IH Full Time Teachers Guide PDF

IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide
 
International House
Full Time
Language Teacher Guide
(2016-2018)
Paulina Chapa, Jonas Goldbach,

and Mohamed Chaouechi.
WELCOME TO
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE
In this booklet you will find further information

that can help you during your teaching
experience at International House Xi’an. You will
find some tips and suggestions about living in
Xi’an. We hope this information is useful and
interesting for you.
 
2
CONTENTS
International House
International House……………………………………………………………….…….…11
International House Xi’an………………………..………………………..….……..11
IH Schools in Xián…………………..……………………..……………..….………..11
Rong Xin Road Campus……………………………………………………….………11
The NanMen (South gate) Campus……………………………………….……11
The TangYan Road Campus………………………………………….…….………11
Xi’an City ⻄西安市

Xián…………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Climate………………………………………………………………………………………….…11
Transportation…………………………………………………………………………………11
Xi’an Metro ⻄西安地铁 …………………………………………………………….……11
Taxi ⻄西安出租⻋车…………………………………………………………………….….….11
Xi’an Rail / High Speed Train ⻄西安⽕火⻋车/ ⻄西安⾼高铁…………….…….…11
Accomodation
Apartment………………………………………………………………………………….……11
“Payments” …………………………………………………………………….…….……….11
3 Supermarkets…………………………………………………………………..……….……11
Practical and Entertainment Places

Gym……………………………………………………………………………………………………11
Playground……………………………………………………………………….………………11
Supermarkets ………………………………………………………………………….………11
Chinese Supermarket………………………………………….………….…………11
International Supermarket…………………..………………………….………11
Malls and Stores………..…………………………..…………………….……….………11
Bars ………………………………………………………………………….…………….………11
Bar street in Nanmen……………………………………………………….………11
Bar street DeFuXiang…………………………………………………….…………11
Bar street in DaYanTa……………………………..…………………………..…11
Coffees…………………………………………………………….…………..…………………11
Parks………………………………………………………………………………………………11
KTV (Karaoke)…………………………………………………………………….…..……11
Dancing Places………………………………………………………………………..……11
Clubs……………………………………………………………….……….…………………..11
Sightseeing
Bell Tower………………………………………………………………………………..……11
Hui Min Jie………………………………………………………….……..………..………11
Drum Tower ……………………………………………………………………….…..……11
Big Goose Pagoda……………………………………………………………….…..……11
Small Pagoda………………………………………………………..…………….…..……11
4 Terracotta Warriors………………………………………….………………..…………11
HuaShan ………………………………………………………………………….……..……11
City Walls……………………………………………………………..………….……..……11
Shaanxi History Museum………………………………………………………..……11
Tang Paradise…………………………………………………….…………….……..……11
Tips and Suggestions

1 – Install a VPN……………………………………………….………………….…………11
2 - Fight the language barrier………………………..….…..…………….……11
3- Practice language………………..…………………..……………..………...…11
4- Install WeChat………………..……………………….…….….……………………11
5 – Eating customs…………………………..…………………..……..………………11
6 –Stay safely hydrated………………..……………….…………..……….......11
7 – Hospitals ………………..………………..……………………………….….......11
8 – Getting locations………………..………………..……………..……….......11
9 – Road Safety………………..…………………..…..…………..……………..……11
10 – Taking the taxi………………..……………..….…………..…………..…….11
11 – You might miss……………………………..…………………..……….….……11
12 – Useful Apps……………………………..…………………..…………….…….…11
13 – Banks…………………………..………..………………………….……….…….…11
14 – Survival phrases………..……..……………..…………………………..……11
15–Open your eyes………………..……………..………….………..…………...11
Maps
Map 1……..………..……………..…………..……………………………………..……11
Map 2………………..…………………………...…….………….………..…………...11
5
International House
International House (IH) is one of the largest groups of language

schools in the world, and has been teaching English and 25 modern
languages worldwide since 1953. The International House World
Organization (IHWO) is a network of
language schools worldwide that are
committed to implementing high
standards of quality and innovation in
education and training.
International House was founded in

1953 with the aim of providing an
innovative approach for learning
languages. The founders, John and
Brita Haycraft, were themselves
teachers who sought to promote
international understanding through language learning and teacher
training. The International House World Organization is today made
up of 150 schools in over 50 countries worldwide. Although these are
independent schools, they all share the same philosophy and teaching
approach. IH schools are all committed to implementing the highest
standards of education and training and have an enduring
determination to raise the standards of language teaching.
Over the past 55 years, IH teachers have attained the renowned

reputation of being amongst the most highly trained, creative and
respected instructors within their profession. Our teacher training
programs carry a hallmark of excellence and outstanding
professionalism.
6 International House Xi’an is proud to be part of the IH World
Organization.
7
International House Xi’an
International House Xi’an was founded in 2005 with the aim of

providing an innovative approach for learning Chinese. We believe
that communication is the key of learning and using Chinese in a daily
life is one the ways to learn proper Chinese. Therefore, our classes
focus strongly on developing students’ communication skills in all
areas and learning useful Chinese.
Over the years, we started to add more languages to our program.

