If you want to send money home to pay off debts or loans then perhaps it doesn't seem like much but it's easy to save money here on a salary like that. Also, there may be other benefits. If you teach at a university you can have 14 periods of teaching a week as well as three months of paid holiday a year or so. Also, I have three day weekends, so it's easy to pick up extra work if one is inclined.
The pay you are talking about, though not much in Canada, can be quite a bit here in China. Ever heard anyone say "It's all realtive"? Well the same apples to money Sherlock. Just because it converts to a small amount in Canada, doesn't mean it is a small amount in China.
Next time you use a currency converter, might want to start thinking about relative value, and how a dollar is worth less in England, a pound worth more in America, etc, etc. You may find that 5,000 RMB can go a long way, in China that is.
I was looking at some ads about teaching English in China. I am so suprised that some teaching jobs pay around 4000-5500 yu-wan. This is around $250.00 Canadian dollars per week!!!!!!!!!
Who in the hell would work for that money when they can make more money on welfare. Plus they want a College degree on top of that! And pay your own way there! That's nuts!!!!!!!!
Marty