Job Discussion Forums

[ebond007]

Currently looking for employment. Will be my first time working overseas. It's important to me that I find an area that has plenty of nature, history, and traditional culture to interact with, so I was wondering if I could get some recommendations in that department. I really want to see Qufu, but I'm not sure how realistic it is to live there, nor have I actually been there to know what it's really like.

Thanks!

[Tainan]

Not Dalian.

Qufu was great for a visit but overrun by tourists when we went (though that was the holiday; maybe it's a saner place ordinarily.) Would be great if possible!

[Laurence]

Traditional culture? You want to try Living Like the Chinese?
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=70740


Use wikitravel or wikipedia to check out

Qingdao
Xiamen
Guilin
Haikou or Sanya

You can find them on Google Earth too
Kinda greenish, comparatively..

Getting your location right is a good idea, of course, but my advice would be to resist building up your expectations (in terms of how you will connect with the place and the people) too much before you arrive.

Good luck,
and keep posting : )

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

All parts of China have culture, many have history, but fewer and fewer have scenery that's worth going to these days (over-developed and over-crowded).

My suggestion: Sichuan. Has all three that you're looking for, has some of the most beautiful scenery and is closer to other more scenic parts of China than anywhere in the eastern half of the country.

[vikuk]

Even in Sichuan you have to travel away from the tourists hordes to find the gold - I'm now working on an environmental reasearch project in a very off the beat part of Sichuan - where you can still find stuff like ancient family tombs, that weren't destroyed in the cultural revolution. In this part of the world you're a foreigner if you come from Chengdu.

To get to discover and explore these kinds of places - you need lots of free time (weekends off aren't enough)!!!!

[Tainan]

The problem is that the more traditional a place looks, the less "authentic" it is likely to be (authentic as in being lived in, rather than being a sort of stage set constructed for tourists). For example Guilin and Yangshuo. The former is pretty boring architecturally. The latter has the old style buildings that go with the scenery--but spend a few days there and, as delightful as it is, you realize it's a tourist trap.

I agree with the recommendation about Sichuan. If I were to go back I think that (or Yunnan!) would be my choice.