Then, we do not only teach Chinese to foreigners, but also other
foreign languages to any student who is interested in it. Our school
became a real international place, where people from all over the
world meet, exchange their ideas and learn about other cultures.
8
IH Schools in Xián
International House currently has three campuses in different

location in Xi’an.
Rong Xin Road Campus

This is the first campus of IH
Xi’an, located in the YanTa
District, and has a total of 12
classrooms, a teachers room and
an international and marketing
department.
Classrooms: 9 of the classrooms have at least the capacity of 10 to

15 students, another one has the capacity of 25 students, and other
one, the young learners classroom, has the capacity of 20 students
and it is equipped with a smartboard. All the classrooms are equipped
with whiteboard, tables, chairs, air-condition, windows, central
heating, and others.
Waiting Room: there is a big

living room where the students
and parents can wait until the
class starts or finishes. Also,
there is the reception where
students or teachers can ask for
information about the classes.
Teachers Room: equipped with

tables, chairs, a library with many kinds of books for teaching second
languages, a whiteboard, a computer, and a printer and copying
machine.
9 International and Marketing Office: The international and marketing

office is located in this campus with a Chinese and international staff
who manage the school marketing activities, international relations,

and the school internal HR .*
The address of the campus :
雁塔区，融鑫路路3号，⾃自⼒力力⼤大厦，⼆二楼
2nd floor, Zi Li Building, 3 RongXin Road, YanTa Disrict,
Phone Number: +86 29 8824 3428 .
The campus location is strategic and near to all teachers daily needs.
It has Chinese restaurants and coffee shops around. From the school
it takes 5 minutes on foot to Xi’an Public Security Bureau (PSB), 5
min to Bus No 35 that reaches the Bell Tower, 5 min to bus line 400
that takes you to XiaoZhai/ the Provincial History Museum/ the Big
Wild Goose Pagoda.
The NanMen (South Gate) Campus

This is the new campus that was
built in 2014, with more than 10
classrooms, with a meeting and a
conference room . This campus is
usually dedicated to Chinese
Language Summer Camp for
international students. Other
language courses are still few
compared to the Rong Xin Road
campus.
The address of the campus:
碑碑林林区振兴路路82号⻄西安英特思语⾔言

培训中⼼心
10
+86 29 8964 1620
The TangYan Road Campus

The new campus opened it’s
gates January 2015.
Located in the south of Xi’an

near to TaiBai Nan road and
the Provincial swimming hall,
this school is in the Cultural
activities centre in
cooperation with other
schools.
More than 10 classrooms, equipped with all teaching materials such

as whiteboard, tables, chairs, air-condition, windows, central
heating, and others.
The address of the campus:
雁塔区唐延路路张⼋八东路路交汇处陕⻄西省妇⼥女女⼉儿童活动中⼼心 3楼
Phone number: +86 29 8129 4898

11
Xi’an City ⻄西安市
Xián
Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi province, located in the northwest of
the People's Republic of China, one of the oldest cities in China, the
city was known as Chang'an before the Ming dynasty. Xi'an is the
oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
Climate
Xi'an has a temperate climate that is influenced by the East Asian
monsoon.
The climate in Xi’an is characterized by hot and humid summers; cold

and dry winters; and dry
springs and autumns. Most
of the annual precipitation
is delivered from July to
late October. Snow
occasionally falls in winter
but rarely settles for long.
Dust storms often occur
during March and April as
the city rapidly warms up.
Summer months also
experience frequent but short thunderstorms. The monthly 24-hour
average temperature ranges from around the freezing mark in
January to 26.6 °C (79.9 °F) in July, with an annual mean of 13.68 °C
(56.6 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 31
percent in December to 47 percent in August. Xian has frequent
raining in most of the seasons. So, it recommended to bring most of
the times your umbrella in case you need it.
12
Transportation
Xi'an has many areas that are easily accessible on foot. In many
commercial, residential, and education zones in the city, especially in
the shopping and entertainment districts around the Bell Tower,
underpasses and overpasses have been built for the safety and
convenience of pedestrians.
Electric bikes as well as rooters are very popular among students and
offer easy transportation in and around the city for many residents.
Taxi services are numerous but many citizens of Xi'an still prefer
commuting by bus. There are more than 2 million of automobiles
registered in Xi'an. So, cars play a very important role in people's
daily life, which also means frequent traffic jams.
Public Transportation Card
Instead of paying by check public transportation such as bus and

metro, you can use a public transportation card like the following:
You can charge it in any metro station

or some markets. However, the
markets are a little complicated to
find them. So, we recommend you to
charge it in any metro station.
13
Bus
There are around 280 bus routes in the city. You can find many stop
buses and they show you some
advertisements with the
information about the numbers of
the buses that stop there. A we
mentioned before, you can pay by
check or the public transportation
card that is used for buses or
metro.
Xi’an Metro ⻄西安地铁
The metro system has three lines.

