Job Discussion Forums

[laconic]

Does anyone have any information regarding HKU SPACE in Suzhou? I'm particularly interested in working and living conditions, lodging and salary. Thanks.

[adamsmith]

second hand from a friend teaching there - the campus is way out in the sticks with nothing around and minimal transportation. Do not really know for sure what the students are like at this time.

[Scouse]

You will be based in the middle of Suzhou Industrial Park, currently being advertised on CCTV 9, as the Silicon Valley of China. My girlfriend is there and is almost demented with boredom. You are stuck in the middle of nowhere amidst ornamental lakes and hedgerows, with mosquitoes everywhere. There is NOTHING to do and NOWHERE to go. A few small Chinese eateries, that's it.

The nearest supermarket is a 40 minute bus-ride away, on very crowded buses which stop at 10pm. Almost impossible to get a taxi from there and back. Nobody speaks English .Very few foreigners around, so you will be stared at all the time.

I believe staff are accommodated in a block of apartments which are OK, and cost about 2,500 RMB per month, but no access to foreign TV. I'll try to find out salary scales for you. It needs to be wonderful to get anybody to stay there!

Strangely, previous messages about Suzhou mysteriously disappeared from here????? I wonder why?

[kev7161]

Let me tell you a bit about Suzhou and then about Suzhou Industrial Park:

Suzhou: Has all the modern conveniences of Shanghai when it comes to shopping, restaurants, night clubs, etc. The plus is that it is much smaller than Shanghai so the main areas are much easier to navigate. On a "normal" traffic day, I can take the bus from western Suzhou (the new district) to SIP on the east side in about 30 to 40 minutes. Luckily, Renmin Road area which has much of the aforementioned shopping, dining and whatnot is really very close to SIP. Suzhou may not be the best city in China but is far from the worse. (What is the best city anyway?) If you want a weekend excursion to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, etc. they are quite nearby so easily do-able. Of course there is the regular "ghetto" areas, pollution, starers and spitters and so forth, but what Chinese city DOESN'T have these things?

SIP: I don't live in that area so I rarely go there. I know they have quite a bit of western restaurants and a few night clubs. There is a huge swimming complex there as well. It's much quieter than your average Chinese suburb with little traffic. It's certainly more upscale as well. If you want to go into the main part of the city in the evening, you can catch a bus (the number 68 goes from east to west) and then probably take a taxi back home if it gets too late. A new theater/arts center is being built in SIP and last time I rode by it looked like it was nearing completion. Shopping? Geez, what can I say? There's gotta be something nearer than 40 minutes away, but I don't know. Mister Al? A little help here?

I can't say a thing about the school because I've never heard of it.

[Mister Al]

Hi Kev et al

I think scouse was saying that the nearest supermarket to HK Space was about 40 minutes away. I guess that means Au Chan and I assume he/she is correct then (not knowing anything about HK Space myself).

Kev is right about Suzhou being a good place to live. For myself, I love it but I am based in the town centre. I also shop/drink/eat in SIP at times and more than I do in SND but like both.

So OP, if HK Space is situated as suggested by others I'd give it a miss and if you fancy Suzhou try other options. Plenty of schools, language mills, university campuses etc.

Have a look at www.suzhouexpats.org for an idea of life here. You can also ask for more advice about Suzhou on the forums.

[adamsmith]

I have contacted my friend again to give you alittle better info on HKU space. It is actually located in the Higher Education Lake Town - not even in the SIP. This area is about 40 KM away from the city. The campus is about two years old so everything is relatively new.
My friend did not elaborate on the type/quality of students or the administration, but as well there were no complaints either so that could be a good sign.

[Scouse]

Thank you Mister Al and Adam Smith for confirming what I was trying to say, but possibly not explicitly enough. I totally agree with Kev 7161 about Suzhou town centre and the range of facilities there.

HKU Space is situated in Dushu Lake Higher Education town - that is not SIP. It is one hour by bus to downtown Suzhou, and 40 minutes to AuShan supermarket. Taxi drivers get lost on the return journey from AuShan, and that is with a Chinese passenger. There are no supermarkets in Dushu Lake, and the swimming pool (catering for 20,000 students from Suzhou University and Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University) has not opened yet, but scheduled for July. There is a library, but NOTHING else, apart from small shops and Chinese snack places.

Unless you have some serious studying to do in the evenings, or a huge DVD collection to watch, you need to be in Suzhou town centre, or die of boredom.

[laconic]

Thanks very much for all the information. Very helpful.

[jamesmollo]

Hi, sorry to hijack the thread, I just got an offer from a school in the SIP wondering if it's in the same local as mentioned here.
Heard of newton kindergarten? ring bay area in SIP? I'm told there is a supermarket near by and it's close to downtown.
many thanks

[Scouse]

Rest assured there is no kindergarden stuck out in the sticks of Dushu Lake Education Town.
You may be close to the huge AuShan supermarket, where you can buy butter, cheese, yogurt, meat, muesli and a few other luxury (?) imported goods.You cannot buy any of these in Dushu Lake Education Town - just a small supermarket full of junk foods and snacks.

You are lucky.

[Scouse]

Laconic - going back to your original question, as the thread seems to have digressed -

I managed to speak to a Hong Kong Chinese lecturer from HKU Space. She very cautiously said "Programmes are being accredited by globally recognised professional bodies.....graduates may be articulated to the undergrad programmes of 40 local and overseas institutions". She spoke like a programmed robot, certainly not full of enthusiasm.

The class size is 40-50, and an English teacher is expected to teach "oral English, conversation, reading and writing". She thought the salary was about 8,000 RMB. She also thought there are currently 800 students, but they are expecting 6,000 by September 2007.

Students can either do an Associate degree or a Dazhuan Certificate in Business Admin, Accounting, Logistics, Marketing or Information Technology. They are in direct competition with the folks in the adjacent building from XJTLU -Liverpool University.

Everything sounded very vague - I would definitely check it out further before making a move. I'll keep you updated as I learn more.

[Kurochan]

Hi --

I was offered a salary that was more than twice the one your friend is getting. Maybe it's because I'm white?

It would be a superb salary, but I'm not sure about accepting the offer. 18 hrs teaching, enforced 9-5, Monday to Friday office hours, only NINE DAYS for Chinese New Year , only eighteen days off in the summer, you have to teach when you're sick, etc. I was really shocked.

I wasn't worried about living someplace that didn't have a lot of western-style amenities, but I was shocked that the campus was so remote. It really isn't near anything. The closest place to buy groceries, and I'm talking vegetables, not Western food, is twenty minutes away by bus. While the school doesn't help teachers get there, apparently on Sundays they have arranged a shuttlebus to some sort of evangelical Christian church, and two people there asked me if I would be attending during my visit to the school!

Money is great, and I want to save more for my future. I'd also like to try something new. BUT, I don't know if living so far from everything, and having so little free time, would be good for my mental health.