Location
  • China
    • Shanghai
    • Beijing
    • Hangzhou
Length
52+ weeks

Program Details

Timeframe
Academic Year Fall Spring Summer Winter Year Round
Housing
Host Family
Primary Language
English
Age Min.
18
Age Max
29

Pricing

Price Details
You do not pay any program fee, but you will be in charge of your own flights (however, flights stipend will be offered during your stay).

Program time span: 3-12 months
You give: 30 hours of childcare&English tutoring per week
You get: 1500 RMB pocket money/month
You get: Up to 12000 RMB as ticket stipend
You get: 3 hours of Mandarin classes/week
You get: Monthly culture activities
You get: 1.5 days off/week
You get: Medical insurance
You get: visa application fee&renewal reimbursement
Program fee: $0
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airfare Domestic Airfare Airport Transfers Meals Travel Insurance Visa Wifi
What's Included (Extra)

* Mandarin classes
* Culture activities
* Medical insurance
* 24/7 support
* Orientation and sightseeing tour
* Airport pick-up

Jan 10, 2023
Jan 21, 2021
68 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Due to the global pandemic these years, we temporarily paused our Wanderlust Au Pair China Program. As the Chinese border reopens, it is expected that we could resume the program in May 2023.

Wanderlust Au Pair China Program integrates educational travel, Mandarin learning, childcare and English tutoring together for overseas youngsters to experience China with an authentic touch by staying with Chinese host families.

By offering 30 hours of live-in childcare and English teaching per week, you have an opportunity to explore Chinese culture through weekly Mandarin classes, culture immersion activities held by Wanderlust and your day-to-day colorful life with your host family.

We are culture enthusiasts, we love different languages, we love the tenderness in your eyes when you see children's smile. Fundamentally, we love what we do: helping you go through an off-beat experience that could potentially change your life.

Find your second home in China!

Program fee: 0 $

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Experience authentic Chinese culture through living with a host family!
  • Flight stipend up to 1800 USD
  • Mandarin course paid by your host family
  • Monthly culture activities
  • Scholarship up to 1300 USD for TEFL certified participants!

Related Programs

Program Reviews

4.80 Rating
based on 71 reviews
  • 5 rating 80.28%
  • 4 rating 19.72%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 4.85
  • Support 4.75
  • Fun 4.55
  • Value 4.7
  • Safety 4.95
Showing 1 - 8 of 71 reviews
Default avatar
Rochelle
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Good company

I was excited to move to shanghai, I was paired with a good family. They gave me my own apartment(which is rare,I still live in it). The family was really shy at first because their english is not so good,but the little boy was really good at speaking nglish so he often translated between me and his mom.

We had our own lessons on Saturdays just the women, while the boys went out to play or toy shopping.We had some fun days inside, but due to the pandemic we often stay inside and play with legos and Elsa with his younger sister all day.I mostly have the whole family eating vegan during the week because I don't eat meat, but its random occasions that they will eat no meat. But they enjoy the no meat because they want to be more healthier so I was glad I could leave them with a piece of who I am. We've finally completed all of his english books before I left the family. I check on the kids often they are always sad to see me leave, they sometimes cry, so I check on them as much as I can after work.

It was nice being with this family.

What was your funniest moment?
taking the kids on the metro to go to the mall,They had never been on the train before so they were excited and scared at the same time. It was so cute.
56 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Neha
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Gap year in China

My year in China was an experience I'll never forget. It was an adventure in every sense. I spent my time across three incredible cities: Shanghai, Beijing, and Chongqing. Wanderlust's staff was kind and helpful every step of the way. They provided support with almost every type of issue that arose, be it visa issues, language barriers, or culture shock. They went above and beyond, not just in a professional capacity but also in providing comfort and a listening ear when situations got tricky. Coming to China wasn't an easy decision to make, but now that I've been here for a year I can successfully say that it's been one of the most enriching ones I've made. The amount of personal growth I've seen in the past year is unparalleled. I am so grateful to Wanderlust for being a part of this journey. It was a real pleasure working with them and getting a chance to explore this awe-inspiring culture.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would walk in with a better understanding that Chinese culture is very different from Western culture. Concepts like privacy and time hold different meaning than they do back home. As I've learned in the last year, being flexible is key. Things may not always go the way you expect and you have to learn to be okay with that. Sometimes, that can work out better than you can ever imagine. Even though there will always be people to listen and help you out, being self-sufficient is a must. You have to be able to take charge of the situation. Do that and you're sure to have an enriching experience.
54 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Paulina
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My experience

To be honest it’s very difficult to move to a different country but I felt at home with my second family, they were always nice and caring, and took care of me.

I also fell in love with Shanghai, is a cosmopolitan city and it’s very different in day and night. The good thing about Shanghai is that in winter is not as cold as other cities, but the bad thing is the weather in summer, because is very hot.

Learning Chinese is very challenging but unfortunately there aren’t a lot of people who speaks English.

