Job Discussion Forums

OuterBanks13 · Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 33

I've been offered a position at a decent school in this city.
I'm wondering if this city is near the mountains and the town of Feng Huang that I visited a couple of years ago. Also, what about the city, its cost of living, nightlife, shopping, food specialties, etc. Any "western" thoughts and experiences would be appreciated. Thank you, and eagerly looking forward to my return to the Middle Kingdom.

sojourner · Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 11:45 pm Post subject:

Hi !

Have just r'd your PM (How did you do it - I thought that you had to have had a minimum of 50 messages before you could use the PM facility !). Later on, I'll PM you some details re the uni in question.

I left Mianyang about two years ago. Not long after I left, the place was v.badly affected by the Sichuan earthquake. I still don't know as to whether the place has returned to anything resembling "normalcy".

Anyway, during my one year there, I quite enjoyed Mianyang, a smallish/mid-sized city. Reasonably pleasant sort of place.There are about 3 or 4 tertiary education institutes in the area, most of which I think employ FTs. Lots of the FTs often used to go to an ex-pat bar called the "Flags", run by a guy from the UK (I wonder if that bar still standing, as a result of the quake ?). Anyway, if you want to know about what is happening in Mianyang ( ex-pat rumours, parties, other night spots,etc ) chat to the other customers, or to Ralph (the owner). Many of my colleagues, during the weekends, often used to go to disco-type places - thus, there always appeared to be "plenty to do" in Mianyang, at night.

Have been told that there are some decent non-Chinese restaurants in the place (eg Thai, Korean, etc), but I was unable to find them.Of course, there is the ubiquitious KFC (at least two outlets) - also, one Macdonalds.

If you ever feel a bit bored with the place, Chengdu (the provincial capital) is only about 1.5 hours (I think) away by bus.

About two or three hours away by bus from Mianyang are some mountains, with cable car access.I 've forgotten the name of the place. Anyway, the FAO office at your uni will probably organise an outing for the FTs where you'll be taken to the area in question.

Right now, I can't think of anything else to say about Mianyang. If anything else comes to mind, I'll send another posting to this thread !

Regards,

Peter

eddy-cool · Joined: 06 Jul 2008 Posts: 1008

As for 'Feng Huang', if it is in Sichuan, then it is not the same as the FENGHUANG in HUNAN province, which surely is not within 1.5 hours from Mianyang.

The Ever-changing Cleric · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 1523

OuterBanks13 · Joined: 18 May 2009 Posts: 33

Eddy: So true. Feng Huang I went to is indeed in Hunan Province. I recently went to the map and I guess I'll be heading into the Himalayas for outings.

50 posts???? No, no, no. You only need to make 25 posts to enable PM on this Forum.

If anybody has any idea on things to do and places to go in and around Mianyang, I'm all ears and eyes. Also, I loved the hot, spicy food of Hunan Province (Xingtang and Changsha), and I'm hoping the food is every bit as good.

Thanks all. Now, I must head out on the kayak and these beautiful Outer Banks. September comes quickly, and I don't imagine I'll be doing much yaking when I'm in Mianyang.

DHAPhotography · Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 5:29 pm Post subject: Mianyang in another month...

Well, I never made it to Mianyang in September, but I'll be at SWUFE, Tian Fu College, come this March and was wondering if anybody could pass along any tidbits of wisdom and advice, both about the school and/or community, things to do, see, etc. Thanks all. I'm much looking forward to this adventure.

Don...(Yes, I'll have to hang up the kayak for a year. Yes, it will be sad, but the joy of hitting the sounds in 2011 will be quintessentially delightful.)

kukiv · Joined: 13 Dec 2009 Posts: 328

We've been in Mianyang area 4 times this year - the major quake damage is found at least an hour outside the city - and will only affect you with regard to road reconstruction if you're traveling to towards the scenic spots of North Sichuan - Songpan and JZ

Mianyang is just a normal Sichuan city - nothing special - as ever a lot of the outlying areas have been trashed through new urban development work - but its greener than a lot of the other parts of China. Dont believe much about the hype regarding clean air - Mianyang has its fair share of smoke belching polluting industry, and is also an armaments manufacturing center with a nuclear research facility.
It can also be darn cold - winters are chilly - but none of the housing is required by regulation to have heating or special insulation!!!!!!!!