I spent some time living in China after college (pre-pandemic). There are more and less reputable programs to provide English language teachers and tutors to kids of various ages. As a fairly unexceptional student, I ended up in one of the less reputable one.
Practically none of those programs pay any real money. You usually can expect some very basic worse than your college dorm room and board, with little more than a weekly stipend beyond that. There are enough kids looking for a year or two of an adventure that they don’t have to offer more.
The culture shock was very real. As a tall, fit, pretty conventionally attractive blonde guy, I got a lot of attention. We’re well past the time where it’s weird to see white people in big Chinese cities, and it’s not like the people are gawking. It’s a lot more of a complex relationship.
The urge to flex wealth and status has become sort of tied up in the complicated, competitive feelings about the west and about Americans in particular. If you’re a decently attractive white person, you’ll be approached with offers to attend clubs or events, work at parties, and so on. Some of these offers are very legitimate. Some of them are a lot sketchier.