QINGDAO GUIDE
A guide for new expatriates in SEPCO III
QINGDAO GUIDE A guide for new expatriates in SEPCO III Welcome to SEPCO III About SEPCO III China, the country Living in Qingdao
Welcome to SEPCO III
The staff at the International Human Resources Department is here to help you if you have any
It is a pleasure to welcome you as one of the new employees in our company.
issues.
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.
questions about professional or practical matters. Please, feel free to contact us if you have any
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
Iván J. Bejerano Luján
About SEPCO III
+86-18660210993 i.bejerano@sepco3.com
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 lea ding 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/
CHINA The country Here there are some facts about China. Since you are coming, you will have the chance to learn much more about this amazing country.
It borders 14 nations
Is the fastest growing major economy The world’s largest exporter and the second largest importer of goods.
The world’s second largest GDP after U.S 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.
Chinese say that they 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 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.
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
TRAVEL BY TRAIN
There are plenty of domestic flights going
For short distance, inter-city travel, we
around China from Qingdao’s LiuTing Airport. However, traveling internationally can only
recommend the train. It is cheap, quite comfortable, although the food is something
take you as far as Japan or Korea. If you are going anywhere else, you have to go through
left to be desired. As far as comfort, there are hard seats, soft seats, hard and soft sleepers
Shanghai and Beijing (1 hour flight). We recommend sky-canner as a flight searcher and trip advisor to get sightseeing advice.
(prices go up in this order). If you have the time, it is an experience worth having at least once.
CHINA, the country
Spitting: Not one of the most beautiful elements of Chinese culture but definitely a predominant one.
Crowds We might as well address the one thing you HAVE to get used to. People. Lots of them. If you choose to travel or go out you will be exposed to crowds especially on public holidays. There is very little sense of personal space.
Be prepared to be asked your age, or why you are not married or don't have any children. And even your salary.
Visiting a Person's House
If invited to a Chinese person's house, always take a gift of fruit or flowers. A pre-made basket of fruit costs about 30RMB. A bag of oranges or a bunch of flowers only costs a couple of Chinese RMB. Red flowers are good to take. White flowers are only used at funerals.
Bowing or nodding is the common greeting; however, you may be offered a handshake.
Eye Contact In Western countries one expects to maintain eye contact when we talk with people. This is a norm we consider basic and essential. This is not the case among the Chinese. On the contrary, eye contact is sometimes viewed as a gesture of challenge or defiance.
Wait for the Chinese to offer their hand first.
Living in Qingdao Qingdao is located in the East of China, between Beijing and Shanghai. The city is mainly known for its sailing culture. When the Olympic
Games where celebrated in 2008 were celebrated in China Qingdao was the sailing headquarter.
Qingdao is a famous open harbor city with an expansive ocean research program, foreign
means "East Mountains" is also the home town of Confucius, about a three hour drive from
trade, and tourist industry. Is the home of the famous Qingdao beer company, the most popular brand of beer in China. The factory
Qingdao you can visit the historical town of Qufu where Confucius was born and lived in 500 bc. Shandong is also home to some of the
was established in 1908 when Qingdao was occupied by Germany.
top Chinese temples like mount Tai in Taian city and several beautiful temples in the local
Qingdao's tourism is a rapidly growing
Qingdao area of Laoshan. Qingdao has the largest industrial base in Shandong province
industry with a coast line in the south of the Shandong province. Shandong whose name
which ranks as the second largest provincial economy in china.
WEATHER Qingdao has a temperate, four-season, monsoon-influenced climate that lies in the
Summer is generally hot and humid, but very hot days are rare, with an August average of
transition between the humid subtropical and humid continental regimes. Winter is cold and windy, but generally dry, with a January
25.3 °C (77.5 °F). Due to its proximity to the coast and being on a peninsula, it experiences a one-month delayed spring compared to
average of −0.5 °C (31.1 °F). We recommend bringing good winter clothes since it can get
most inland areas of China.
very cold during this season.
Here you can see the average temperatures for Qingdao city during the year.
Living in Qingdao
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”.
Living in Qingdao
TAXIS
especially if you live in the outskirts of the
There are two kinds of taxis: cheap and
city because they are very cheap compared to taxi’ prices in other countries. There are always taxis going around but if you don’t
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,
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 (February) Apr. 4 or 5 May 1 5th of 5th lunar month Aug. 15 of lunar calendar Oct. 1
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
http://qingdaocommunitycentre.com
My REDSTAR MAGAZINE The main pages for events in Qingdao. They edit the Qingdao magazine with updated information about leisure activities, transportation, hotels‌
food,
sightseeing,
http://www.myredstar.com/
QUINGDAO 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/