Fortunately, line 3, which took
long time to be built, was recently
opened in November 2016. You can
pay by check or you can use the
same card that is used for bus.
You can see the three lines in the

following:
14
15
Taxi ⻄西安出租⻋车
Taxis in Xi'an are predominantly BYD Auto made in Xi'an. Most (there
are some new taxis that run on electricity) taxis in Xi'an run on
compressed natural gas. For the taxis' fare, during the 06:00-23:00,
¥9/2 km for the fare fall and ¥2.3/Km later, at night ¥10 for the fare
fall and ¥2.7/Km later.
Xi’an Rail / High Speed Train ⻄西安⽕火⻋车/ ⻄西安⾼高铁
There are 6 passengers transport railway stations in Xi'an. Xi'an

Railway Station, located just north of Xi'an walled city, is one of the
eight major national railway stations, and the main railway
transportation hub of
Shaanxi Province. The new
Xi'an North Railway Station,
situated a few miles to the
north, is the station for the
high-speed trains of the
Zhengzhou–Xi'an High-Speed
Railway. With 34 platforms,
it is the largest railway
station in Northwest China.
Construction of the station began on September 19, 2008.The station
was opened on January 11, 2011.[46] As of May 2012, Xi'an North
Station is served only by the fast (G-series and D-series) trains
running on the Zhengzhou–Xi'an High-Speed Railway; one of them
continues south to Hankou. The city's other stations include Xi'an
West, Xi'an East, Xi'an South, Sanmincun, and Fangzhicheng railway
stations. Xi'an Railway Station covers 597 thousand square meters,
has 5 passenger platforms, and 24 tracks. It provides 112 services to
80 000 people daily. Among the destinations served by direct trains
from Xi'an are Beijing, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou, Baoji, and Mount Hua.
16
China Railway High-speed 2 now run an express services from Xi'an to
Baoji and Xi'an to Zhengzhou; with a total running time to Baoji of

under 90 minutes, and 2 hours to Zhengzhou. The Zhengzhou–Xi'an
High-Speed Railway also serves Xi'an. Construction work began on
September 25, 2005, the railway opened for service on February 6,
2010.The railway has made air service between Zhengzhou and Xi'an
uncompetitive. All passenger flights between the two cities were
suspended within 48 days of start of regular high-speed rail service
Xi'an currently has three ring road systems, the Second Ring road and
the Third Ring road which encircle the city. These ring roads are
similar to freeways, except where there are traffic signals on the
Second Ring road. As a tourist city, Xi'an has built expressways to
Lintong, Tongchuan and Baoji, with well-maintained roads to famous
scenic spots in suburban counties and to the north slope of the Qin
Mountains. Since its construction in September 2007, the Xi'an–
Hanzhong Expressway connects Hanzhong and Xi'an through the
Qinling.
17
Teachers’ Benefits
Accomodation
International House Xi’an is offering free accommodation apartments
shared with other full-time teachers
or interns.
Each apartment includes a private

room for each teacher, a shared
bathroom, a living room, and a
kitchen. They are furnished and with
some useful devices and equipment.
The rent is paid by the school.
Services Payment
Cleaning, heating, electricity, internet, water bills, and building

administration fees should be paid by the teacher.
Fees in the apartments depend on the teacher’s monthly usage. You

have to pay the apartment services that you used until they get over
and the building fees every month.
It is paid by a card that you will find in your apartment, paid in the
property management company in the complex. Some of the service
payments such as “water, gas and electricity, have to be paid in the
apartments management office. In the following, we will explain with
more details about the payment of each service:
For water and for gas:

1. You have to go to the property management office.
2. You only have to show your apartment services payment card and
pay the quantity you think is better for the water of the next month
18 and the quantity of the building fees every month if you have not
paid them.
water gas
水气
shuǐ qì
3. Once you have paid, the water or gas will be ready to use again.
For electricity:
1. You have to go to the property management office.
2. You only have to show your apartment services payment card and
pay the quantity you think is better for the electricity of the next
month and the building fees every month if you have not paid them.
3. Once you have paid, you have to insert your card in a box that is in
the building of your apartment. The box is frequently near the
elevator of your floor and it has the number of your apartment. When
you insert the car, the electricity payment will be registered and you
can use it.
Warning: Sometimes, the electricity can stop surprisingly as an

advertisement that you have to pay your electricity as soon as
possible. However, it does not mean that you have no more
electricity. You can use electricity for one day more doing the next:
If the electricity stops, you can go to the box we have mentioned
before in you apartment building and insert your card. You can use
electricity maximum one day more while you pay.
electricity
diàn
19
For internet:
1. You have to go to any market named “Line Community Charges
Supermarket”: 利安社区电超市
2. You only have to show or say this 你好我需要交网费 nǐ hǎo wǒ xū

yào jiāo wǎng fèi (Hello, I need to pay network fees).
3. Then you tell them your local phone number and you have to pay
the quantity that they told you.
For heating:
In China, each year people have to pay heating fees for winter. The
fee is calculated by the size of your apartment. You have to pay
around 6 yens per square of your apartment, for every month of the
winter season (around 4 months). The fee is only in one payment. For
example, most of the flats of the school are around 74,55 square
meter big. The average would be the following: 74,55 (apartment
size) x 5,8 (square meter prize) x 4 (length of central heating in
month) = 1729,56. However, it depends on the size of your
apartment. Also, there might be people from the property
management coming to your place, knocking on the door who want to
check the water pressure in the pipes to be sure everything is ok
before starting the heating.
1.You have to go to the property management office, and pay the

