Hey, I'm an Irish student going to China next summer to teach English to local children. The company that's sending me there offers over 100 destinations however, all over China, and I have no idea which to pick. I'd hate to choose one based on little information only to find out that my friends who ended up on the other side of the country were teaching somewhere with far better weather, more beautiful scenery, or more vibrant towns. Im travelling to Yanguo afterwards, which ive heard is amazing, but for the lengthy stay while I'm teaching I'd love to hear from anyone who's travelled extensively in China about which region/city/town was their favourite, or if any really stood out as somewhere they'd love to go back to. I'm thinking in terms of weather, the friendliness of the locals, the beauty of the city or the countryside, and how much there is to do in your spare time (preferably experiences you wouldn't get anywhere else.) Any advice would be hugely appreciated xxx
My daughter taught English in Yangshuo. She picked it over large towns because it would be easier to make friends. In the end, your only friends will be other teachers. Not sure about the friendliness of the locals criteria since, unless you speak decent Mandarin, you will not interact with locals.
If you want a lot to do in your spare time then Beijing is better. But also more expensive.
Remember that you need a work visa. If that agent says that you don't need one then I'd stay away from them.
Check this website: http://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/china/
We're talking about a country of over a billion people... That's a lot of cities! Without knowing what your options are, it's difficult to say.
I'd say it's much more important to be in a nice city than in a particular region of the country. There are many cities in China that are big, polluted, uninteresting sprawls, where it can be time-consuming to get out into any interesting or relaxing countryside. You can find such cities in most provinces of China.
So you need to look at the individual cities, rather than just the regions or provinces, would be about the only advice I could give you at this point.
Impossible to answer this question. Everywhere has its pros and cons (Eastern regions have lots of history and mega-cities but are polluted. The West is clean and beautiful but somewhat isolated and poor. The North is friendly but has long cold winters. The South has good seafood in is as hot as Hades. What's most important to you??
EDIT
If this is just a summer thing and you are volunteering you, probably, won't need a work permit. But I would find out for sure by phoning your local Chinese embassy before you commit to anything.
It's hard to tell if you're starting a long-term gig in the summer or just going to teach for the summer. If the former, you've been advised in general terms about the weather. If the latter, well, most places will be warm-hot, some very hot, some hot-humid: take your pick. For just a summer trip, I think I'd go to Beijing where there is a lot to do and see. It's a good base, too, to see other areas in the north and northeast (assuming you'll have weekends for quickie trips).
Depends on your interests a lot too.
Some places have great transit links, other dont. There are trains from Beijing to just about every city in the country. Many smaller towns have little more than bus service to things nearby, and if you want to take a weekend somewhere it will be difficult to get much beyond the regional hub.
Also the location WITHIN a city matters a lot. The most crushing poverty I have witnessed in China was in a slum outside Beijing's 5th ring road.
It's a crap shoot though, many school recruiters promise you will be 5 minutes walk from the subway and the reality is 45 minutes by bus. Be prepared for the unexpected.
Also the location WITHIN a city matters a lot.
And schools are often stuck way, Way, WAY out in the boondocks on the outskirts of cities as it is.
I would not stay in Beijing, its a crowded and polluted city with terrible traffic, subways packed, and a concrete jungle.
Shanghai, while lacking the true cultural bedrock Beijing is, its far more user friendly, a very pleasant climate, and a great locale fir going to there areas via plane, fast train or bus. But like Beijing, Shanghai is HUGE, as over 18 million people in both, so your school could be so far from the city center you may as well be anywhere...
I used to live in both Bejing and Shanghai, and preferred the Shanghai on many levels. That said, one area I was just at last week was Quin Huang Dao, 2 hours fast train on the coast from Beijing, a nice size city, a very nice area to the south is a small beach enclave for central govt party officials summer retreats and resorts. This city is where the Great Wall ends at the China sea, know as the Dragons Head.
This area is Beidahe, and its as nice as it gets in China, the streets are almost paved with gold, this is a exclusive areas with all the party elite. My wives father (Chinese) took us here for the weekend, and he has a summer beach house there in a condo development that has its own school in fact, just north between the two areas, in Xigangzhen...Yanshan Univerity is there, and the we walked the campus and its darn nice too, nightlife there is tame but friendly as well. Yanghekou is a new city on the sea just south. Then you have Tanjin, a much larger city that anything above, its so big now it almost connects to Beijing suburbs. Its a port city though, with many different areas to live. The seafront are in Binhai is very hip now and Bohai Bay...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beidaihe_District
I also like Shenzhen and Guangzhou area as its close to Hong Kong the weather is nice.
But if you just Google Tianjin, and then look at every city on the coast to Hong Kong, these are all huge cities in the millions of people and expanding at a rapid pace too. So you may think you are going to a city that is nice, but could be on the outskirts in a new school/development that is hour from anything nice or fun. Keep this in mind, there are towers and towers and towers of condos and new cities going up as far the eye can see in China, its just a sea of cranes everywhere there is a metro area....
Nanjing is a very lovely city rich in history, the old capital, the climate is nice and it has big old tree lines streets everywhere...good regional food too...
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