Want to move to China to be with partner, please advise

I’m 31/male/British. My partner is 25/female/Chinese and is planning to move back home in January of next year.

We want to be together and so I have stated a willingness to change my career plans and to move overseas in order to continue our relationship.

My current plan is to earn a degree and then get 2 years of work experience as an English teacher so that I could teach English in China full time. I currently do not have a degree nor 2 years of relevant work experience.

The biggest drawback of my current plan is just how long it would take. In the best case scenario it would take me 3 and 1/2 years to obtain all the necessary qualifications. In the worst case, 5-6+ years.

My partner has said she is not ready for marriage yet and so getting married to expedite the process is not an option at this juncture. My questions therefore are:

1. is there some path to getting a Chinese work Visa that would be (for lack of a better term) quicker than the one I’ve outlined in this post?
2. would my 2 years of work experience have to be full-time, or would teaching English part-time while I study suffice?

Thank you in advance for any insights or advice you are able to provide me.