heating fees of the winter months. As we mentioned before, the
fees depend in how big is your apartment.
2.You only have to show your apartment services payment card and
pay the quantity that they tell you.
Central Heating Fees
暖⽓气费
20 nǔan qì feì
Salary
You will get your salary every 10th of each month unless there is any
change. You have to go to the economist office to get the money. The
quantity you get depends on what is signed in your contract and the
number of hours you work.
Chinese classes
Also you will have the great opportunity to have free Chinese classes
2 hours per week in International House Rong Xin Road Campus. The
time of your Chinese classes will depend in your work schedule of the
week.
Activities
Sometimes we will have special activities and meetings for teaching,
marketing, and others that even if they look as work you can enjoy.
They are interesting and will help you to know more about Chinese
culture, education programs, and many places.
21
Practical and Entertaining Places
Because teachers working in International House are from different

countries, cultures, age, and interests, here we tried to list some of
the usual places they could need as well as some entertainment
locations in Xi’an.
Gyms: You can find gyms all around Xi’an, private ones (in some
malls), or public ones (in Chinese
universities).
You can pay from one month or

memberships from three months to
a year. Prices are from 200 Yuan to
3000 Yuan, it depends how long
the membership duration is and
how good the equipment is.
Playgrounds: Almost all Chinese universities and schools have a

playground open to public to practice cardio activities (running,
stretching …)
Malls and Stores

Vivo City (also named “In City”): A good
mall with a variety of stores, restaurants,
a cinema and a gym. Some of the stores
are expensive but others are cheaper
such as H&M, My style, and others.
Saga: A very big and popular mall with

22 ten floors. A lot of kinds of stores and
restaurants with variety of prices.
However, most of them are high prices. Near the mall, you can find
another stores and next to it is Huaqi International Plaza.
Huaqi International Plaza: A curious big building with some stores in

the first floors and then many business in the next floors such as
coffee shops, spa, stores and other but located inside apartments. It
could sound strange but they are really nice and interesting. Near the
mall, you can find other stores and next to it is Saga Mall.
Also you can find another malls such as Kaide Mall, Capital Mall, and
others.
Silk Road: A great place with

stores, international
restaurants and beautiful and
interesting places to know
some details about other
countries who form the Silk
Road such as India, Russia,
Korea, and others.
Tang West Shopping Mall: A big

mall next to the Silk Road.
IKEA: A really big and popular

store in many countries, which
has a big variety of items for
your home such as furniture,
lights, decoration, tools, and
other home items.
Gomz: A store you can find in

many places of the city with a
variety of items for your home such as furniture, lights, decoration,
tools, technology items and other home items.
23
Supermarkets
Most of the supermarkets in Xian are little with the basic products
and food you need. If you can not find what you need in these ones
you can search on another ones which are a little bigger with more
products. However, most of them do not sell international brand
products. If you want to find any international brand product, you
can find it either in “Walmart”, a
popular American supermarket, or in
“METRO”, the big supermarket that
many foreigners like even if it is quite
far. Also, you can find some groceries
stores and fruit stores in some parts of
the street.
Bars: As a touristic destination, Xi’an has many bar streets in many

touristic locations. To illustrate:
Bar street in Nanmen: Long bar street with local and
international bars
Bar street DeFuXiang: Famous with high quality Chinese bars
Bar street in DaYanTa: International bars and some international

cuisine restaurants .
Coffee Shops: You can find many coffee shops in different places
such as malls, near some stores or inside some bookstores. If you
want to go to a place with a variety of coffees, Huaqi International
Plaza can be the indicate. Such as
Starbucks, some of the most popular
international cafes that you can find
in Xi’an are Pacific Coffee, Man
Coffee, Zoo Coffee, and others.
24
Parks: Parks are everywhere in China , Chinese people give

importance to health even at elder age , so usually all parks are
equipped with public workout materials for stretching .
KTV (Karaoke): In China, KTV is the same as “karaoke”. You can find
many KTVs in Xian. People who loves singing karaoke will love the
KTVs in China because their style is
unique. They have private rooms
with microphones, sofas, tables,
plasma tv, lights, and more. They
have a store inside the KTV where
you can buy what you wish to take
it to your room or you can ask for
beer, tea, fruit, and others. You
book a room paying according the number of hours you want to sing.
So, the price depends in the number of hours you want to sing, the
number of people in a room, and the quality of the KTV. Also
sometimes they have some promotions and they are cheaper or you
can book a room in certain apps such as Meituan 美团, the price will
be cheaper. Later we will explain more about this kind of apps to
search and book for entertainment.
Dancing Places
Most of the foreigners who like to dance go
to “Salsa”,a disco to dance pop music at
night or to “1950”, a restaurant bar who
played some
latin music
such as salsa
music to dance
(Thursday,
Friday.,
1950 Saturday, and
25 Sunday are
Restaurant Bar
the days
which more people got to dance salsa to this restaurant-bar). Even if

