Welcome to A GUIDE FOR LIVING AND WORKING IN Shanghai SHANGHAI, CHINA SHANGHAI COMMUNITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Table of Contents Section 1: Introduction ............................................................. Page 1 • Arriving in Shanghai • Luggage & Shipping Allowance • Relocation Orientation: What to Expect • Visas and Residency Section 2: Welcome to SCIS .................................................... Page 3 • School Resources • Hongqiao Main Campus & Neighborhood Map • SCIS Housing Section 3: Life in China ............................................................ Page 8 • Packing for Life in China ........................................ Page 9 A. Cooking and Baking Items B. Toiletries C. Medications D. Clothing Items E. Other Personal Items • Electronics and Electricity ................................... Page 10 • Banking .................................................................. Page 12 • Internet and Virtual Private Network (VPNs) ........ Page 12 A. VPN Providers B. Internet your first few days C. Internet and WIFI in your apartment • Helpful Websites ................................................... Page 13 • Cell Phones ........................................................... Page 13 A. China Mobile and China Unicom B. Shanghai Call Center C. Helpful Phone Apps for Shanghai Living • Shanghai Online Shopping ................................... Page 14 A. Groceries B. Food C. Household and Other Items • Health Care .......................................................... Page 16 • Fitness ................................................................... Page 17 • Transportation ...................................................... Page 18 A. Shanghai by Metro B. Shanghai by Taxi C. Shanghai by Bus D. Shanghai by Bicycle E. Shanghai by MoBike F. Shanghai by Electric Scooters G. Shanghai Walking Tours Section 4: Ayis ........................................................................ Page 20 Section 5: Culture Shock ........................................................ Page 22 Section 6: Learning Mandarin ............................................... Page 25 SECTION 1 Introduction We wish you a warm welcome to our SCIS community in Shanghai, and we look forward to a great year to come! We’ve created this guide as a helpful orientation and resource for your transition to China. < Top view from the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, the Flair Rooftop Restaurant & Bar < Top view of Shanghai Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center 1 SECTION 1 ARRIVING IN SHANGHAI Please let the HR manager know in advance if you When you arrive in Shanghai, a SCIS Leadership Team plan to bring extra luggage. This way, we can make member will pick you up at the airport with a van, a sure to prepare for your pick-up accordingly. driver, and keys to your new apartment. We’ll help you unload and get situated. You will receive a USD1,000 RELOCATION ORIENTATION start-up fund in local currency, so you won’t have to get During new hire orientation, we will cover sessions to a bank immediately. You will also have a few items on living in China. Additionally, we will support you in your apartment, including fresh food and drink, and in setting up your phone, internet, and bank account. basic kitchenware. We will need your ticket stubs and You can also expect shopping trips for household passport to hand in to the HR manager soon after you items, groceries and even a trip to IKEA. arrive. Please note that airline reimbursement is also to cover the cost of your return ticket in June. It’s important to remember that you are going to experience a bit of culture shock upon arrival. This is natural, and to be expected. Be prepared to interact with your colleagues to get through these tough times. VISAS AND RESIDENCY You will be asked to turn in your passport upon your arrival. You will get it back, but will have to return it one more time within the first month. At that point, you will also have to make a visit to the visa office LUGGAGE / SHIPPING ALLOWANCE in order to receive your resident visa. You will be The HR manager will email detailed information notified ahead of time regarding the time and date about your shipping allowance. If you are only of this meeting. Please be sure you bring the required bringing items as extra baggage on flights, you may number of photos and information requested by the HR manager. Please do not make travel plans outside turn in your receipts, but if you are also shipping of China until after the October holiday. other items later, you will want to wait and submit all your receipts at once. You don’t need to do this < Night view of Jingan Temple surrounded by immediately, but do keep your receipts. modern business buildings 2 SECTION 2 Welcome to SCIS Welcome to the SCIS Hongqiao Campuses. The following photos should help give you a perspective of the Hongqiao Main and ECE Campuses. Hongqiao Main Campus Hongqiao Main Campus Theater Hongqiao ECE Campus Hongqiao Main Campus Indoor Swimming Pool Hongqiao ECE Campus Lobby 3 SECTION 2 Photos of the SCIS community. 