So I'm South African, a native English speaker and racially Indian. My accent is from Durban so I don't sound like Wikus van der Merve and I grew up in a central suburb so I don't sound like Gandhi. I've been teaching in China for six months now so I'm still a newbie but I've taught in ten cities, to every concievable age group, every type of school and every type of class, except for the first tier private school chains.

If you're like me, go to inland cities with a university or the provincial capital. Look for cities with very few foreigners and some sort of tertiary educational institution so that there's the right age group of Chinese people that you can party with.

Stay north of Nanjing and further inland than any province that has a coastline.

Don't look for work in Guangzhou or any city on the Pearl River Delta, from Shenzen all the way around in a semicircle to Zhuhai.

Don't look for work in Shanghai city centre or Beijing city centre. The outskirt suburbs like Changping/Tongzhou in Beijing are okay though.

There are dark skinned people working in these cities but they've got years of experience and contacts.

Make as many friends and aquaintances as you can, you'll have better luck getting a job from a friend than from an agent.

Learn as much oral and written zhong wen as you can.

Make friends that can read Chinese characters, so that you can find jobs that English only people can't.

Prepare an introduction lesson so that the snobby sort of students will accept you. Include a photo of your house and your car. Find a video of Anand Naidoo, who has worked for CCTV America and a video of Mark Shuttleworth.

For snobby parents who say "I thought Africans speak French" say "I thought Asians speak Japanese". Flip it around on them and make it a lesson that they understand. Teach them but don't be condescending......Learn your local word for Asian or this lesson might not work.

Above all else, have fun, don't get frustated or take things to heart. Even in the most racist and xenophobic city there's good people to bond with, provided that you're are a good person yourself. Business is business and play is play.

Oh and don't worry so much about using proper English in your social life. I've found that German/Swedish/mainland European second language English speakers, who have negated their accents, speak textbook English, whereas us native speakers from the US all the way across the world to New Zealand have an imperfect colloquial way of speaking, as well as peculiar word choice.....and we use incorrect grammar and punctuation because we're used to texting on wechat/whatsapp/sms. It's a dead give away that someone has studied English and not grown up on it when they speak in an unnaturally flat accent with perfect grammar.

Remmeber to switch back to unnatural textbook English, recieved pronounciation, proper grammar and proper punctuation in class.

P.S this is all just in my own experience. I won't pretend that I've been here long enough to know everything. I'm just a newbie and this is what I've seen with my own eyes.

Be confident but not arrogant in your job interviews. Be humble in your social interactions if you can't speak your local language. My generation of South Africans are well known for their aversion to open racism and for their extreme xenophobia. How would you treat a mainland Chinese immigrant who can't speak a word of English? If you've been treated better than what you would've done yourself at home that's a plus and a win.

Also, never trust advice or rants from strangers on the internet.