I have taught at Yuncheng University since 2012.

When I first came they never asked for one. Upon renewing our resident permit last year, we were initially asked to sign a disclaimer (basically a few lines that the University had written saying we are free of convictions).

This year (2015) we were advised in April that if we were renewing we need to obtain a police clearance certificate from home. It needed to be the original certificate.

I had to pay for a CRB check from the Disclosure and Barring (DBS) service in England. This was all done online. My Mother then sent me the original certificate which the University accepted.

Perhaps the rules have changed this year for Shanxi province, but as always in China it seems to depend on who is following them.

Another friend in Linfen reported the same as me. He had to get one this year or he would not be granted a resident permit.