4 SECTION 2 SCHOOL RESOURCES: It will be important for you to review the school website prior to arrival. Once you receive your SCIS login information, log into the website, and review the information below. You will find most information you will need PUBLICATIONS TAB on the following pages: • Communitas -- SCIS Community SCIS Hongqiao Campus Hompage: ECE / LOWER SCHOOL / UPPER SCHOOL TABS (http://hq.scis-his.net/) • Bulletins • Course information Log into it with your SCIS username and password • Parent - Student Handbooks generated for your email. • (Some information will be updated in coming weeks) FACULTY RESOURCES TAB: STAFF TAB • Divisional Curriculum Documents • Photos and Biographies of faculty by divisions • IT Resources • All Staff Resources TEACHER LINKS • Hongqiao Faculty Handbook On the left you will see links to the various tech platforms and information that teachers need to INFORMATION TAB access including: • Policy Documents • SCIS Academic Calendars • PowerTeacher • Managebac • Webmail • Events Calendar 5 SECTION 2 HONGQIAO MAIN CAMPUS & NEIGHBORHOOD MAP 1. King’s Court 6. Lian Hua 9 2. Carnival Gardens – Chinese Grocery Store 3. Hengshan Gardens 7. Takashimaya Mall, Yili Metro, Line 10 4. Wet market – Food court & imported goods grocery store (Local Fruits & Vegetables) 8. Gubei Garden Plaza Zunyi Road Xianxia 5. Songyuan Metro, Line 10 – Element Fresh, Japanese Food, Other restaurants Over pass Road 9. The Place shopping mall – Grocery Store, Restaurants, Stores 8 SCIS 4 Yili 1 Over pass Yili Road Park 5 6 Hongqiao Road 7 Yaohong Road Hongbaoshi Road 2 West Zhongshan Road West Golden Street Huangjincheng Street (Pedestrain Street) A map of the SCIS neighborhood, courtesy of Jessica Dunbar. Guyang Road 3 SCIS HOUSING • Nearby points of interest from the Hongqiao Main Location: Campus: • School provided housing is rented largely in three o Carrefour (For groceries and other household main complexes near the Hongqiao main campus. items) ~ about a 20-30 minute walk. Apartments are usually, but not always, located in o Pedestrian street (Golden Street) with small King’s Court, Carnival Garden or Heng Sheng Gar- shops, beauty services, and cafes ~ about a 10 den. You will be provided with your home address minute walk. upon your arrival to Shanghai. o Takashimaya Mall (Food courts, restaurants, • The apartments (Hongqiao/Gubei neighborhood) groceries, make-up, etc.) ~ about a 15 minute walk. are located in a nice, quiet area, and both campuses, as well as city hot spots, are easily accessible. The Hongqiao/Gubei areas are very safe at all hours. • Referencing the Shanghai metro map, most new hires live within a 5-10 minute walk to the Songyuan stop on line 10. From there, the ECE campus is a short 10-minute subway ride on the same line, the Longxi stop, exit #3. Yili Road Station, Takashimaya Shopping Mall 6 SECTION 2 Apartment: • Your apartment will have inexpensive bedding, pillows, towels, and place settings for all members of your family. Enough water and small food items will be included to get you through the first few days. • You might want to buy a mattress topper for your bed right away. These are available at IKEA. • A trip to IKEA will be included on the orientation schedule. Bring your address card and know your bed size before you go. A small tape measure will Gubei Carrefour Shopping Mall be very helpful when preparing for IKEA. IKEA can at Shui Cheng Road deliver your mattress topper and other items you decide to purchase. • There will be a washing machine, but most apartments don’t have a dryer. You might want to buy a drying rack if you don’t have one in your apartment. Some of these are built into the ceilings of your balcony or outdoor area. • You will have a TV, but no cable, and all TV channels are in Chinese. Some people have ordered a satellite TV package (there are a few options.) IKEA at Cao Xi Road • You can have water delivered. Nestle Water has • You will have basic furnishings. Every apartment is English speaking service agents. The phone number different. near the Hongqiao campus is: 02161646888. Follow • Don’t expect an oven in your apartment. You the directions and know your address. You pay a can buy a toaster oven or counter top oven at deposit for the bottle the first time, which is Carrefour. about 40 RMB. Many faculty have their ayis handle water orders. 7 SECTION 3 Life in China As you are looking for information about what to bring, what kinds of items you may not be able to find, or how you will retain your connection to “home”, know that there are plenty of items available in Shanghai. It’s a good idea to bring enough items to get you through the first six months, so you don’t have to go searching immediately for your preferred brand of shampoo, toothpaste, etc. This will give you some time to shop around, get a feel for what you will need, and where you can buy it. Generally speaking, you will be able to find most items from home, but expect to pay more for many of them. Refer to the next section for items that are difficult to find, as you may want to bring them.