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I have a buddy who worked at a Biglaw branch in Asia (not Beijing). He was on a totally different pay scale. The pay was a lot less than biglaw USA or Biglaw HK/Singapore. However, it was definitely more than enough money to live in that area. After 2 years, he was actually able to move to HK and make a salary that is pretty close to Biglaw.

People have told me that if you go to Asia, it is often hard to come back to the US. If this is your only choice, I would take it without hesitation. However, if you have other choices, I would consider taking those choices instead of going to Asia.

One of my former supervisors in government spent 4-5 years in the capital markets group for Simpson Thacher. Compensation and benefits are a given, but hours were just as grueling if not more than in NYC. However, this was during the Chinese ipo heydays.

I very caution you about going to Beijing given the air quality, spending years there might mean shortening your lifespan (no kidding). Pay and lifestyle as an expat might sound sexy and all, evaluate your personal and not only professional future clearly before taking the job. Consider alternative cities like hk or sg. If mainland China is your thing, think sh.