA
____________________
"I'd love a thousand words in a foreign language." Tang Yuchuan

"I think its over by fountain school in Jida by the food street place"

I live just around the corner from the Fountain School and I have never seen this place. What's more scary is that I don't know what is meant by the food street.

Sounds like kingstadlux went there. Hey King, how about directions?

Hey, just realized the Black and White party will take place at the secret BBQ... and the address is posted in chinese and english in that event :)

The best I can do; is as follows : Shop 29, shi shan lu, xiangzhou. Behind the Royal supermarket on feng huang lu. If that doesn't help, when your in a taxi give Michelle a call on 13727019689.

'Chi hao, he hao'

可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

It's around the corner from the Dumpling King..near Jusco

for Canrun,
because we keep skirting around the issue, and as JJ said, the address is on the events calendar for the black and white party. Here it is, the address, copied from the event posting

Michelle's Barbecue, behind the Royal Supermarket, Shi Shan Road, Xiang Zhou, Zhuhai. TEL: 13727019689
米雪儿 烧烤、麻辣汤, 珠海市香洲狮山路29号铺（丹田广场后面）

-----end of story-----

regards,

T. Tempest. DCA
____________________
"I'd love a thousand words in a foreign language." Tang Yuchuan

right where I said it was. :)

Me too !

可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

Be gentle, boys! It was the Chinese address he was after...

regards,

T. Tempest. DCA
____________________
"I'd love a thousand words in a foreign language." Tang Yuchuan

Nope...I was after the cold beer! ;)

But...hey...thanks a lot! I'm needing a change of scenery...the dart holes and table cloths at Pete's place are gettin' to me! (Just kiddin' Pete!)

A few foreigners dont acknowlege you on passing sometimes, because they maybe speak a foreign language.
Or maybe they are not homesick !