Why You Should Move To China To Teach English

Why teach English in China?

Teaching English in China offers a strong combination of high salaries, affordable living costs, and abundant job opportunities.

China has one of the largest ESL job markets in the world, making it easier for qualified TEFL teachers to find work year-round. Schools are experienced in hiring foreign teachers and typically provide clear guidance on the Z work visa process, reducing stress around paperwork and legal requirements.

Alongside career benefits, teachers enjoy a safe, modern lifestyle, good work–life balance, and opportunities for travel and personal growth.

Key benefits of teaching English in China

– Competitive entry-level TEFL salaries

– Lower cost of living compared to earnings

– Large demand for English teachers

– Employer support with Z work visas

– Modern cities, safety, and strong infrastructure

– Opportunities for travel and cultural immersion

Read more: Understanding The Z Visa For China

Huge demand for English teachers (not just in Beijing and Shanghai) 

All cities in China have a demand for English teachers, not just in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai. 

Chinese students are required to study English from primary through high school in both public and private education. Because of this, there is a massive ESL market throughout China. 

Schools are eager to hire native or native-level English speakers who can help young students learn. Even if you don’t feel like an English language expert, being able tos peak English proficiently already is a big qualification. 

High salaries and low cost of living

Compared with other popular ESL destinations, China stands out for its higher salaries and lower cost of living. 

Starting salaries for many ESL jobs in China can be significantly higher than in other countries. China offers some of the highest entry-level salaries, and, along with the low cost of living, they tend to go much further towards monthly budgets. 

Benefits also make a big difference. 

ESL job contracts often include free housing (or housing stipend), annual travel bonuses, contract bonuses, health insurance, and generous holidays that are often fully paid. 

So even if some jobs pay lower salaries than in places like Japan or South Korea, the benefits could make your yearly take-home higher. ·  

Read more: What Is The Average Teaching Salary In China?

Career growth and further career development 

Before moving to China, I was quite naive about the opportunities there were here. I originally moved to China to work as an English teacher and travel as a gap year after college, before moving back to the US and starting my real life. 

But after moving here, I met so many other foreign expats who were able to start careers and develop them quickly while living in China. 

Not only are there opportunities to move into better jobs and higher positions within teaching, but there are also opportunities for curriculum development and leadership roles available to seasoned English teachers in China. 

There are many jobs that offer teachers opportunities to further their education and obtain additional certifications or licenses. 

And for some expats, China opens doors to opportunities beyond education. In larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai, expats with work experience in China and Mandarin language skills can move into other career fields, such as journalism and media, or start their own businesses or pursue their own passions. 

For many expats, China is a land of opportunity. 

Read more: Teaching In A Language School VS A Bilingual School In China

Cultural immersion and travel opportunities 

Moving to China to work as a teacher allows for full cultural immersion that just visiting would never provide.

Although there is a high demand for English teachers from abroad in China, you, as a teacher, are still in the minority. Every day you are surrounded by Chinese people and Chinese culture, which, to many, can be completely different to the culture they are used to back in their home country. 

This cultural immersion allows for so much learning, change, and experience.

 I have lived in both traditional “small” cities with just over 3 million people and cities like Beijing, with over 21 million people. But throughout China, the deep culture is palpable. Each city is unique in its people, food, and style. And working as a teacher, you get to experience that every day. 

Learning from your students and coworkers is a natural cultural exchange, and you are constantly in a state of cultural immersion. 

Even with the language barrier, cross-cultural exchanges occur daily in China. While not essential, learning basic Mandarin is beneficial. Knowing the language enables you to experience daily life more fully, with fewer barriers as a foreigner.

Travelling opportunities are one of the best perks of working as an English teacher in China. 

Like any teacher, you have summer holidays, but in China, there is a generous winter holiday for the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year in January and February; most teachers are off for at least 4 weeks. 

The several long weekends during the spring and fall semesters afford you ample time to travel within China and abroad. It’s time for you to fly back home to see friends or family, or hop on a flight to a new country for a much-deserved holiday. 

Any dream destination on a travel bucket list is attainable with generous salaries and most jobs offering annual travel stipends. Many teachers enjoy travelling to nearby Southeast Asian countries where their money can go farther. 

Modern lifestyle and strong expat communities 

I think China’s modernity is often underestimated because of its especially-long history. But China offers one of the most modern yet attainable lifestyles. 

The majority of China is now cashless. E-payments through apps like WeChat Pay and Alipay let you leave the house with just your phone. You can take a taxi, public transportation, rent a sharebike, rent a portable phone charger, or buy pretty much anything with just your phone. 

You can live that modern lifestyle in trendy new apartments that you can afford, being able to go out and try the new cafes and coffee shops or that latest exercise fad –  and you’re able to do it all while living in China. 

Many major cities in China have vibrant downtowns with plenty going on from week to week. And in many of these cities, especially Tier 1 cities, there are strong expat communities. 

Before moving to Beijing, where I live now, I lived in Hengyang, Hunan Province and Dongguan, Guangdong Province. And in both those smaller cities, there were active expat communities. 

Expats are drawn to one another and seek familiarity alongside the cultural immersion of China. There were group chats for weekend hangouts, and in Dongguan, there were themed parties and sports clubs. 

Once I moved to Beijing which has a very large expat population, the expat sub-communities were endless. 

Both environments have great potential to give you the lifestyle you want while living in China. 

Safe living environment 

One thing I was worried about before moving to China was my safety. 

Many other foreigners tend to find that they feel safer in China than they do back in their home countries when it comes to crime, especially violent crime. 

As a single woman who would be living alone, there would be a language barrier, and I was unsure how safe I would feel living in such a foreign place like China. 

But after 10 years living here, I have never felt safer. Walking alone at night, I feel very comfortable in my surroundings. When I leave my bag in a coffee shop to use the bathroom, I don’t have to worry about all my stuff being stolen. 

Even with a cultural and language barrier, staff and even police are very accommodating in making sure you can get the help you need in difficult situations you may find yourself in.

Life-changing personal growth 

Many people experience the learning and personal growth that comes from travel, visiting new places, and experiencing new cultures. And the same is true of living and working in a place like China. 

There are daily challenges with basic communication and completing everyday tasks; you are constantly learning new skills and solving problems. This can feel overwhelming at times because this amount of figuring out how to move through the world has not happened to us since we were kids. From challenges like this, great personal growth can come. 

For me, I had never had so much free time in my life while living as a teacher in China. I was starting over in a new country and new job, all new people around me, and I had to figure out what kind of life I wanted for myself. 

What I like to do in my free time, what I like to do during holidays, what kind of people I like having in my life and how I cope with difficult situations. I think, for other foreigners living in China and myself, living in China propelled us into self-growth we may not have experienced otherwise. 

China allows you to adopt a minimalist lifestyle and control which responsibilities you take on. You don’t have many of the same-day-to-day stresses of money, work, or weekly life admin chores to distract you from working on yourself and allowing for self-growth. Many people may go through life never experiencing that, but living in China this seems to be quite common.

For me, this is the greatest advantage of living in China for the past 10 years.

Read more: How To Live And Work In China As A Foreigner

Author Bio

Written by

Teacher in the Field

Edited by Kirsten Colquhoun

Teacher in the Field represents our TEFL Academy global community sharing their real-world experiences from classrooms and institutions across the world. From diving into TEFL to chomping down on chow mein in China, to navigating your first-day nerves in Spain, our collective voice brings authentic stories, insights, and practical advice right from those living the adventure. Read Teacher in the Field's story →