ChinaSMACK

[maxiewawa]

ChinaSMACK.com has to be one of my favourite sites on the net. Fauna, the site's creator translates posts from the Chinese language Internet. Topics always give a fascinating insight into Chinese culture. She usually links to the original forum too. A word of warning though, most material is really really difficult Chinese; think of the slack grammar/spelling that you use when posting in your own language, and think of how difficult it would be for a learner to understand. Tthis is why it's so hard.

But even if you don't bother having a look at the original posts, and only read the English translations at ChinaSMACK.com, you will find it interesting.

[david]

Good catch Max. This piece is absolutely worth a read if you haven't caught it yet, by the way. The economics the girl describes are stunning.

I am in Shanghai now, I came here because I heard the salaries here are high. But as a girl who is from the countryside, nearly at the age of 30 and without English skills, finding a job with high salary is almost impossible. Even as an officer in a company, the salary was only 1800 yuan without bonus. I share a rented apartment with others and have to pay 600 yuan every month for it. I also had to post 800 yuan to my family and that left me 400 yuan for my daily life, including dinner, traffic and others expenses.

http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/peasant-girl-my-life-is-miserable-because-i-am-poor/

I lived in Shanghai for a year and a half and have NO idea how anyone can live in that city for 1000 RMB per month.