the name of both places sounds as the opposite according of what
they have, they are according what is mentioned above.
Others
Toastmaster International: If you would like to know more Chinese
people who speak English, you can go to Toastmaster International,
which is an association recognized in all the world which purpose is to
be a place where people can learn and practice how to speak in
public and be a good leader. Furthermore, in Xián Toastmaster
Clubs, you can make new Chinese friends, who speak good English,
and practice your English speaking. First, you
can go to the club as a guest for sometimes.
Then, if you like it and want to be a member,
you have to pay around 36 dollars per
semester to be registered and receive your
materials. It is highly recognized around the
world, and if you get a Toastmaster
Certificate, you are recognized internationally as a CC (Competent
Communicator). When you go to a Toastmaster session, they can
explain you more detaily everything about it. But, we highly
recommend to assit to one to have an idea about it and make new
Chinese friends who speak good English.
Churches and Temples: For the foreigners who practice some

religions, you can find some churches of every religion. To illustrate,
for catholics, there is the
Tianshuijing Catholic Church
which mass ceremony starts
at 3:30 in English and at
7:00pm in Chinese on
Sundays. To know more
about its schedules check in
26 the church or internet.
You can find more information of other churches and temples and
their information in the “Taxi book” app, which we will explain later.
If you can not find there, search on internet or ask your colleagues.  
27
Sightseeing
Xi’an as a touristic destination due to the historical monuments, you

will have enough time to know every one of them during your
experience in Xi’an.
Bell Tower: A marvelous and big tower located in the city centre,
almost all transportations arrive there
or near there (Bus, Subway). Entry to
the Bell Towers is not free , entrance
require tickets .
Drum Tower: Located in the south gate

of the Muslim street , this tower has
drum performance almost everyday .
Entrance requires tickets .
Terracotta Warriors: One hour by bus

from Xi’an, a bus from the North Gate
goes directly to the Terracotta Warriors.
Its entrance is about 150 Yuan, reduced
to 75 Yuan if the visitor has an
international student card.
Hui Min Jie: Known as the Muslim street for foreigners, 5 min on foot
from the Bell tower. Xi’an local food is famous especially in this
street especially Biang Biang Noodles and bread with meat “rou jia
mo”.
Big Goose Pagoda: A beautiful and

historical buddhist temple. Around it
you can find gift shops, coffee shops,
and bars. Besides, you can enjoy a
marvelous popular fountain show in
28 front of the Big Pagoda every day at
8:30pm.
Small Pagoda: Located near the Shaanxi province stadium, almost the
same characteristics as the big goose pagoda.
HuaShan: This mountain is a

destination that our teachers usually
don’t miss the chance to see it, you
can take the high speed train, or
normal train to go there, 5 to 8
hours to climb the Top , with the
famous bridge in the very high
altitude , became a favourite
destination for climbing fans.
City Walls: Like almost all the ancient cities in China, the city walls
are a historical place, you can go from different gates and go upstairs
and enjoy to ride a bike or to have a
walk around. Entrance fees are around
60 kuai, renting a bike prices are 45 kuai
for two hours and 300 kuai as a deposit.
Shaanxi History Museum: It is located in

the northwest of the Giant Wild Goose
Pagoda in the ancient city Xi'an, in the
Shaanxi province of China, is one of the first huge state museums
with modern facilities in China. The
museum houses over 370,000 items,
including murals, paintings, pottery,
coins, as well as bronze, gold, and
silver objects. The modern museum
was built between 1983 and 2001 and
its appearance recalls the
architectural style.
29
Tang Paradise: Tang Paradise is a large

theme park near the city of Xi'an. The
park is at or near the site of an earlier
garden complex in the Tang Dynasty,
but consists almost entirely of modern
construction.
The park features numerous buildings,
squares, and gardens, all incorporating features of traditional Chinese
architecture, such as eaves and cornices. Some features are named
after historical sites or buildings.
The park is one of several modern reconstructions of ancient sites in
Shaanxi, which involve anachronistic styles and features, most
notably the use of wide stretches of concrete surfaces.
In the evening the many thousands of visitors are treated to a
spectacular Lake Show, featuring Lasers, video projection onto water
screens, fountains and other special effects
30
Tips and Suggestions
1 – Install a VPN
What is a VPN? You may ask. VPN stands for Virtual Private
Network aka magic that will make blocked websites such as
Facebook, Youtube, the NYT available to you in mainland
China. On MAC and PCs, most of the reliable VPNs are not Astrill
free. We recommend Astrill, it is one of the best VPNs and has prices
ranging from $5.83 to $9.98 per month with plans ranging
from 3 months to 1 year. It’s a fast reliable VPN which even
displays the upload and download speed. Also Express VPN
Express VPN
is good and recognized. However, some people who has lived
more than one year in China suggested more Astrill.
Also, do not forget your phones! As we are consuming most of our
media on the go, it is important to install those VPNs on your cell
phone and computer before you arrive to China. Both VPNs, Astrill
and Express VPN are good and can be used in computers and cell
phones. As other options, you can try Onavo Protect (free) for IOS and
VPN unlimited (Android).
2- Install WeChat
Start your China immersion with social media! Download WeChat aka
Weixin 微信. It is a cross over between Whatsapp and Facebook. A
popular and useful communication tool that everyone uses
in China! When you know someone new, he/she is going to
ask your WeChat instead of cell phone number. It will help
you a lot not only having contact with others but also
meeting new friends. You can add a new contact only by scanning
her/his code or searching her/his WeChat id. Using we chat, you can
31 send messages and share photos, and short videos named
“sights” (this short videos can only be seen and used by WeChat). If
you need more privacy for you and your contacts, you can configurate
your privacy in the app selecting who can see your
“moments” (photos, sights, songs, or others that you share).
Also, if you can, business cards are always a handy thing to have. It is
very common to exchange them when you first meet someone. Please
remember to receive and give your business card with two hands,
thumbs facing the sky.
3- Fight the language barrier

