Job Discussion Forums

[darijen7]

Hi,

I�m looking at going to teach in China in mid to late April, if all is well, but I don�t really know where to go at this stage. So, I thought I might throw it out to you lovely people and see if I can get some advice.

I want a place with good weather, preferably warmer.
Somewhere near water, be it a river, lake or the coast.
A small to medium city (Shanghai and Beijing are out because I come from a big city and did the bigger city thing in Tokyo. But it would be good to be close enough to Shanghai or Hong Kong to do a day trip).
I want a place that has internet (broadband is good even if it�s slow broadband).

I think that�s it for now but I may have forgotten something.

If anyone have any suggestions or advice, I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks,
D

[A'Moo]

Youve basically called out Zhuhai by name... I've only been as a visitor, and there are definitely many aspects of it to like (as you've named), and a few to dislike...There are many people who frequent this website that can probably give you more adequate information on it than I would be able to....Not the most frugal of locales, so get an adequate wage....Good luck....

[Voldermort]

I have spent 2 years in Panzhihua, Sichuan, and really love it here. Like you, I am not into the big city scene, I much prefer a small city where your face can become known.

Panzhihua is about 13 hours by train out of Chengdu, though it is far from Shanghai and Beijing. The cost of living is reasonable, though some hard to get things can be a little more expensive than other places.

The weather goes from hot to warm, it never snows and the winter lasts about 1 month. I'm already walking around in shorts and T'shirts.

There are a few decent schools here who I know will be looking for FT's to start in September.

[Steppenwolf]

Got a map? Got Marco Polo's carta sinica or carta asia orientalis? Fine: now you trace the coast from, say, SHANGHAI to the Vietnamese border...
IT's hot here at least 8 months a year, quite cold near Shanghai in winter but balmy to cool in Beihai, Guangxi, a couple of hundred klicks from the Viet border.

Beihai is a lively and small town with a chequered history (les freancais y furent les colons autre fois). The landscapes to the north are stunning: GUilin is not very far, if you know why I mention it here.

The next port of call of any significance is Zhuhai, but Zhuhai, while being a green and clean city, is not so small, and not unpolluted either. But yes, it's conveniently close to big cities with airports such as Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Another option might be Hainan island; not a single town has anywhere near one million inhabitants.

[7969]

i like panzhihua. i visited there last spring festival. tshirts in january.....

only downside are the numerous factories i think that can be found around there.

[Mister Al]

Xiamen, Zhuhai, Beihai (IMO in that order )and naturally Hainan Dao, if your lucky. All good bets.

[mondrian]

Dalian .... Dalian ..... Dalian .... "that beautiful coastal city ......"

Everywhere else is but kitsch! Cake frosting on the reality of Chinese life; reminiscent of "a spoonful of sugar".

[tw]