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[quote=TOMSPENCER,271974]Lonely Planet produce a Mandarin phrase book that I'd say is absolutely invaluable to anyone coming to live in China for a year. It'll be your constant companion for the first few months at least.

Besides that, all the reading and advanced preparation in the world won't be as much use to you as just being open-minded and adventurous. Try not to come with too many pre-conceptions about what to expect. You can find churches and useful information about the areas of Shenzhen in guide books or on the internet, but it can all seem a little over-whelming and you can suffer from information over-load if you try to learn everything.

Shenzhen is a very new city and is made up of Chinese from all over China. For this reason the people there mostly speak Mandarin, as this is the common dialect in China. Further along the train tracks in Guangzhou, everyone speaks Cantonese. And just across the border in Hong Kong, well, it's Cantonese again. But in Shenzhen you'll do better with a Mandarin phrase book.

Hong Kong is a very western, modern, fashionable city and you'll have no problems there communicating in English. Shenzhen is also quite modern and English is reasonably wide-spread. A few basic survival phrases in Chinese would be useful before you start out, however there are foreigners who have lived there quite happily for years without learning a word of Chinese.

Street signs are all in Chinese and English, or Chinese and Pinyin. Same with subway maps. Announcements on the subway are in Chinese and English. McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks are the 4 most popular western dining brands in China, and all the staff there speak English.

China uses 220 volt AC power, which is different from the power used in the US, so if you're going to bring a computer or ipod then make sure you invest in a power converter. The power outlets are also different here, from those in the US. You can buy adapters in the US, but they are also readily available and relatively inexpensive here in China.

You don't need to bring too many things with you, as you can buy just about anything you're used to back home, right here. You may find it difficult to buy certain foods, though. If Shenzhen hasn't got what you're looking for, then try finding it in Hong Kong. Down town Hong Kong is so close to Shenzhen, that it's easy to go there on shopping sprees (just as long as you've got enough pages left in your passport!).

American culture is big in China. Not everything to do with America is popular here, but Chinese people tend to be very fond of American music, reality TV shows, fast food, Disney and basketball.

One final piece of advice - bring photos of home or some other special thing from where you live. If you're going to be teaching kids, then they will be fascinated by all of that stuff. Plus, of course, it's nice to have something familiar around you.[/quote]

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