Dear Craig,

The China Welfare Institute Pudong located in the nationalized home of one of the Khadoorie family in Pudong, Shanghai operates under the aegis of the Children's Palace Group of China.

Now what is that -- you might ask? All of the Children's Palaces spread across China under the direct control of the Communist Party Youth Section. They existed long before any English language training institute in China. I am quite familiar with them.

They are very busy little beehives of activity and they offer anything and about everything that a child might want in terms of after school and weekend activities. The caveat is, however, that one or one of one's family must be members of the Chinese Communist Party. Their funding is dependent upon the strength of the local Communist Party which given China means that funding is generally quite liberal and generous.

They can offer everything from classical Chinese dance to art to painting to swimming lessons and now English lessons, although this is a very recent addition.

The Director Generals of each Children's Palace or China Welfare Institute are golden parachuted in after a long and usually successful career at the Education Ministry or at the local PSB or any other high profile Chinese government ministry.

i regretted very much that I did not accept their offer of employment when I had the chance but instead made the mistake of my life by accepting employment at a local government university.

Pay might be less than at a private LTI but if you are looking for good connections (guangxi), steady employment, non-worry about pay and non-worry about visa issues, it doesn't get any better than this in China. Just hold firm in terms of contract, salary, housing, etc. My colleague who did go to work for them held firm and secured a nice contract. Her first apartment was a hole in the wall and she made it quite clear that she wouldn't sit for it. After some firm, firm bargaining, they installed her in an apartment in a new high-rise building with quite a view.

You will need to be ready, to have your lessons prepared, to look presentable, not hung over, shaved if you are a man -- the parents continuously give feedback about the laowai and bad feedback equals bye bye. That being said, in terms of satisfactory employment, I wouldn't turn my nose up at it. My colleague is still at her Children's Palace years on and I ditched the public sector sh*t hole university years ago.

The one in Shanghai is even more famous for other reasons -- it was founded by the late Mrs. Soong, one of four of the most famous Chinese women of the 20th century. One Miss Soong became the wife of Generalissimo Chang Kai Shek, the Nationalist leader defeated by Chairman Mao. Another Miss Soong became the wife of the great Sun Yat Sung and she lead a very, very, very revered life, even in Communist China. Chairman Mao himself and Zhou En Lai himself visited her on her deathbed in her villa in Beijing (which villa was never nationalised by the government). The third Miss Soong was married to the head of the Bank of China under Chiang Kai Shek. When the Communists secured victory over the Nationalists, she and her husband looted the Bank of China of all of its gold, silver and they caused all of the safety boxes of all of the branches of the Bank to be opened and they looted those also. As if that were not enough, they looted, perfectly looted, all of the art held in the great museums of China. All of this was then sent by boat and by gunship to Taiwan where they lived in great luxury until the end of their days. This particular Miss Soong was an avowed leftist who stood by the Communist Revolution and engaged in great works of charity. She is also quite revered in modern China.

Any other questions, please let us k n ow.