Journalism Internships in China: A survival kit

Kristina Koveshnikova, a graduate journalist who was sponsored by the Asia New Zealand Foundation to travel to Beijing to do a three-month internship at China Daily website, combined her experiences in a ‘survival kit’ for fellow students going to China.

About China Daily.com/Intern duties

The three-month internships are organised by AUT’s Pacific Media Centre and sponsored by the Asia NZ Foundation. The internship agreement AUT has, is with China Daily.com, which is run as a separate entity to the print edition. The two are located at a different building, have different management and even have different logos. From a work perspective you will not have anything to do with the newspaper edition.

The website was re-launched in 2006 and has radically expanded since. Although the hard news is picked up from the newspaper edition, the website - despite having no trained journalists – also produces news stories. Most of the Chinese staff at China Daily.com, who write and translate stories from Chinese, are English language graduates and have little understanding of how to write a news story. As the website’s intern, your main duties will be assisting the three full time English copy editors. Your daily routine will mainly consist of editing, often having to completely rewrite - but first make sense of – poorly translated pieces. Depending on your attitude this can be very amusing or frustrating.

Your daily duties will also include writing photo captions, headlines as well as working with the English language tips, multimedia and marketing and sales departments. Work hours are from 8:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, with an hour break for lunch.

Newsroom

The newsroom culture in China is extremely different to that of the West. The website’s newsroom is normally deathly quiet. Very rarely you will hear someone speak on the phone and almost never in person. The website’s staff use MSN Messenger for communication even if they sit right next to each other.

Fresh foreign expats would naturally tap a person they share a desk with on the shoulder to ask a question. But at the website’s newsroom, this usually would only happen once. The Chinese staff would jump up in their chair before slowly turning around looking at the ‘intruder of their immediate space’ with eyes full of horror and disbelief. Foreign expats, who are also called ‘foreign experts’ or ‘polishers’, getting the message fast and clear, would then back up, fall back in their chair and continue the conversation on Messenger filled with smiley faces.

If an online misunderstanding or confrontation arose, from my experience, the Chinese never showed a negative emotion when they happened to bump into you in the office later, nor is it in their culture to meet face-to-face to sort things out. As one foreign expert explained to me “the Chinese don’t like face-to-face confrontation” and it is due to “the fear of losing face”. Online they appear to be different personas: on Messenger they don’t have a problem telling you why they disagree, but in person they would never argue and always politely smile at you.

Another interesting aspect of a Chinese newsroom I learned was the dress code. Although I was told the rules did not apply to foreign experts, I chose to respect the so-called office customs. Women were not allowed to show shoulders. A shorter skirt or shorts seemed to be acceptable, but open shoulders would noticeably raise co-workers’ eyebrows. Make-up also had to be kept to a minimum. I was told by female colleagues that these two ‘rules’ were actually included in the written office rules of what not to wear and how to behave at work. For breaching the rules one could be fired or given a warning.

As for the workmates themselves, although they may appear reserved and unfriendly at first, if you make the effort and talk to them, you will find that they are very warm and generous people. I found it easy to make friends.

Compound

The China Daily compound consists of two apartment buildings and a large office block holding some of its publications including the newspaper, weekend magazine and 21st Century educational magazine, which are all run quite separately. Three floors of a nearby building are rented to house the China Daily website, which now employs over 160 people, including three foreign experts.

Canteen

The main office block contains a large staff canteen which serves three meals a day. It is opened from 8:00 to 8:30am for breakfast; 12:00 to 12:45 for lunch; and 6:20pm to 7:00 pm for dinner.

The food is healthy, varied, hygienically prepared and cheap. It cost me around 8 Yuan (NZ$1.8) for lunch.

Staff can buy what they want using a swipe debit card which you will receive on your arrival. You must first put credit on it, which you can do every Tuesday and Thursday at the canteen.

Highlights of my internship

Although most days I was mainly doing copy editing, I was fortunate to also closely work with the multimedia department throughout my internship picking up a few interesting projects. I hosted China Daily weekly video news and interviewed a few well-known individuals.

My very first live on-camera interview was with David Brooks, vice president of Coca-Cola greater China. My ambitious research, which I began as soon as I was told about the interview, was soon interrupted by a colleague who told me he had questions written down for me. In reply to my puzzled stare he said “You can add your questions if you like as long as they are not controversial and as long as you finish the question list by this afternoon so we can send it to Coca-Cola’s PR team for approval”. I was then told Coca-Cola was one of the website’s biggest sponsors. The question list was “approved” and came back altered with many questions – almost all questions I added – cut out. I was told I had to stick with the final copy of the questions’ list, which I (almost) did.

