Hi Alex, I don't know if you are already in Baoding, I'll post a comment, just in case you are still waiting for someone to reply.
Baoding is a small city, not much to do if you are expecting to have fun, people is friendly but it's also too greedy, a foreigner without knowledge of the culture can end up paying twice as much or even more for a product .
There are a some familiar brands in the malls:
1.-KFC's and Mac Donald s are all over the city, you can also find Pizza Hut (over priced though)
2.-Vanbo Plaza also known as Parkson (Mall); which have a Walmart, Starbucks coffee, Burger King, Haagen Daz, and of course lots of other international brands
3.-Beiguo Mall; with Starbucks, KFC, and other international brands
4.-One restaurant called Route 66, located north of the city, not the best food and pizza, but it serves beer from other countries and it's like a bar, some people like it, I find it overpriced and not really good when it comes to original western food taste.
5.-Lately there have been a boom of coffee shops, you can certainly find a coffee shop everywhere you go in the city
If you like Chinese food, there are many tasty choices all over
There's also many supermarkets all over the city, you can find almost anything you need, some of them carry foreign brand products.
Pubs are not western style, it's a mix of western and Chinese style, they are not as popular as KTVs (Karaoke) where you can have drinks and sing with your friends
There are 3 big parks and lots of smaller ones, most of them can be reached by buses
In the old part of the city(downtown) there are two historical sites, The Lotus Pond and the Governor's Office, not so big, yet rich in history. There is also a zoo if you feel like seeing animals in cages.
Public transportation is good, almost every major road is covered, buses run until 9-10 pm, after that it's easy to get a taxi. There are two train stations, one within the city and one more in the outskirts, both can be accessed by bus.
Safety is fairly good, I have never experienced any vandalism or crime, police rarely asks for an identification, although is recommended to carry a copy of your passport and visa with you all the time, just in case.
Pollution fluctuates from green to purple, mostly in orange/red moving to purple, depending on the season.
People's manners are absent, be ready to see people spit everywhere, they also jump in front of you and won't respect queues, they smoke anywhere regardless of who is around, they make trash, little kids urinate or defecate anywhere, yet the city is somehow clean, there is an army of workers doing the cleaning everyday, if you are "different" people will take pictures of you without your consent, stare at you like they have never seen a foreigner before, although is not a rule, but be ready to be scrutinized in every way.
I would also suggest to be prepared for stomach problems for the first weeks or so, almost every foreigner experiences stomach discomfort due to many factors, not life threatening.
If you are offered a job as a teacher, be aware that many Chinese people are not ready to deal with foreigners when it comes to honoring contracts, they will change at will, add more duties without your consent and without any extra pay, they will also try to get you to work for them for a very low salary and long hours including weekends, I heard of one foreigner working for less than 5,000 Rmb per month, the minimum salary for foreign teachers is 8,000 Rmb, rent included; one way of intimidating the prospects is by holding their passports(it's against the law to do that) or telling you they will cancel your visa, which can only be cancelled by the proper authorities, do not let them fool you, also be aware that many schools DO NOT have permits to hire foreign teachers, one way of finding out in advance is by the type of visa they get you to enter the country, a working visa is Z type. Most of the foreigners are lured with great salaries, great job opportunities, even travel expenses, watch out, if you have to pay for your own airplane ticket, chances are they will never pay for the expenses.
Sorry for being a bit harsh on the last paragraph, but that is something they will never tell you before you sign a teaching contract with anyone in Baoding, if you want to see pictures of the city, search on Flickr.
Hope I helped you answer some of your questions.
