Job Discussion Forums

[jekberg]

Does anyone have experience teaching at Shantou University?

Or does anyone know anyone who has taught there?

[7969]

This thread probably won't get a lot of replies so I'll write something here. I do know a guy who worked at Shantou U a few years ago, and he liked it (he had to leave as he hit 60 years of age). If I can find his email address I can put you in touch with him. The university itself looks rather nice. I know they recently spent a lot of money on some of their facilities - the library is very nice.

I don't know a lot about the city but I've lived in a nearby town for the past six years so I have some knowledge of the place. I've been to Shantou a number of times, most recently last week. It's nice enough, small by Chinese standards but very livable. It's on the sea so lots of seafood, and the air is pretty decent. . . lots of blue sky days which is something you don't often get in the mega-cities elsewhere.

Shantou's in the Chaoshan region and they have their own dialect, and you can see lots of traditional Chinese customs still in practice here - festivals, parades, funeral processions, burning ghost money, gong fu tea etc. I find it all pretty interesting myself. The people are quite nice, same as anywhere else - treat them with respect and you'll get treated the same way in return. Most of my students are from the Chaoshan area and I've been invited to some of their homes in different towns and have always been fed well and had a good time. Shantou is also in a decent location if you want to travel. Xiamen is a couple of hours away in one direction, Hong Kong and Shenzhen five hours by bus in the other direction, and some other places of interest in Guangdong and Fujian aren't too far away - Hakka roundhouses and hot springs in Yongding for example.

Overall I'd say you can't go wrong working and living in Shantou, and you could certainly do a lot worse.

[jekberg]

Thanks for the info.

I have accepted a job at Shantou U., but have not signed the contract yet. Have done some research on the area and the uni, but still would like to talk to someone who has taught there.

So far, I have gotten mostly positive reports on the place and school.

[Kurochan]

I've been to Shantou University because I applied for a job there a few years ago. I have to say I really liked Shantou as a city. The people were friendly, although they drove like maniacs. Maybe because it's so hot in the daytime, there is a lot of activity at night, with people strolling around and shopping.

One thing is that the university is out in the sticks. I'd say it's a thirty to forty minute bus ride from the city center. You won't find many Western foods in the area or many English-speakers aside from your students. The campus is really leafy, which means there is the possibility of huge spiders.

While things above can be negative (depending on your point of view, I guess), the positives were that the teachers I met there were really nice. They seemed really pleasant, stable and professional. I went to look at the on-campus teachers' housing, and found the apartments spacious and attractive. The furnishings were fairly new and looked good. The guy I talked to said he hadn't had any problems with things not working, dripping water or anything like that. The teachers I met there really liked their students, and the school has quite a good reputation.