Just had to comment on '...know nothing of China (unless you rent your own apartment)...' In fact, it's the opposite. Be prepared, if you rent your own place as opposed to school housing, you will need to learn Chinese fluently very quickly -- if something breaks, if it doesn't work, if you don't even have it, if you need to set up utilities, etc, if your landlord is mad, if the bureaucracy comes to you... All of which is quite possible and likely when it comes to apartments, even nice ones. UNLESS you live in major foreigner centres like Beijing, OR you have lots of close trustworthy Chinese friends -- which is a whole other story -- as in maybe they have guanxi with some contractor who needs work, and you are the sucker...
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There's so much truth in what you say. Also It's worth making a point that all private schools that say they will provide accommodation, will merely introduce you to various landlords and negotiate on your behalf; trouble is they will not bargain very well and you will still end up being held responsible for all well-used fixtures and fittings. You are totally right, you do need to know fluent Mandarin or have a Chinese wife who does; otherwise, you will be a lamb to the slaughter, a year-long cash-cow for your landlord; and maybe he, will give a back-hander to your school for introducing you in the first place. Even though state universities and places like Yuncheng IELTS School(who will send you out to middle schools) do not provide much above the disgusting in classroom and toilet conditions, they do generally provide a decent flat, thrown in with the job. Yuncheng IELTS school is a pretty decent private school by the way, even if some of the middle schools they send you to smell not a little bit. Whatever you end up with, it's pointless moaning; just get on with it and enjoy what you can.

I have no idea why there are so many complaints against this company, seriously. Im not posing: I worked there for a year. I got paid regularly and generally made over 10,000 a month. Its true in a given semester i had to teach at 3 or 4 different schools in a week. But that is the job. I asked them for a reference letter 2 years after I left and Helen, who was actually very good to me while i was there, was only to happy to give me one. The people in this thread have been talking like sniveling children. TIC...grow up. Look at their qualification requirement look at their pay, dont expect some cushy language school paradise or a Uni (which generally pay crap by the way, unless you have a Masters). If you don't like something speak up ahead of time. They lent me 15 grand when i got there and took a small portion back every month without interest. Who ever takes 6 grand and an apartment instead of making 10 or 11 without one is an idiot.(or at least has no concept of China)
Do your job and finish your contract. figure out what the job entails before you sign a contract.
Keep your passport!!!... who lets a school keep their passport?!!! speak up for yourselves let them know what you will and wont accept and for god sake figure out what the job entails before you go. THIS IS CHINA. Read the contract if they break it WALK!!! whoever cant do that for themselves shouldnt be teaching in China in the first place.

Indeed there is something I have no idea about too. Why it is that I never actually meet anyone who had a positive experience with Yuming Education face to face... I have met a great number of people around Tianjin over the years who have worked for Yuming either in the past or they are there now and sometimes thought about working there but decided otherwise after investigation both online and on the street. NONE OF THEM had many positive things to say about Yuming. The only people I have any contact with who sing a fanfare for Yuming are online. They are either Chinglish posts which get methodically posted about 200 times each on every board and never have a follow up reply, in other words posted by Yuming themselves, or from someone who is clearly good with their English and says they are an FT. I have no idea if you are an FT or not, you probably are given that any member of staff at Yuming with great English and communication skills knows they can earn significantly more elsewhere would not work there.

I was screwed around at Yuming. That is a fact, if you like I will email you copies of documents from the labor courts in Tianjin which relate to action I took against their company for failure to follow the legislation regarding visa transfer or contract completion. I was almost at the end of my contract when I told them I would not be renewing for a further 12 months. During the contract I had many class cancellations and I was completely mislead by the information given to me both verbally and that which is available on their website, advertisements and the section of their so called contract, with it's "ehm" legitimate red chop, explaining the holiday rules. Basically those rules state that there are 2 holiday periods. Summer/Winter - 4 and 6 weeks respectively. They state you can continue to teach at full pay if you wish. I do not need to justify my claim that this is a load of hogwash. The evidence is right there for anyone to see and unless you are going to choose to blatantly lie then you have to admit that this is your situation too. The holidays in most Chinese schools are a lot longer than that given that exams take precedence as well as school trips and revision for exams. Upon reaching the first holiday period I was informed the day before I started the holidays that I would in fact be on holiday for the next 3 months. Upon questioning and later asking about the Winter holidays I was told that is normally 2 months. Then there are all the additional times as just mentioned.

So, simple math time:

S + W + A =

What do we get? Somewhere in the region of a possible 6 months without classes to teach. SO what did I do? I asked Yuming to put me in their teaching camps, you know, the ones they mention on the website... The ones which in fact do not exist!!
I was offered 1 class at a Kindergarten somewhere on the outskirts of the city limits about 2 hours travel time possibly longer a week. Yes, I did turn it down.

I stuck out the contract and found a new job to follow it. My intention was to transfer the visa, or at least Yuming needed to go to the PSB and tell them I was now available for work. That is ALL they needed to do, a simple journey, fill in one document and job done. My contract had I think 2 months to go but of course I was in, yes you guessed it, a holiday period. It wasn't going to impede on Yumings classes, I had no classes that was it unless I signed a new contract and waited for the schools to go back. They were not paying me for anything, there was no reason bar selfish childishness that they decided that they would not help me. That's the point in my case, Yuming did not do anything to me they just didn't do anything!!