Everything will be different! The signs on the
street, the price tags in supermarkets and
Pleco
even letters in your mailbox! Make sure you
have enabled Chinese Pinyin keyboard and
Chinese Writing keyboard in your phone settings and
indulge yourself in the Chinese language. Don’t miss
out on anything and install a dictionary on your phones. We highly
recommend “Pleco”, a great app on both IOS and Android, which is
free and many people consider the best
Chinese dictionary. You can search any
word from Chinese-English and English-
Chinese. It will also allow you to save Written Chinese
and organize new words and even test Dictionary
yourself on them. Also, we suggest you
the “Written Chinese Dictionary” for using the scan of Chinese
characters. The dictionary is free but you have to pay around 18
dollars to unblock this really useful function. However, it is marvelous
and useful because you can read any Chinese character scanning it
with this function of the app. It is also highly recommended. Both
dictionaries, “Pleco” and “Written Chinese Dictionary” has this
function to scan Chinese characters but you have to pay it. However,
if we compared both dictionaries, “Pleco” is better to look words in
dictionary and “Written Chinese Dictionary” is better for scanning
32 Chinese characters.
4 – You might miss…

Deodorant and tampons. Make sure you stock up on those items, as
they don’t really exist for the wider public. Moreover, they are a
little bit more expensive in China.
5- Mobile phone
These are some of the phones companies:
China Unicom, Telecom, and China Mobile. According to the
experiences of some foreigners, we suggest you more
China Unicom. You only need to go to the company and
buy a new Sim Card for your phone and pay
some money for phone calls and 4G. When you
finish your money, you can pay again either in
the same company or in special locals that
are for pay the phone fees. You can find these
locals in many parts of the street and they
have also the logotype of the company you
use. Also, you can pay online by wechat,
alipay and others (we will
explain later about this kind of
payments). If you have
Unicom, another easy way to
pay is using the Unicom Phone
Service app ⼿手机营业厅. This
one is not only useful for paying your phone
but also for checking how many megabytes or gigabytes do you have
in your phone and be prevented before your money finishes. Note: It
is important to know that when you finish the money of your phone,
you do not have access neither to 4G internet nor calls or messages.
33
6 – Eating customs
As non-obvious as it may sound, make sure you
know how to use chopsticks. Little canteens and
street food will certainly not cater for forks and
knifes lovers. Also, it is not impolite to sip your
soup loudly! So don’t be too surprised! Also, they
usually do not have napkins. So, you have to buy
your own tissues/kleenex.
7 – Stay safely hydrated

Water is non-potable in China. Make sure
to always buy bottles of water or bring
your own. It is very easy to find them and
they are cheap! Also, when you ask for tap
water at the restaurant, you will most
likely end up with hot water, which is safe but also healthy to drink
according to Chinese sayings.
8 – Hospitals
In case you need to go to a hospital, we suggest you the next ones
which have English speaking staff: I
34
In the taxi book app, that we suggest you later, you can find more
hospitals and the information about them such as location, phone and
if they have English speaking staff.
9 – Getting locations
To get locations and addresses, know where you are, what
buses you can get and what way you should take, we
really suggest the app “Autonavi”. It can show you many
different kind of places to go or you can search any
Autonavi
place you want. Then, it will show you the way to
follow by car, bus, or walking. You can see the
number of buses you can take and where are the bus stops. Also,
you can save any way you want as favourite and it will become part
of your favourite list with all the addresses and ways you have
saved to see in any time you need and follow them easily.
Another app we suggest for locations and looking for places is the
“Taxi Book” app. “Taxi Book” is a useful app for
foreigners to search a place, then it shows you the
address in Chinese, and you
can show it to the taxi
driver. Also it can show you many
places that can be useful for
foreigners such as hospitals, churches,
restaurants, hotels, and others with some information of them such
as location, phone,English speaking staff, and other details. There
is a “Taxi Book” app for every city of China, included Xian. So, you
have to download “Taxi Book” for Xian.
35
10 – Road Safety
Although this is pretty obvious, there are some uncommon features of
Chinese road customs. For instance, when
you are on a pedestrian crossing and the
little man turns green be aware that
vehicles at any intersection will always
have the possibility to turn right despite
being faced by a red light. Always, look
both sides before crossing an intersection.
Also, for crossing streets, it is suggested to only follow other Chinese
people. You will find many surprises crossing street. To illustrate,
even if the light could be green for pedestrians, many vehicles
usually continue moving forward surprisingly. So, the most suggested
way to cross streets is following other Chinese people.
11 – Taking the taxi