Coca-Cola’s plan to acquire China Huiyuan Juice Group – the largest privately-owned juice producer in China – failed in March 2009. The Ministry of Commerce rejected Coca-Cola’s 2.3 billion U.S. dollar bid for the leading juice maker due to the country’s anti-monopoly law – which would have been the biggest foreign acquisition of a Chinese company to date. While there was speculation that Coca-Cola was looking at a minority stake approach, nothing was on the record. After Brooks declined to comment about the company’s future plans regarding China Huiyuan Juice Group during the interview, we moved on to talking about Coca-Cola’s on-going involvement in the Sichuan earthquake disaster appeal including the company’s numerous donations (which I was told to concentrate on). No one ever said anything about my questions which were not on the list.

My second interview was with an extraordinary woman - Sarah Storey - a Para-Olympian swimming and cycling champion. Storey, who started her career as a swimmer and shifted to cycling three years ago, won 36 gold medals breaking 67 world records.

In 2008 Storey – who was awarded the MBE in the 1998 New Years Honours List - became Great Britain’s first Para-Olympian to win the title at a senior able-bodied National Championship event. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with Sarah and I was given complete freedom with the interview.

I could not believe that I was to cover the first Global Think Tank Summit held in Beijing in July. Hundreds of intellectuals, scholars and economists from all over the world would gather for the summit, including the Brookings Institution and Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi banker who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for developing the concept of micro-credit. I was told with my press pass I would have full access and could interview anyone. I could not believe I was given the responsibility to cover such a large scale event being an intern. I only had three days to prepare for the summit. I put long hours into my research, carefully studying the layout of the facilities, faces of scholars we wanted to interview and the schedule they would be adhering to. The night before the summit I had built an ‘encyclopedia’ on the subject. At home, when I was choosing the best suit to wear for the biggest project of my career yet, I received a phone call from work. I could not receive a press pass in three days being a foreign journalist. Authorities said more time was needed to check my background.

Expenses

The internship allowance is 2000 Yuan per month and it is paid in cash. Although it is not a large amount of money it is possible to live on, considering your accommodation is paid for by the company. Facilities provided for interns at Chinadaily.com vary depending on what is available at the time. I lived in a spacious two bedroom apartment by myself. It was fully furnished and had basic home appliances such as washing machine, fridge and air conditioners, as well as kitchen utensils.

Accommodation is free but you have to pay for utilities when you leave. I paid around NZ$130 for three months. To give you a clear idea of what the expenses are I have included current rates below:

• Gas is 2.05 Yuan per degree. You will need around 100 degrees for three months.
• Water is 3.7 Yuan per ton. Forty-five tons will last for around three months.
• Electricity is 0.5 Yuan per degree. Depending on how much electricity you use, 500 degrees should last for three to five months. Note: Air conditioning is extremely expensive. I would recommend buying a fan if you go to China in the summer. Some days, especially at night, are unbearably hot without air conditioning or a fan.
• Home phone: A flat rate to connect a landline is 21.6 Yuan.
• Internet: The Internet is paid for by China Daily.com.

Markets

Shopping is great in China and you can find anything you want, unless you’re a female with a dress size 12 and over. Also for men with shoe size 12 and larger it is difficult to find shoes. In my experience you can purchase casual clothes such as Adidas tracksuits, jeans and tee-shirts at a very low price at markets. But good quality stylish clothes, which can be found at malls and boutiques, are very expensive. If you plan to buy clothes in China keep in mind the luggage weight limit (generally it is only 20 kg).

I would suggest two markets where at a low price (if you’re a good bargainer) you can find variety of shoes, handbags, suitcases, jackets, hiking gear, tailor-made suits, clothes made of silk and much more. They are the Silk Street (aka Xiushui) and Sanlitun Yashow markets.

The 35,000-square-meter Silk Street market, which is open from 9am to 9pm every day, attracts around 20,000 visitors daily on weekdays and up to 60,000 on weekends. The seven-store complex houses more than 1,700 retail vendors. You can order a tailor-made men’s suite for between 500 and 800 Yuan.

Generally, the five-store Sanlitun Yashow market offers better quality clothes and is considered more expensive, but sometimes you can find goods there for a lower price than at the Silk Street market.

Bargaining

Bargaining is a very important skill to master if you are going to China. It is applied everywhere: at convenience stores, beauty salons, DVD stores and even at hairdressers and you’re absolutely expected to bargain in shops, markets and back-street clothes stalls. When I first arrived I was coached to never name a price, making the vendors to start off, and then offer half. But I later learned that almost always you can buy goods between 10 and 20 percent of the original price. Vendors’ start-off prices greatly vary and normally depend on your appearance and how well you’re dressed.

