I think that I have a bizarre and disgusting fetish of sorts for travelling to some of the shittier places in China. Not necessarily full-on third world but going beyond the third tier. Mundane rather than impoverished. Sometimes the suburbs of larger, more famous tier one and two cities fall under this category as they are spoken about as towns in their own right. The places that need you to hire a minibus and driver for a week because trains, buses etc won't quite stretch out so far. Especially those suburbs that form the taint between two larger cities.

As far as those cities within cities go, Bayuquan is not that bad BUT it is probably coming off the back of recent economic good times, many of the true locals are let's say... Very, very Dongbei. There's a middle class of sorts that are arguably better off and wealthier than in Shenyang, Yingkou, maybe even Dalian but not Panjin.

These people are often the nouveau riche that made money either via very questionable means or being very technically competent and getting paid that little bit extra (probably as danger money) for leaving a nicer, more civilised hometown/place of study behind. There's nearby towns that have even more going on with raw materials, steel etc; where the presence of these newly moneyed types results in some ridiculously fancy KTVs staffed by plenty of poor rural farmer girls that are just looking to be the next mistress for some corrupt factory boss or government official. Should you ever end up having to drink most likely fake Whisky/Cognac, do meth and bang hookers to the beat of shitty Chinese disco music together with such people in a big private room... Oh yes, that's 'the real China' that half of these silly newbie teachers have been spending ages looking for.

Mind you, my comments about the reality of doing business in such smaller towns will probably do much more to sell the opportunity than the stupid wumao post where they talk about the 'welcoming family' at Eton. If you've to got to leg it because you owe child support payments, are on the run from the pigs or anything else that you need to escape from back home; then this might be the perfect opportunity. If you have a real degree certificate, can speak English and shower on a daily basis, remember the following:

1.) If a school's name mentions Eton, Oxford, Harvard, Tsinghua, Beida etc and it's a f**king kindergarten or something; it is the complete opposite of such institutions.

2.) Don't play life on hard mode, get a teaching job in Shanghai, Beijing etc. Don't try to find 'the real China.' The Real China will find you, wherever you are. Besides, if you're on a dodgy visa, do you really want to stand out like a sore thumb in the countryside?

3.) Developing upon point 2 - You're looking for a job, not a holiday. Hence, choosing a more developed city with shops, bars and good transportation will make your life a lot easier. You can always pick up some Chinese chick and use her as a tour guide should you wish to go exploring later.