If you’ve been putting off China because you assumed this year’s intake had already closed, we’ve got good news. There’s still time to start a teaching adventure in the Middle Kingdom in 2026, and you don’t need to wait until August or February to do it.

Most people picture teaching in China as tied to the school calendar, two intakes a year, and if you miss one, you’re waiting months for the next. That’s true for school placements, but it isn’t the whole picture. Right now, most of our openings are at training centres rather than schools, and training centres don’t run on school terms. They recruit throughout the year, which is why there’s still a genuine route into China for 2026, even this deep into the year.

Why Is China Still Hiring If School Terms Have Already Started?

Because training centres and schools work on completely different calendars. Schools follow the national academic year, so their hiring windows are narrow and predictable, generally August and February. Training centres are private businesses that run classes on a rolling basis around evenings and weekends, so they take on new teachers whenever demand picks up, not just twice a year. That’s the gap most people don’t know about, and it’s why “I’ve missed this year” usually isn’t true. It also means that if a school placement doesn’t line up with your timeline right now, a training centre role might be the faster way in.

What’s Training Centre Teaching Actually Like?

Different to a normal school day, and that’s the point. Instead of a standard nine-to-five, you’ll typically work three weekday evenings plus the weekend. It sounds like an odd shift pattern at first, but it flips your week around entirely. Your weekdays are free for exploring, studying Mandarin, travelling, or just sleeping in, and work happens when your students are actually free to attend. A lot of our teachers end up genuinely preferring this rhythm once they’re out there, though it’s worth being honest that it does mean your weekends look different to home. If you’re picturing lazy Saturdays with friends, you’ll need to recalibrate what a weekend means for a while, at least until you’ve built a new social routine around the new schedule.

Will I Be Teaching Completely Alone?

No, and this is one of the most underrated parts of training centre work. Teams typically include around ten other foreign teachers working alongside you at the same centre. That means a support network and a social life sorted from the day you land, rather than having to build one from scratch as the only foreign face in a school. If you’re nervous about landing in a new country solo, this is a real point in training centres’ favour. Also, our teachers often mention and look forward to the buzz of the centers on the weekend when everyone is in.

What Are the Students Like?

Small groups of about ten students, and they’re there because they want to be. Unlike a compulsory school class, students at a training centre (and often their parents) have chosen to pay for extra English lessons, so motivation levels tend to be higher. Smaller classes also mean more one-to-one attention for each student, which makes lesson planning more manageable and the actual teaching more rewarding day to day.

Where Would I Be Based?

Our main training centre locations right now are Beijing and Guangzhou. Beijing is China’s political and cultural capital, all imperial history, hutongs, and a scale that takes some getting used to. Guangzhou is warmer, faster-paced, and less on the typical tourist trail, which suits teachers who want a more local experience without the crowds. Both are among China’s most exciting cities to actually live in, with the food, transport, and nightlife to match. It’s worth knowing that our training centre roles are currently concentrated in these two cities specifically, so if you had your heart set on a smaller city or a different province, a school placement might suit you better than a training centre one.

How Much Could I Earn and Save?

The average salary for training centre roles is around £1,900 ($2,500) a month. On its own that’s a solid wage, but paired with China’s cost of living, which runs well below the UK’s according to Numbeo’s Beijing cost of living data, the real story is how much of it you can actually keep. Rent, food, and transport all cost a fraction of what you’d pay in most UK cities, so the saving potential over a year abroad is significant, particularly if you’re not supporting a family back home.

So, Should You Apply for China in 2026?

If the idea of China has been on your list but you thought the door had closed for this year, it hasn’t. Training centre roles in Beijing and Guangzhou are open now, come with a built-in team of other foreign teachers, small motivated classes, and a salary that goes a long way against the local cost of living. The trade-off is a different weekly rhythm, evenings and weekends on, weekdays off, and a choice currently limited to two cities. For a lot of teachers, that trade is well worth it.

If this sounds like it could be your 2026, take a look at our China page or email us at info@impact-teaching.com and we’ll talk you through it. Training centre spots fill as the year goes on, so the earlier you get in touch, the more choice you’ll have.