Come open minded and accept diversity and different way of doing things.  Enjoy it and laugh a lot.  

let  him knows about your daily life here in China, be prepared for the excitement.... or Youtube the keywords maybe?

Tell him/her to just walk around naked before he comes. He will get used to being stared at 24/7. Thats all he needs. Bam!

be prepared for the excrement.

Welcome to China, leave your brain at the door.

Don't try to make sense out of Chinese society, it's a straight path to insanity.

Locals' mindset can be summed with "Dear government, here is my brain, now where is the money?"

Xi Jinping isn't fat, he is gracious.

Keep an open mind, an adventurous spirit and roll with the punches. Make sure your friend knows what he's getting himself into. A 37th tier city isn't for the faint of heart.

Tell him to think of it as going to another planet. Logic on Planet China is different: People care more about their appearance or face, and the western concept of dignity is a Christian value people don't share. Love thy neighbour was never introduced to China; there's a hypocritical platitude of Chinese people being one big family intead. You will be stared at a lot; people will openly talk about you condescendingly but without the notion that it's offensive, to the point where you want to chastise people for their intrusiveness.

China has had a dark history, where lots of people lost their lives. Neighbours were forced to denounce one another to protect themselves; people had to watch loved ones be tortured and executed publicly to sate the bloodlust and warped vision of justice the Red Guards spread. What your friend needs to understand, is that people are far removed from the "western" concept of equality here. Everyone is a cowardly suck-up in the face of influential people, and a bully to those in a weak position. No remorse or consideration is felt, as none is given by anyone. You will be singled out as a matter of course, because your foreign status labels you as weak in Chinese people's eyes. They even feel they are being generous by not doing worse than staring and talking smack.

Chinese will be visibly simpleminded and petty, with crass displays of wealth, lack of consideration of the impact of their actons on others, and a strange impulse to measure the success/profitability of ventures by the amount of social/environmental damage done. Be prepared for pollution, scammers and possibly standoffs with autorities and greedy locals. It will force you to become petty and inconsiderate to protect yourself, unfortunately. That's why prolonged stay in China can be a bad thing for impressionable people with a social need. Reclusiveness is a virtue here.

Cargo Cultism is a rather old fashioned notion that was first observed in colonial Indonesia. It's the superstition that nice things makes you a nice person, and you're likely to receive a few lavish gifts in public from people who wish to prove they're not a "rubbish person". It can run quite deep, with the belief that products are manufactured through spiritual means ("everything in China is bad quality"). You'll experience some idol worship as a white westerner, but even a black guy in a fancy suit can be perceived as a magical good-quality man from Nice-Things-Land. It's how they choose to make sense of the world. Wear a nice suit and you'll be worshipped; dress shabbily and you'll be targeted by greedy bullies. Don't expect much from the government, banks, police or hospitals in China; they're just places filled with nice things and greedy, entitled starving farmers. If only people understood that it takes willpower and action to be a good professional, rather than blame it on the quality of the things ("our hospitals/police are ineffective because their [things] are substandard").

You may feel a part of your humanity lost when you walk away from a person in need on the streets, but it really is *so* dangerous to help others here. Judges have passed guilty verdicts based on the reasoning: "If you weren't guilty, why did you stop to help?" If impressions can be turned against you, many Chinese (both scammers and real accident victims) will blame the helping hand. And if the mob is against you, you can either pay up or make a scene. After making a scene, you will sit in prison until someone can bail you out, whereupon you might even get kicked out of China. In superficial China, appearances are more important than substance. Don't expect fair treatment with mob rule. Your best defense is inaction.

This knowledge can be a burden at the start, when you want to help these people cultivate their humanity. But it may help you if you realise that the oppressive government was not instituted by a foreign power, but sprang from the culture of the people. In an indirect way, Chinese people *want* to be bullies and cowards. The girls are pretty, yes, but this woman's culture has sacrificed all of its justice and fairness in exchange for more safety and stability (i.e. money).

China will be a learning experience about the human psyche, and although it can be scary and frustrating at times, it will leave you with a deeper understanding of who you are, what your culture is, and what is important in life. Chinese would say that we westerners are "lucky" to be born outside China, but that's simply another platitude that feeds into the notion of static (stable), unchangeable reality that Chinese wish to believe in. In truth, we played our part in forming the society of freedom, fairness and equality we live in just as much as Chinese people brought this dytopic state of oppression and inequality into being.

TL;DR: *KEEP YOUR COOL AT ALL TIMES*
Foreigner in China: Be proud but not too loud, and don't let the idiocy get to you.
http://answers.echinacities.com/question/how-recognize-zombies-and-prote...

Tell him it's even worse than NZ.. (sorry, couldn't resist )

OK, tell him - some things are basically the same (supermarkets, shopping, streets, clothes), but other things are really different (people's attitudes/behaviours). Like most international travel/living, there are things that need to be adjusted to.While you may not have McD (NOT a bad thing!), bread and cheese can be ordered off Taobao (though I wouldn't do the bread through there!)

Your friend should probably invest in a good VPN now for sanity's sake... but don't over-indulge in it.

Your friend NEEDS to know to keep toilet paper on hand at all times!!!! And, certainly in the first few weeks/months, to keep a lot on hand - just in case the last bite of food eaten decides to disagree with them.

And if your friend IS a kiwi - then get used to bottled water (and have that toilet paper on hand ). No more drinking straight from the taps :(

Take compliments with a grain of salt.... no, really! Really really!!!

Advise him how you cope with living there, your daily routine, what you usually eat, normal stuff like that. 

Advise him how you cope with living there, your daily routine, what you usually eat, normal stuff like that. 

Hmmmm what advice can we give for the city you live and for the company you work? 

Develop the habit of looking left, right, and down while walking around. develop the mindset of being very careful about things..... not to live in a paranoid state, but being aware and understanding that an ebike or car can come outta nowhere or that it's common for a sidewalk to have a missing man-hole cover....  this awareness may save him a bad experience.

http://www.thechinawatch.com/2012/04/beijing-sidewalk-collapses-into-sca...

See also: http://answers.echinacities.com/question/worst-advice-about-china-coming-china?type=alatest#lastcomment

You have lived and worked here. You do not know the answer to your own question?

You need to know your friend very well. Are they a rural type person who will be comfortable living where you do? Or, are they like many expats who need the creature conforts of a western society? Will they be a good teacher for your students ad school? What is their personality like? Can they roll with the punches? Laugh things off as part of a different culture and society? Do they bleed the colors of their home country and have bias against people from other nations? You need to find out if your friend is capable of living and working in a place like China. China is not changing for your friend.

Don't forget to buy a return plane ticket.

document everything, and i mean everything in relation to your interaction with your employer.

It doesn't matter what it is: the words "you can trust me" should not be accepted unless proven over time.

be flexible, but don't allow yourself to be culturally bullied: if you don't feel comfortable 'conforming', just don't.

Have enough money to either go home, or support yourself long enough to get another job if things don't work out at the school you're going to.

Oh, and a credit or debit card that allows you to pay for things like a vpn subscription or plane tickets online is really useful to have ,and can't be easily arranged once you're here if you don't already have one.