QINGDAO GUIDE
A guide for new expatriates in SEPCO III
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Welcome to SEPCO III About SEPCO III Living in Qingdao The country: China
1. Welcome to SEPCO III It is a pleasure to welcome you as one of the new employees in our company. This handbook includes general information that we hope you will find helpful for your new relocation in Qingdao and for the first period of time you settle into the surroundings at SEPCO III. The staff at the International Human Resources Department is here to help you if you have any questions about professional or practical matters. Please, feel free to contact us if you have any issues. We hope you will enjoy your stay in SEPCO III and your experience in Qingdao and China. Wishing you all the best and waiting for you arrival. The staff of the International Human Resources Department. Contact person: i.bejerano@sepco3.com
1. About SEPCO III
We would like to introduce you a little bit the culture and vision of our company, which is going to be yours very soon, describing its logo. The Globe and the Dove are the two main design elements. Their combination represents the brand identity of SEPCOIII “Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation”. The Globe implies the global outreach of the Company, as it moves into every corner of the world. The image also conveys the Company’s vision of becoming one of the leading organizations in the world. The Dove, in the shape of the letter S, stands for the English name of SEPCOIII. The curved wings and the body represent the number “3”, which represents SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation. The number 3 also implies good fortune in Chinese tradition. As the saying goes, “good fortune comes in three”, means that a good beginning leads to a prosperous future. The dove spanning the globe symbolizes the Company’s ambition of enlarging its business worldwide. Finally, the dove, internationally recognized as an icon of peace and love, represents the Company’s intention of bringing Chinese friendship to other parts of the world in the course of the Company’s contribution to power construction around the world.
For further information about the company you can visit our website: http://www.sepco3.com/
2. Living in Qingdao Qingdao is located in the East of China, between Beijing and Shanghai.
TRANSPORTATION Buses The bus is the most common way for the locals to get around. It costs 1 RMB usually, but fare in an air-conditioned bus is 2 RMB. There are lots of buses, pretty much everywhere there probably will be a bus stop nearby. At rush hour, they can get pretty crowded so maybe there are no sits available so you have to stand. In google maps you can check which bus you can take if you introduce the initial address and the destination and you press the option “public transportation”. Taxis There are two kinds of taxis: cheap and plentiful. The fare starts at RMB 9 (for the cheap ones) and at RMB 12 for the largest ones. If you want to take a taxi inside the company’s district (Laoshan) would cost around 9-10 RMB. Going from Laoshan to the center would be around 20-25 RMB. It is pretty common for foreigners to use it, especially if you live in the outskirts of the city because they are very cheap compared to taxi’ prices in other countries. There are always taxis going around but if you don’t find any because it is rush hour or it is late we recommend you to go to the main and bigger streets and wait for one. You must know where you want to go and have it written in case they do not understand you, which is very possible.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS These days are for guidance, but could undergo small changes by the company.
FESTIVAL New Year's Day Spring Festival Qingming May Day Dragon Boat Mid-Autumn Day National Day
DATES Jan. 1 Subject to lunation Apr. 4 or 5 May 1 5th of 5th lunar month Aug. 15 of lunar calendar Oct. 1
2013 Jan. 1 - 3 Feb. 10 (Feb. 9 - 15 off) Apr. 4 (Apr. 4 - 6 off) Apr. 29 - May 1 Jun. 12 (Jun. 10 - 12 off) Sep. 19 (Sep. 19 - 21. off) Oct. 1 - 7
WEATHER Here you can see the average temperatures for Qingdao city during the year.
LAOSHAN DISTRICT This is the map of the company district: Laoshan. You can see the main services that are offered around it.
LAUNDRY SERVICES 洗襣
In this link you can also see where other laundry services are placed in other districts http://www.qingdaochinaguide.com/listings/service/fornet-laundry-service.html
INTERESTING LINKS Qingdao International Community Center A place for all ages to gather and share activities for social gain and to contribute to a meaningful daily life in Qingdao. They organize events like: basketball, tai-chi, youth meetings, Chinese lessons… http://qingdaocommunitycentre.com My REDSTAR The main pages for events in Qingdao. They edit the Qingdao magazine with updated information about leisure activities, food, sightseeing, transportation, hotels… http://www.myredstar.com/ Qingdao Expat Group Is a community for expats, by expats. It continues to grow with each passing year and is currently represented by members, accompanying spouses and children from 56 countries! They work to create a mutual understanding of Chinese and Western cultures and also hope to help new Expats arriving in Qingdao to settle in more comfortably by frequently organizing events such as balls and dances, dinners, family oriented Easter and Christmas parties, barbeques and many more events. http://www.qingdaoexpat.com/ QINGDAO GUIDE Qingdao China Guide focuses on the attractions, events, festivals, and entertainment that make Qingdao a great place to work, live, and play. They provide a very exhaustive list of all the different services you could need in a city: doctors, restaurants, legal services, shops and anything you need. http://www.qingdaochinaguide.com/
3. The country: China We would like to introduce you a bit the country that you are coming to. For that, here you have just some facts about China. Since you are coming, you will have the chance to learn much more about this amazing country.
One in every five people in the world is Chinese. China’s population is estimated to reach a whopping 1,338,612,968 by July 2009. China’s population is four times that of the United States.
Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s population. There are at least seven major families of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang, and Min. China has been the source of many inventions, including the four following great inventions: papermaking, the compass, gunpowder and printing.
The name of China’s capital has changed over the centuries. At one time or another it has been known as Yanjing, Dadu, and Beiping. Peking or “Beijing means “Northern Capital.” Beijing is the officially sanctioned pinyin spelling based on the Mandarin dialect. Beijing is the second largest city after Shanghai. China invented ice cream, and Marco Polo is rumored to have taken the recipe (along with the recipe for noodles) back with him to Europe.
The Chinese invented ice cream by packing a milk mixture and rice into snow.
The red in the flag symbolizes revolution. The large star symbolizes communism and the little stars represent the Chinese people. The position of the stars represents the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party.
TRAVEL BY PLANE There are plenty of flights going around China from Qingdao’s LiuTing Airport. However, traveling internationally can only take you as far as Japan or Korea. If you are going anywhere
else, you have to go through Shanghai and Beijing (1 hour flight). We recommend sky-canner as a flight searcher and trip advisor to get sightseeing advice. TRAVEL BY TRAIN For short distance, inter-city travel, we recommend the train. It is cheap, quite comfortable, although the food is something left to be desired. As far as comfort, there are hard seats, soft seats, hard and soft sleepers (prices go up in this order). If you have the time, it is an experience worth having at least once. As you know, in 2008, the Olympic Games were celebrated in China. Qingdao was the sailing headquarter. For that event, the Chinese made a video to welcome people from all over the world, explain their culture and show their country. We recommend you this video to get in touch with Chinese culture and welcome you in the country.