Job Discussion Forums

gingerlady · Joined: 24 Apr 2004 Posts: 49 Location: Indonesia

HI All,

I'm wondering if there's anyone out there who has taught in Urumqi, specifically for EF. How was it, and how did you like living in Urumqi? Is it a pleasant city, or horribly hot and dry?

Thanks for your help!

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

I can only enlighten you on the city per se, not on their EF franchisee.
It is not a very inspiring place, gritty and terribly polluted. The name is Mongolian, though the majority of the non-Chinese are Turks (Uighurs). Street names are in Arabic (script, Turkish language) and Chinese, and you will find a few typical "minority" restaurants, some mosques and many unemployed Uighurs.
The most mitigating factor is the landscapes around Urumqi, for instance Heavenly Lake, 120 kms from Urumqi. You can also spend a lovely weekend in Turpan.
It certainly is hot, but quite bearable because the weather is dry. In wi, however, it gets very cold, expect minus 20 centigrade...