I would suggest you wear casual clothes and no expensive jewelry and my biggest advice, in order to get good deals, is to learn local prices. It makes a big difference when you know how much everything is and confidently start off with a realistic (by local standards) price. You are not getting a good deal if the vendors agree to your price easily. Of course they will say a few times “you’re killing me!”, “stop joking with me” and “your offer is below my cost price” (it seems all markets’ vendors attended the same sales and bargaining course), but if within five minutes you walk away with the goods, the chances are – you’ve overpaid.

If the vendors don’t agree to your price - do walk away. If you get called back, you know you are close to what you last offered. If you do not get called back, your price was too low. Go to a similar stall and try again with a slightly higher price.

If you have time and patience, bargaining can be a lot of fun and you can get some very good deals. Good luck!

Transport

Taxi

Getting around Beijing by taxi is not hard and is cheap, compared with New Zealand taxi rates.

You have to assume your driver will not speak English. My advice is: have your destination written down in Chinese characters.

Beijing taxis are metered and start at 10 Yuan without ticking up for a good distance. After that it will cost between 1.20 Yuan to 2 Yuan per kilometer depending on a taxi. At the end of your trip the taxi driver will print out a receipt for you, which I suggest you take and keep. If you leave anything behind it will be easy to track it down.

A trip from the airport, depending on where you stay, is around 50 to 100 Yuan (NZ$15-25).

Subway

It is a cheap and easy way to get around Beijing using the subway.

You can visit this website or a 360-degree virtual tour around Beijing subway, which illustrates how to buy a ticket and get around the subway:

You can also check out the latest Beijing subway map.

Buses

Buses, with an average fare between 1 and 2 Yuan, are generally slightly cheaper than the subway. In my experience, unless you know the bus routes or can speak Chinese it is harder to get around using buses than the subway. But there are helpful websites you can check out to plan your bus journey, such as www.bjbus.com. Just click “English” to find out what buses to take to various parts of Beijing. The ticket price to your destination will also be listed on the website.

Travelling

I found travelling in China a lot more expensive than I expected and the intern’s allowance alone was not enough. You will need to have some savings.

There are a large number of websites in English which you can use if you want to travel without the hassle of organizing everything yourself (listed below).

Train tickets can only be purchased one-way and three to five days in advance and only from the train station or ticket offices which are spread across the city. In my opinion they are not cheap. I paid 750 Yuan (NZ$185) to travel from Shanghai to Beijing.

Being the second largest city in China Beijing offers a great number of museums, historical artifacts and many beautiful sights. You can also find a lot of great day and weekend trips organized by various companies on websites listed below.

Tips

1. Register with police. This is a legal requirement not many travelers know about. Beijing police now require foreign residents to register for a temporary residence card at a local police station within 24 hours of entering the country. As an intern you probably won’t have to register yourself as China.Daily.com will do it for you. But if you have friends visiting make sure they register. Read more from the China Travel Guide website

2. Carry toilet paper with you. There is no toilet paper in most public places in China including many restaurants, hospitals and museums.

3. Avoid drinking spirits and cheap wine. I was told a lot of spirits sold in China are fake and cause poisoning and that it is best to stay away from it. I heard you also have to be cautious with cheap wine.

4. Keep your handbag in front of you, especially in crowed places.

5. Learn some Chinese before your trip. At least learn numbers and basic phrases. It will make a huge difference.

6. Bring some medicine with you: for colds, allergies, diarrhea, constipation etc. I heard a lot of expats complain of getting a cold or the flu when they first arrived. Diarrhea or constipation are also common problems which may result from the change of diet.

7. Remember (if you can’t speak Chinese) to have addresses written down in Chinese characters, so you can give to the taxi driver.

8. Remember to bargain almost everywhere. Once you learn the prices it will become easier.

9. Coffee. Coffee is not very easy to find in China and if you do, it is extremely expensive (NZ$5-8). But you can find very good coffee, including long blacks, lattes and cappuccinos, at a university directly across the road from the website.

10. And finally, don’t be afraid to mingle with the locals. A lot of people can speak at least some English in metropolitan cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Chinese people are very warm and generous if you make the effort to get to know them. At the end of my stay in China I knew everyone in the area I lived in: people working at my local convenience stores, drycleaners, banks, restaurants and a lot of my neighbours.

Useful websites for expats

1. The Beijinger: the premier English language website for free classifieds, event and directory listings and much more.

2. E-China Cities: contains useful information for expats staying in China.

3. City Weekend: a magazine, guide and interactive map for restaurants, bars and events in Beijing. It also contains travel listings and free classifieds.

4. C-Trip: is a one-stop China travel service, which specializes in discount hotel reservations, cheap airline tickets, package tours, and other useful information if you plan to travel.

5. China Culture Center: is a great source of helpful information on traveling around China.