We talked to them in the office and explained how important it was that they tell the PSB I am available for work. My new employer hit a brick wall with the visa application because the PSB records stated I was in the employ of Yuming, you can only be in the employ of 1 company on your residency permit. The current employer HAS to fill out a document at the PSB and then the new employer can proceed with the new visa application or its transfer if enough time remains. You are also supplied with a little black book from the PSB which looks identical to a passport, you have your photo and id in there and it is stamped year on year. You are supposed to have access to this book. You are in fact supposed to carry it around as ID. The reason you're supposed to carry that book is because it is a damn sight easier to replace it if you loose it that replacing you passport which China has no control over at all, your own countries embassy does and that can be all kinds of hell to sort out when you loose it overseas. That is just one of many reasons to carry that book. Where is yours? Do you have it? Did you even know about it?

The end result was taking them through the labor courts, which I have the documents, but the time it takes to proceed with such a case meant I still had to travel back home for my visa. My company offered to foot the bill and said just leave it and don't worry. Yuming were basically told to stay away from me by the labor courts and stay out of trouble, they told us they gave them a bollocking and they were lucky. I have no idea how far that went or if it put them under a nasty microscope or anything but judging by the fact they are still in business and people are still making all the same complaints it clearly, like most things in China, was sorted out with a sprinkling of that magic fairy dust they call Guanxi ;)

You question people giving their passports to Yuming. Tell me something, when you arrived in China what happened to your passport? Did you keep it or did Helen take it to the PSB and then collect it again later....
There are many reasons why your passport may be given to your employer. Visa application, renewal, trouble with the police, the list is endless. Let me tell you about a teacher called Eric, he works at Lucky now and I am sure he won't mind me sharing this story.

He handed in his passport to Yuming after renewing a 12 month contract with them so they could renew his visa. So much time passed and he had started his new contract by then. He kept asking for it and they kept telling him there was a problem at the PSB not with his visa application but everyones due to the Olympics etc and he bought that explanation, it seemed to make some sense it was the Olympics after all.
In the end he needed his passport because he had to travel so he checked with the PSB and they knew nothing, they took his details and said they would be in touch. He got a call to come in and when he got there he was subjected to an interview to find out why he had illegally stayed in China for the last few months. Yuming has NOT even applied for his Visa and had been blowing smoke up his backside. He was fined but VERY luckily for him they did understand that he had not intentionally done it and was unaware. The story about the Olympics was dismissed and as usual in China everyone put it down to communication issues. It is funny how great peoples English seems to be sometimes at Yuming until you need something from them, isn't it!!

He was lucky, he was able to go home and re apply.

Exactly how does not wanting to be screwed around to this level and magnitude translate as people expecting too much? "A cushy language school" as you put it? All I expected buddy is to get what it said on the tin, no more. And when that didn't happen I didn't go down to their offices and cause a war over it I waited until a couple of months before the end of the contract and found a new job then discussed it maturely and politely with them. I think my words were more or less along the lines of "Thank-you for the opportunity to work for you but I am afraid I won't be renewing my contract as I really need something which is able to offer me work all year round.

Not all of us are single guys, or girls who can sit around with our thumbs stuck up our butts for long periods of time NOT being paid and living off street food. I have a wife and kids to think about and some things are a priority. I am not some little dick taking his bat and ball home because he can't go and get drunk tonight.

Read the contract if they break it WALK!!! whoever cant do that for themselves shouldnt be teaching in China in the first place.

To answer that I need to quote you buddy:

THIS IS CHINA!!!!

If a small time company who employ FT's illegally and is not playing by the rules wants to screw you around with your contract they can and often do screw you around when you try to leave. Yuming seem to have a thing about FT's leaving their company unless they think you are headed back to your own country. Why that is I cannot answer, it could be for any number of reasons but it is a pattern that has been associated with Yuming for years.

And yes, Yuming DO employ teachers illegally. I was an FT, my residency permit stated other wise in Chinese. All my permits since then have stated clear what my occupation is and it is a teacher. Not an education adviser as Yuming had me down as. It was not a clerical error at the PSB or anything like that. For whatever reason, and I am guessing because they can only hire x amount of FT's per year or can 't hire FT's at all, they had me working as an FT but employed and in China under false pretenses. I have the visa I can send you a pic. Helen specifically told me to lie to the police in the PSB and not say I was teaching. I had to stay away from schools on the odd occasion because the PSB would be checking ID that day during the Olympics crackdown on illegal stays.

Don't sit there trying to tell people that Yuming's s@@t doesn't stink when we all know it does. We have all experienced it first hand, many of us have evidence and you can easily look at blatant discrepancies in what Yuming say in contracts and on their website etc. etc.

One last thing I can never work out either. All the posts from people praising Yuming in good English use past tense. I worked there. I never had any problems. The only posts made from current FT's seem to be in Chinglish. Do I really need to go on and ask why or explain why I am asking ;)

Yuming is a joke of an organisation. Their communication skills suck and that includes speaking in Chinese to which I think the fact I read, write and speak it fluently and have done so for 25 years put Helen and her cronies in a very difficult and uncomfortable position as they found it very difficult to tell the truth. Anyone who wants to find out about Yuming I suggest you first go to the PSB and ask them. They will help you. If they have complaints about an employer they will dish the dirt to a degree. They won't disclose specific info but they will tell you that it is a company which would probably best be avoided as many laowai have had problems there. Then go for an interview and experience the really bad communication skills. Then get a copy of their contract and compare it to the statements on their website and adverts. MY GOD THERE IS EVEN ONE ADVERT OFFERING HOLIDAY PAY WITH A % NEXT TO IT FOR EACH CONTRACT TYPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLIDAY PAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH RIGHT...

All you have to do is look. It's all there for you to see, you can disregard almost everything I have said if you like so long as you still go and research Yuming, you will still find out the same thing....

Evidence people, it carries the most weight.