Very few taxi drivers speak English. So there are two options:
1. Make sure to give the nearest intersection name rather than the
full address to the taxi. For example, if you would like to go to
do your grocery shopping at the Avocado Lady on Wulumuqi Road,
you have to tell the taxi first the road where you want to go here
Wulumuqi Road and the nearest intersection Wuyuan Road. So,
you would say: Wulumuqi Lu/Wuyuan Lu and that’s enough for
the taxi to depart! Oh yeah 路Lu = Road in Chinese.
2. Bring the written address of the place you want to go and show it
to the taxi driver. You can find it
in the map or you can use the
“Taxi Book” app that we
mentioned above.
36
Also you can book a car by using popular apps such as “Uber” and
“Didi”. Boths apps are for booking a car which will
pick you up in the adress you write. Booking a car with
any of these apps is cheaper and the cars are better
Didi
than taxis. However, you must speak a little of Chinese
because they will call you to confirm where you are and to ask
you any questions related with the location in case they need it.
12– Banks
If you need a bank most of the popular banks are “Bank of China”,
“CITIC Bank”, “ICBC”,“China Merchants Bank”, “Bank of
Communication”, and “Agriculture Bank of China”. If you want to get
a debit or credit card, you must show your passport/visa and most of
the banks ask you for a letter to confirm that you are working or
studying in Xian. It should include the name of your job/school, the
time you will be in Xi’an, your salary per month and the sign of your
job/school (In China instead of signature they use a sign).
Some foreigners have noticed that when the debit card has magnetic
stripe on the back, it can be used in some ATM of other countries.
However, it depends on the bank. To illustrate, some foreigners have
used China Merchants Bank card in Spain and Philippines.
According to the experience of some

foreigners, these are some details to take
in mind about some of these banks:
37
It can
Require to be Easy to
English show a used in find it
Name of English
Language paper of ATM of in
the Bank Service
Formats your job/ other many
school countri streets
es
Maybe,
Bank of
Sometimes No Yes but not Yes
China
sure.
Maybe,
CITIC Bank Sometimes Yes Yes but not Regular
sure.
ICBC Sometimes Yes No No No
China In some
Merchants Sometimes Yes Yes countri Regular
Bank es yes.
Agricultural Maybe,
Bank of Sometimes No No but not Regular
China sure.
Bank of Maybe,
Communi- Sometimes No Preferently but not Regular
cation sure.
Note: Some bank cards such as CITIC Bank and Bank of

Communication can not be used in some online payments and Taobao
store. Later we will explain you about this important and marvelous
online store that many citizens and foreigners love because of its
38 price and variety. So, we suggest you to ask in the bank if the card
can be used also for online payments (wechat, alipay, didi or uber,
and taobao, which are so popular and common in China. In the

following you can read more about it.
13. Why is it recommended to have a bank card?

Maybe you don’t need it and you can live with no
card. However, you can take many advantages if
you have one and register it in some of apps such
as the following:
1. Wechat wallet. In China, wechat is not only used to contact others

as whatsup and share your moments as Facebook. Also, you can pay
by wechat sending money to any person or
business account. You only need to scan
the code of the business that they will
show you, you write how much you will
pay, write your password and you have
payed. Only to pay by wechat you have to
register a bank card.
2. Alipay. Instead of Pay Pal and other

international services to pay online, in
China it is used an app named Ali Pay.
Also you can register your bank card
here and do the payments you need.
Many useful apps used in China such as

Taobao and Meituan, which we will
explain you later, as well as Uber and Didi
39 (to pay taxi drivers), require to pay with a bank card, wechat wallet,
or alipay.
14– Shopping in lowest prices

If you look for stores in the lowest prices in the city, you can find
some places such as
The Village. Located by Rong Xin Road, it has many stores around
with good prices.
Miniso Stores. A great store from Japan where you can find all kind
of things, included some electronics devices, in lowest prices. You
can find this store in many places and malls of the city such as Saga,
the Tang West Shopping Mall, and others.
Pnesog Stores. A store that is the competence of Minis but from

China. There are less Pnesog than Miniso stores. You can find one of
this stores in Tang West Shopping Mall, just next to the Miniso store.
Besides shopping in lowest prices in this stores, you can find a variety
of things in lowest prices by internet in Chinese stores and others.
15– Shopping and Booking Online

In China, you can have many advantages about shopping and booking
online in the lowest prices. Some of these are the following:
1. Taobao 淘宝. Such as Amazon, Linio, Mercado Libre, and other

international online shopping stores,
Tao-bao is a great Chinese online
shopping store highly recommended
that many people, including foreigners,
love because of its lowest
prices and good quality.
40 You can install the app on
your phone.
2. Meituan 美团. This app can be used to book and

pay online many things in advanced such as cinema
tickets, ktv, restaurants, food, and more in a
lowest price. to illustrate, if a cinema
ticket is around 60 RMB, buying it
online can be 35 RMB.
3.Uber and Didi. As we have mentioned before, if you want to ask

for a taxi driver by Uber or Didi, which are used to book taxis that are
formal, cheaper, and easier to get than the ones that you can find in
the street, also you have to pay by bank card, wechat wallet, or
alipay.
16- Practice the language

