IELTS are 'ok'. They pay less, and that stupid group compound is for children. They lock you out at 10:30pm, and a guard (old woman, ayi or auntie) watches all of you and reports everything back to IELTS and the PSB near the main square. Walking outside to cook, take a shower, or go to the washroom, is unhealthy in winter.

You can decide. Anyway, my advice is that you shouldn't leave your homeland to go there without a Z visa, a clean criminal
background check, and credentials that are not bogus.

Definitely, and don't go if they say that 'no degree or an associates is ok'.

It's a trap. Your TA can collect 5000 rmb if you are not legal.

Sign the contract BEFORE you leave not after you arrive.

Expect to experience traditional Chinese culture in the poor area. This involves the locals
showing great interest in you. They will most definitely ask your TA to tell them about
you in detail. Ensure she never does that before it happens. Staring at you, trying to
peek into your shopping bag to determine what you have bought, saying laowai to each
other, all this will happen on a daily basis.

Correction - every 5 minutes. 'Constant' means just that - constantly.

Taxi drivers will grab your food to look at what you have and touch it.

People will leap to their feet as though on puppet strings to stare in your wallet.

And make sure that no one is around when you open your bank account - they are NOT 'curious', they are stealing your identity to rob you.

Bring a foreigner friend, and have them push the crowd away. Cover all of your documents. Bring blank paper, a scarf, an umbrella.
Expose nothing - not your passport, ID, license, contract - nothing.

This is not conjecture - happened to a teacher I know 2 years ago. First pay, just taken. Oops, sorry.

This involves the locals showing great interest in you.

It's called 'surveillance' and 'spying'.

The new Safety Act states:

Obligations and rights of citizens and organizations
Article 77 Citizens and organizations shall perform the following duties of safeguarding national security:
(A) comply with the Constitution, the relevant provisions of the laws and regulations concerning national security;
(B) Timely reporting clues endanger national security activities;

Guess who represents potential "endanger national security activities" in China?

That's right - foreigners and non-Han.

YOU.

Timely reporting - that's why everyone is flipping open their phones and placing calls when you show up, and it's why people sit down across from you at the central bus station and take your photo without asking.

Things are much different now than they were from 2002-2014. It's more like 1977, and that is very much not a good thing.

People I speak with who have lived in country 8 years, who must now be extremely circumspect on the phone, describe it as thus:

"Things are getting really bad."

It's up to you if you want to deal with this, but at least you know.

Personally, I recommend that you teach in any of the other 195+ countries or sovereign entities that are on this planet.