What was your funniest moment?
I had 2 families, with the second one I had a blast, I say they even became a very important part in my life.
54 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Bohdana
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

My year in Ningbo

I always wanted to travel to China and see the culture from inside so this program was like a golden ticket to me. Of course I felt a little bit uneasy moving 7000 km away but the agency did its best to make me feel comfortable and safe which was a big help for my mental state as I faced many difficulties on the way to my host family. I can’t find the right words to describe this year. It felt like one day and eternity at the same time. I fall in love with this culture, nature, cuisine (of course) and people, especially my host sister. It’s not that I was sceptical about developing true feelings for my host kid but I was uncertain whether we would become family-like close. But we became vital parts of each others lives. This baby stole my heart. I watched her growing up and learning more about this world and there’s just something so special about knowing that I played a big role in this process and did make my impact on her life. Needless to say it wasn’t all butterflies and unicorns being an AuPair but I would have never changed a thing about this experience. It helped me to grow a lot and changed the way I saw many things in this life. Also, my hosts family introduced me to plenty of really beautiful and fascinating things here. We’ve made a lot of memories and I’ll be thankful to them and Wanderlust for this forever.

60 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ria
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Being an Au Pair in Shanghai

Being an Au Pair was one of the best experiences I have made.
I was in rematch, when my German AuPair agency recommended Wanderlust Exchange as one of their partners to me. with the help of Wanderlust I found an amazing host family in less than two weeks.

My host family was just great, they helped me to learn a lot about Chinese culture. Together with my host child I practiced calligraphy from time to time, but of course her writing was always much better than mine. We also made dumplings with her grandma, visited the museum and played games. Sometimes we went to the cinema and she would summarize the movie afterwards for me, just to make sure that I understood.
When she had evening classes, my host mom and I sometimes went out to have a look at the area around or to drink some tea.

I did not experience any problems with my host family, but I know, that if there would have been any, Wanderlust would have helped me. They really care about their Au Pairs and occasionally asked, how we were doing and if everything was alright, which I really appreciated.

It's been two years already since I finished the Au Pair Program and I am thankful to Wanderlust Exchange and to my host family for making my stay in Shanghai something I'll never forget. I hope to travel back to China one day again. (^_^)

54 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Liam
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Au Pairing in Shanghai China.

I joined the Wanderlust Au Pair China program in 2018, my first year out of high school. This was definitely a big change in my life. The next 6 months were by far the most adventurous I had ever had. I got to learn a new culture the best way possible, by living with a family. It was difficult to adjust to my new life at first, but with the great support given by this program in was not impossible. I look back at those 6 months and do nothing but a smile. They really were some best days of my life.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Have an open mind and remember that every day that passes you'll never get back. I wish I appreciated this program more while I was doing it.
59 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Soraya Shirin
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Au Pair

I am living in China as an Au Pair since last June. First I have been in a family in Suzhou until December. Then I changed to a family in Shanghai where I am currently living. The Au Pair Team helped me with everything. When I changed the families they helped me with every step. In December I went to South Korea to renew my visa and I could text the Au Pair helper all the time and they really helped me a lot at that time. If I have problems they will always help me very fast. You can text them all the time and they will respond really fast.

The monthly cultural activities are also very nice and you can always meet new friends and learn a lot.

Another thing that I really like about the team is that they always ask me if everything is fine or if I have any problems. They really care about how we are doing and if everything is okay!

Wanderlust Exchange is a very good opportunity to see the real China and learn a lot of things about the country and history. But it’s not only that. You will also meet new friends from all around the world. The Hostfamily will be like your second family forever and you can always come back to visit them.

I would always choose wanderlust Exchange again. I never had problems with the agency and they really helped me a lot! It was always my dream to come to China and learn a lot about the country and live here for a few months. Wanderlust Exchange made my dream come true.

What would you improve about this program?
I would not improve anything! The program and all the workers are just amazing. They should just keep doing what they are doing and don’t change!
56 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Katrien
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best Au Pair Program!

I stayed in Chengdu for 6 months this year, it turned into the best 6 months of my life and I fell in love with China! Everyone who I talked to from the agency was beyond helpful every step of the way and I really feel like they cared about me, I never had problems with my host family but if I did I know they would have been extremely helpful. I was really scared going to China by myself at 18 but it is now my favorite place in the world (specifically Chengdu). I was mostly scared about the language barrier since I only spoke basic Mandarin but everyone I met was so nice and helpful.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
The most unfamiliar thing I ate was probably hot pot and all of the strange things that go inside of it! It was kind of overwhelming at first because there was so much food but it quickly became my favorite thing to eat there!
56 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers

Hello Joanna, Thank you for your question and interest in Wanderlust Au Pair China Program. I would like to answer your questions in three aspects: how au pairs can get ready for their trip to China; what support they will have from Wanderlust; what's to be expected of your daily life with the host family. In regards to how au pairs can get themselves prepared for the trip to China, here are some...