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wiebke · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 8 Location: Europe

Please tell me what you can about Zhuhai. How are the beaches?

11:59 · Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:15 pm Post subject:

Zhuhai is basically a poor caricature of Macau. I've been there once and have had a good look around but I've never seen anything that could be described as a beach. I do recall some very aggressive street kid beggars, though � petty street crime and prostitution is rife.

wiebke · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 8 Location: Europe

No beaches. Incredible. The proximity to Hong Kong is definitely a plus though, along with the warm weather.

Are there many teaching opportunities, or do you know?

jammish · Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 1704

Ahchoo · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 606 Location: Earth

bearcanada · Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 312 Location: Calgary, Canada

I concur with the last poster. Zhuhai is a lovely city, perhaps one of the most liveable cities in all of China. It is one of the least crowded cities, too. It has an air of space about it, just as many Western cities do.

The comments about beggars and prostitutes is foolish, as is the observation that this city is a poor copy of Macau. Macau is largely a hole, which is why so many people with jobs there live in Zhuhai and cross the border every morning.

Steppenwolf · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 1769

Zhuhai certainly is an oasis compared to the concrete monster urbs elsewhere in Guangdong; it's got more green space between high-rises and virtuallyno industry in downtown.

But it's not a holiday destination at all; a cultural desert just like most Chinese cities are, especiallythose special economic zones.

In addition I would point out that Zhuhai, though located on the South China coast, has no beaches. It has islands under its jurisdiction where swimming is physically possible; whether youwould want to swim in raw sewage is another matter.
And hotels are quite expensive.

11:59 · Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:04 am Post subject:

As I said, I don't recall seeing anything that could be described as a beach. The only person who would call the pictures posted above 'beaches' is someone who comes from Blackpool, Bognor Regis, Scarborough, or Whitby. In my books, a piece of reclaimed land with some sand poured on top of it hardly constitutes a beach, even if you can purchase a can of Guinness. Have you never been to Thailand, the Philippines, or Jamaica? Also, those 'beaches' seem remarkably deserted. Would you care to explain that? In particular, I see a striking lack of any Westerners in those pictures. I have to wonder, if Zhuhai is so great, how come every FT in Guangdong isn't sitting on them?

jammish · Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 1704

Ah, you should have said that Zhuhai didn't have any paradise beaches then your claim would have been correct.

A beach is simply defined as:

wiebke · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 8 Location: Europe

Such positive comments and lovely photos!! Thank you.
I taught at the American school in Shanghai from 2005 to 2006, which covered a full academic year and two summer school sessions. Last year, when I left China to relocate to Argentina, I really did not intend to ever return. However, the TEFL scene in Argentina soon forced me to reconsider. I would never return to Shanghai, but I am really getting excited about the south of China. The sea, the mild climate, the proximity to Vietnam and to Thailand, all combine to make the south of China a particularly attractive location to me. I am presently in Germany and, though I am a huge fan of Germany, Europe is becoming much too difficult for non-EU members. I am buying my ticket to Hong Kong, next week. The Brits can have Europe. I am very excited about returning to China! Very Happy

wiebke · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 8 Location: Europe

Actually, the photos remind me of Sanya in Hainan. And Chinese beaches are always a bit deserted, during the day. It may be true that the water is too polluted for swimming, but I certainly hope not. Has anyone been swimming in Zhuahi?

Plan B · Joined: 11 Jan 2005 Posts: 266 Location: Shenzhen

jammish · Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 1704

The beaches in Dalian (and surrounds) are not amazing either (if one is expecting, as per the returnee 11:59 or the OP, a paradise) I have to say. Indeed they look quite similar to those shown in the post a few posts above. The main thing is that most Chinese cities are industrial hellholes and it's quite nice to be able to live in one that isn't. Heck, I lived in Paris, and I find where I am in Dalian to be a more pleasant environment.

11:59

wiebke · Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 8 Location: Europe

I spent last Thanksgiving and last Christmas, in Sanya. I don't know about Coral Reefs, but the water was pretty and blue, when the sun was shining on it. The beaches were, well, they were a lot like the pictures Anchoo so kindly posted of Zhuhai.

I lived in Playa del Carmen on the Mexican caribbean for four years, so I've already experienced teaching in Paradise. I imagine I would earn in Hainan, the same that I earned in Playa. Like Hainan, the cost of living is incredibly cheap in Playa, but it comes down to just getting by and enjoying life. If I were going to do that again, I would go back to Playa. Hainan could never compare to the white beaches, turquoise blue water, music, lifestyle and fish and shrimp tacos in Playa!

Zhuhai, on the other hand, holds more promise as a serious TEFL destination and I know that, after Shanghai, it will prove to be a kind of 'paradise' for me.

Jammish_I spent a week in Dalian. It was very woodsy and the beaches were certainly good enough for me. I seriously considered moving there, but the cold turned me off. I loved the trams!