All of what Ealing writes is not 100% true.

Yes, technically, a job applicant for an ESL job in Liaoning should be at least twenty-five years old, have two years of prior teaching experience, possess a university diploma in addition to a TESOL / CELTA certificate and come one from of the approved Big 5 countries. That is the LETTER OF THE LAW.

But this is China and this is Liaoning and things are quite different. There is only city in Liaoning that has an oversupply of foreign teachers and that is Shenyang. Thus, SOMETIMES, and I only say SOMETIMES, the letter of the law is strictly applied in Shenyang but that is only sometimes. Dalian has a situation that is more fluid -- sometimes there are too many teachers, sometimes not enough. In those cases where supply outweighs demand, the letter of the law is applied. In those cases in Dalian where demand outstrips supply, then the letter of the law is .... "modified". In the rest of Liaoning Province, there is a dearth of foreign teachers, almost to the extreme.

In terms of salaries, what does this mean? In Shenyang and Dalian, salaries tend to be less than in the hinterland. Salaries in Dalian are particularly on the low side -- just consider the case of Ealing -- 25 hours per week, 10 hours travel time, 5 hours office time, demo lessons and the like for RMB 6,000 per month. That is a salary that no foreign teacher in Liaoning but outside of Dalian and Shenyang would even sniff at. There are uni jobs in Dalian that still try to pay RMB 3,500 per month and they get away with it!

China is China and Liaoning is Liaoning. Rosie, if you can find a school in Liaoning that really wants to hire you, well, in that case they can make "miracles" happen. That is just how it is around here.

In any case, avoid Ealing, it's a sweatshop, a la 1900's Birmingham, England.