Yes, every province follows its own set of "rules" (so worth a check) but I know several people hitting 70 who are still happily working in China :D

Good luck!

.....and yes the pollution can be pretty bad....sorry! :D

From recollection they do vary slightly from location to location, usually with regards to housing prices. Obviously there is a difference depending on whether you're a single person or arriving with a family.

As a rough example (in terms of allowances) in Shanghai a typical family of 4 might receive circa 20,000RMB/month which would include rent, food, flights. There is an option to use the school allocated housing which would reduce the allowance to 7,000RMB/month.

I know that schools in Shanghai (not just Dulwich) are struggling to find affordable accommodation as prices have risen dramatically in the past couple of years. Over the past 8 years rental prices on a typical 3 bedroom apartment have risen from around 9,000RMB/month to around 16,000RMB/month (assuming you want to live in a reasonable neighbourhood). During that time the housing allowance has risen by only 500RMB/month.

General cost of living has also risen during that time by around 25% but this could just be Shanghai. At one time we could get through a month without spending much of our monthly wage but that has all changed in the last couple of years.

It might well be different for the other locations but hopefully this will give you a bit of info to work on. Good luck!