New nukes in China

[guppy]

I'm looking for information concerning working in China.  Specifically, working to build the AP1000s that have already been started there.  Some issues that I seeking information on are as follows:
Taxes - what taxes are owed to whom and at what rate?
Society - how do the Chinese people react to Americans working in their country for an extended period of time?
Safety
Food
Lodging
Transportation
Health Care

[Benwah033]

I'm looking for information concerning working in China.  Specifically, working to build the AP1000s that have already been started there.  Some issues that I seeking information on are as follows:
Taxes - what taxes are owed to whom and at what rate?
Society - how do the Chinese people react to Americans working in their country for an extended period of time?
Safety
Food
Lodging
Transportation
Health Care

Everything you want to know depends on what type of work youre looking for and who you would be working for.  Every company has its own policies on compensation while abroad.  Depending on how long youre the're, the federal government requires that your company pay your taxes for you, so you dont have to worry about it.  The AP1000 plants you reference are literally in the middle of nowhere.  That being said you would most likely be lodged on the compound in a dormitory.  Health care would be provided on site because there is probably little to none available very close to the plants.  There will be limited to no American brands available, no where to go, and nothing to do. 

In the areas the AP1000 units are in, you shouldnt have any problems with Chinese society because these plants are bringing alot of money and jobs into the area.  I can't speak for all of China, but you wouldnt have a problem there.

If you're looking for construction jobs, the Westinghouse/Shaw policy is to localize the labor force, so there won't be much in the way of Americans doing any work.  American Engineers are there supervising the work.

Other options include working in cities, like Shanghai where Westinghouse has an office, for support portions of the organization, managing suppliers, QA work etc.  This is also engineering work though.

I looked into a transfer to China while I worked for Westinghouse.  If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

[OregonNative]

I'm looking for information concerning working in China.  Specifically, working to build the AP1000s that have already been started there.  Some issues that I seeking information on are as follows:
Taxes - what taxes are owed to whom and at what rate?
Society - how do the Chinese people react to Americans working in their country for an extended period of time?
Safety
Food
Lodging
Transportation
Health Care

I'm currently living in China and can answer a few of these questions for you. I'm not a nuke worker (yet *God willing*). I know this is an old post, but I hope it helps if your still looking for answers.

1. Chinese are extremely friendly towards foreigners. Chinese people welcome foreigners to come and work in their country, and also Chinese owned companies.

2. China is safer than most American cities believe it or not (with violent crimes). Violent crime is almost non existant. The majority of crimes are theft. This of course varies from city to city, but I can walk on the street here (at 1-2 am) in Chengdu and not have to worry about being mugged, stabbed, ect. Violent crime does happen, but its very very rare. The drug laws are very harsh here, so drug use is also very low. Small amounts of marijuana can land you in prison. I believe crime to be quite low, like I mentioned before, it mostly consists of theft.

3. The food here is FANTASTIC, and extremely cheap. You can buy a big meal for just a few US dollars. Currently the exchange rate is 1 USD - 7.7 RMB. A bottle of water is 1-1.5 RMB. You can buy a big bowl of spicy noodles with beef, onion, ect for 5-8 RMB. Street food is a common food source for most people here in China. Its the cheapest, and often the best tasting. You can taste real China if you eat the street food. If you eat street food, you can eat a full days food for less than $1 USD (in most cases). If you prefer restaurants, there are tons all over. Chinese people love to eat, and there is plenty of food to go around. They have so many tastes and each province seems to have its own specialty.

The most expensive food... (believe it or not), is often the foreign food and imported food. KFC is more expensive than most (cheaper) resteraunts here. Like I mentioned, a bowl of noodles is 5-8 RMB, and 1 KFC fried chicken leg is 8-10 RMB. McDonald's, ect are all the same. They have steak houses, and all kinds of nice resteraunts in every major city. Most food is not so expensive here, but when compared to the street food, the most expensive things are usually the foreign foods. There are very expensive top quality Chinese resteraunts also though. The bottom line is, if you don't like Chinese food, you'll always be able to find western food close at hand (if you live in a larger city).

4. Living is really cheap here. There are plenty of apartments to fit almost any budget. They have beautiful large apartments with large outdoor gardens. For less than $1000 USD a month you could rent a very large home with a big garden (in the city). Of course this depends on the cities. Hong Kong is very very expensive and you might not be able to find those prices there. The average salary here is less than $300 USD a month.

5. The transportation here is very good. You can always find buses to take you where you need to go. Buses cost 1-2 RMB (1 USD - 7.7 RMB) per trip. If you want to spend a little more money you can take a taxi. Depending on the cities you live/work in, taxis really aren't so expensive if you make good money. Usually its a 5 RMB fee, and after than 1 RMB for every 1.5 km or something like that. Living in the city most things are within short distance. It's rare for me to spend more than 15-20 RMB (for even the furthest city destinations). It's quite a bit more than taking the bus, but you don't have to deal with finding the right stop, or having to cram in there with 80 other people. Subways are in many larger Chinese cities, they are very clean, very fast, and cheap. I'm not sure of the exact price but its less than a taxi. The city I'm living is still building its subway system and it won't be open until next year. It's more difficult to get a licence, and you really wont want one. Drivers are very scary here. It's nothing like the west. If you don't mind, a bicycle is very cheap and so many people ride them around the city. Since most things are close bikes are a good choice. You can also buy cheap little electric/gas scooters (for under $500 USD) which are faster than riding a bike. There are paths in every city (that I've been to) just for the bikes and scooters.

6. The health care here is a bit different. It's all really cheap, and as long as your going to a larger hospital they are also clean. I'd avoid the small town hospitals. Sometimes they aren't so clean, and there has been a few health issues with the needles there. I had to get some blood work done in a larger hospital and it was very clean, new needles, ect. I had a full body scan and everything for something like $20 USD. They also have doctors just for foreigners who speak English (in the bigger cities), but they cost a little bit more. Overall its still pretty cheap, and the quality in the large hospitals is good. If you use the normal Chinese doctors, be prepared to wait. Get there early, because people start lining up and you may have to wait for quite some time.

I'm not really sure about the taxes. Most of the work I've done here was paid under the table. Hope it helps.

[HeatherB.]

After reading that China has 27 reactors under construction, I decided I'm going to invest some of my down time to learning Mandarin Chinese. I think traveling to work over there & experiencing their culture, their work ethic, and their management style might be a breath of fresh air. Sounds like there will be a lot of work over there in the near future... does anyone on this site have any personal experiences with Chinese Nukes?

[guppy]

Since starting this thread I have actually taken a QA job with a company (Invensys) that is designing and delivering a digital control system for several nukes in China (namely Fangjiashan, Fuqing and Hainan).  I'll be traveling there for the first time in a few weeks and will stay about 3 weeks.  If anyone has some good nuke experience under their belt and wants to help out then shoot me a PM.  I have learned that the air in Beijing is pretty bad.  I may pack a few dust makes (aka "facial PCs").