Take advantage to learn and practice Chinese
Language with lots of native speakers you have
around. We have testimonies of many Chinese
foreigners who came as a beginner of Hello
Skill
Chinese
Chinese Language proficiency and after
some months of continuous practice, they
could communicate with Chinese people and
understand them. The results only depend in
the time and way you practice it.
To
illustrate,
besides your Chinese classes,
you can make Chinese friends
41 and practice with them. Also you
can use the dictionaries we have
mentioned above as a tool, and some apps to practice and review the
language such as “Hello Chinese” and “Chinese Skill”. These apps are
highly recommended to practice Chinese language. You can download
them for free. Try them and prove the useful they are.
17– Useful Apps

We have already mentioned many of the apps we highly
recommended to live in China. However, here are the names of all of
them:
-VPN -Wechat
-Pleco -Written Chinese
-Autonavi -Taxi book (from Xian, this is to look for addresses)
-Didi or Uber -Alipay
-Hello Chinese -Chinese Skill
-Taobao -Meituan
- Unicom Phone Service app (⼿手机营业厅)
Some apps you can find them by the English name but others you can
only find them looking them by the Chinese name with characters.
18– Survival phrases

wo yào zhège = I want this.
我要这个
*Feel free to use your fingers to point to the
stuff you want.
bù yāo/yāo = I don’t want / I want
不不要／要
42
bù yāo là = I don’t want spicy
不不要辣 (very useful if you don’t want to eat spicy food)

wǒ bù huì shuō hán yǔ = I can’t speak Chinese language
我不不会说汉语
nǐ huì shuō Yīng wén mā = Do you speak English Language?
你会说英⽂文？
19 – Be prepared
Don’t forget that you are coming to China to
experience another culture. You will be truly
amazed by where curiosity can take you.
Despite the language barrier, it is possible to
meet native Chinese and become good friends
with them. Remain open-minded.
43
Maps
  Map 1 (Horizontal)
44
Map 1 (Vertical)
45
  Map 2 (Horizontal)
46
Map 2 (Vertical)
47

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IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide

Paulina Chapa, Jonas Goldbach,

In this booklet you will find further information

Xi’an City ⻄西安市

Xi’an Metro ⻄西安地铁 …………………………………………………………….……11

Xi’an Rail / High Speed Train ⻄西安⽕火⻋车/ ⻄西安⾼高铁…………….…….…11

Practical and Entertainment Places

Tips and Suggestions

2 - Fight the language barrier………………………..….…..…………….……11

International House (IH) is one of the largest groups of language

International House was founded in

Over the past 55 years, IH teachers have attained the renowned

International House Xi’an

International House Xi’an was founded in 2005 with the aim of

Over the years, we started to add more languages to our program.

International House currently has three campuses in different

Rong Xin Road Campus

Classrooms: 9 of the classrooms have at least the capacity of 10 to

Waiting Room: there is a big

Teachers Room: equipped with

9 International and Marketing Office: The international and marketing

who manage the school marketing activities, international relations,

The address of the campus :

2nd floor, Zi Li Building, 3 RongXin Road, YanTa Disrict,

Phone Number: +86 29 8824 3428 .

The NanMen (South Gate) Campus

The address of the campus:

碑碑林林区 振兴路路82号 ⻄西安英特思语⾔言

The TangYan Road Campus

Located in the south of Xi’an

More than 10 classrooms, equipped with all teaching materials such

heating, and others.

The address of the campus:

雁塔区 唐延路路张⼋八东路路交汇处 陕⻄西省妇⼥女女⼉儿童活动中⼼心 3楼

Phone number: +86 29 8129 4898

Xi’an City ⻄西安市

The climate in Xi’an is characterized by hot and humid summers; cold

Public Transportation Card

Instead of paying by check public transportation such as bus and

You can charge it in any metro station

Xi’an Metro ⻄西安地铁

The metro system has three lines.

You can see the three lines in the

Xi’an Rail / High Speed Train ⻄西安⽕火⻋车/ ⻄西安⾼高铁

There are 6 passengers transport railway stations in Xi'an. Xi'an

Baoji and Xi'an to Zhengzhou; with a total running time to Baoji of

Each apartment includes a private

The rent is paid by the school.

Cleaning, heating, electricity, internet, water bills, and building

Fees in the apartments depend on the teacher’s monthly usage. You

For water and for gas:

Warning: Sometimes, the electricity can stop surprisingly as an

2. You only have to show or say this 你好我需要交网费 nǐ hǎo wǒ xū

1.You have to go to the property management office, and pay the

Central Heating Fees

IH Full Time Language Teachers Guide

Practical and Entertaining Places

Because teachers working in International House are from different

You can pay from one month or

Playgrounds: Almost all Chinese universities and schools have a

Malls and Stores

Saga: A very big and popular mall with

Huaqi International Plaza: A curious big building with some stores in

碑碑林林区振兴路路82号⻄西安英特思语⾔言

雁塔区唐延路路张⼋八东路路交汇处陕⻄西省妇⼥女女⼉儿童活动中⼼心 3楼