Living accommodations in China are changing fast, so there's a lot of variety. Until the 1990s, most urban housing looked like an apartment building. They're usually drab concrete blocks with balconies that may be glassed in. Chinese people can now own their apartments and many new buildings are being constructed. Now the buildings are often painted bright pink or decorated with Greek/Roman statues. In recent years high-rise apartments have sprung up all over China at an incredible rate. Not only has the availability of housing increased but the living conditions have improved dramatically as well. New apartments are being build with fast internet connections, central heating, electricity and toilets. Seem funny, it wasn't that long ago when houses being built did not have an indoor toilet.
Today, some foreign teachers in China live in beautiful landscaped villas, while others share the older style concrete apartments. Traditional Chinese houses (si he yuan) consist of two-to-four buildings enclosed by a wall and facing on a rectangular central courtyard. You can see these in the "hutongs" of Beijing or in other older neighbourhoods of Chinese cities or villages.
Most of the older housing buildings are about 3-5 stories. There is usually a balcony, which is usually glassed-in in North China. Apartments commonly have one or two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and bathroom. Floors are usually concrete.
Things not to expect:
- clothes dryer - this use far too much energy and are a luxury. Many teachers actually get their clothes laundered for them (very cheap). It you do your own laundry, you will use a standard drying rack.
- bathtub - there are bath houses where you can immerse yourself but only expect a shower in your housing. There is actually an old saying in Yangzhou that loosely translated means, "In the morning you put water into your skin and in the evening you put your skin into water.". Most people in China do not take a bath at home, especially in the winter. Instead they go to the local public bathhouse. Be sure to go to a NICE one. There are common bathouses where you just get a shower... remembering that some houses don't have hot water... The nice ones are pretty nice indeed. Read more about Chinese Bathhouses in Living in China.
oven - expect a small gas stove. Forget about baking or roasts. Again I think this is a product of energy consumption and space issues. Makes sense too... imagine how much energy is consumed using an oven... Now imagine that someone around the corner doesn't even have electricity...
Remember when entering any home in China that you need to always take off your shoes. Chinese will be very unimpressed if you enter your own home with your shoes on nevermind tracking unpleasantries through their homes. Always remember to take your shoes off.
When sitting, do not point the bottoms of your feet to any person. Try to sit cross-legged or tuck your legs underneath you.
You may have a roommate or a studio apartment depending on the school, but you will definitely have your own bedroom unless you choose not to. Once you find out where your apartment is you should have a Chinese write down your address. Be careful asking Chinese for directions, however, they will often give you completely misleading directions rather than admit they don’t have a clue where you want to go.
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