Also, the icing on the cake is that you get more Chinese girlfriends.

Can't argue with that and it's a fantastic motivation for any new guy arriving in China to learn the language

I have to say though, as someone who speaks good Chinese I generally try to avoid speaking it in important situations such as negotiating a contract with an employer who can also speak English. My logic is that any conversation held in English between me (a native English speaker) and a non-native speaker i hold the upper hand. Why should i give up this advantage by speaking in Chinese? My Chinese is good but not native, there will be lots of opportunities for the Chinese speaking boss to pull the wool over my eyes in terms of the language that he uses should we carry out the discussion in his language of choice.
Finally whatever you agree in whatever language, write it down, preferably in a contract. Most contracts are translated in both languages and any good contract will clearly stipulate that in the event of a dispute it is the interpretation of the English version of the contract that will be used to settle the dispute.

I think you must have been wanting to answer a different post, that said something completely different from mine. I never suggested that people just visiting China should learn the language. I thought I made it abundantly clear with references to a continued stay in the country and the advantages of being able to negotiate your own contract.

When we talk to a future Chinese boss we often do not delve too much if we know his English is limited- and even if he does understand, he will often play dumb and pretend he doesn't understand you too well, to force you to forget about what you wanted to find out in the first place. If you know his language he will not be able to thwart you in such a fashion.

If this is not one of the countries you are just visiting there are many other reasons you should know how to speak Mandarin- negotiating the tenancy of a flat maybe. You may have opted for a job where your new employer sends his girls out with you to negotiate with the landlord on your behalf. Such a scenario will more often than not result in you being held responsible for all the ancient fixtures and fitting which invariably break down shortly after you have moved in. These girls who you think to be on your side will spend hours appearing to be getting the best deal for you. You will not understand a word of what they are droning on about. The school, your new school, often has a relationship with your new landlord-enough said?

Also, the icing on the cake is that you get more Chinese girlfriends.

Why should I learn the language? Should I learn the language of every country I visit? Where would I have found the time to learn so many language? I would argue that knowing how to speak mandarin will only expose you to even more of their deceptive ways. If you cannot understand them then they cannot lie to you as often as they would like. On the other hand if you can understand them, then you will be subjected to even more of their nefarious behaviour.

Whether they tell you about "free accommodation" in chinese or English does not matter, they will still be lying to you. Whether they tell you that you working 15 hours when in fact it will be 20 hours, does not matter what language is spoken, its still a lie. They will not change their behaviour just because you can understand them, they will be forever the most dishonest society, whether you can speak their language or not.

That has to be one of the most stupid statements I have ever read on this site.
Fact; They are still going to lie to you in English, mandarin, cantonese, or Zulu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To suggest Ronnie is daft because he/she has more than one questionable employers whilst in china is completely unfair. It is a daily occurrence to come into contact with questionable chinese, employers or otherwise.

Never mind, just let this be a learning curve for you, Ronnie. I take it that you were working in Shanghai before this wretched experience? Now take a leaf out of my book. When I first arrived in China many years ago, having applied for a job on the internet, it was just good luck that the school did indeed have a flat for me to move straight into, but it could well have been otherwise, since the Chinese employers are masters at lying by omission- to omit to tell you that the flat won't actually be ready, that even though they state that your teaching hours are 15 each week, your actual working hours are 30+. There are many pitfalls too numerous to particularise.

Now what is the first thing you should start doing when you arrive in China? Learn the language of course; so when cool FT dudes knock you up, inviting you to a shindig, you must excuse yourself in order to practice your Mandarin. One cannot have the bun and the butter. If you want to avoid problems with new contracts in the future you must be able to quiz the Chinese and get them to elaborate about what they mean by free accommodation to start with. That very often means that the school or training centre, know lots of landlords, and that is when it starts costing you money, because the free accommodation means that they will only pay part of the actual rent. The key money, the heating and electricity money the landlord will want from you. Now it is forgiveable if you come a cropper with your first year's contract in China, but if the same thing happens on your subsequent contracts you must be as daft as a brush and bone-idle for not learning Mandarin. It is too easy for Chinese people to worm out of telling you the full truth if they speak to you in English.