Blogs from Anhui, China, Asia

Actually, I haven’t learnt a whole lot about education but having talked to the teachers there there are some interesting facts. Our experience has been in private language schools, and there are some common threads. Most of the teachers are women, young, in their twenties. It seems that all of the private language schools have cctv in the classrooms, and the parents can watch what goes on from the reception area. The grandparents are the worst, asking why the teacher isn’t asking their offspring more questions or showing them more attention. Kids learn English in school but the lessons are very boring and the teachers use Chinese all the time, probably due to their own level of English. They do sport, football, badminton, table tennis, volleyball, but after school the emphasis is on homework and they ... read more

So today I checked out of the hotel and expected to be able to get a taxi from the concierge, no problem. I had to go to Shanghai Train Station, not the one I arrived at near the airport, thankfully, as this one was really near where I was staying, It almost looked walkable, but with my luggage and the heat I decided against it. A wise move. But getting a taxi wasn’t easy. They looked a bit abashed and said it could take 20 minutes. There were others also waiting. Luckily I’d allowed loads of time. After 20minutes the guy said he’d ordered me an uber instead, or the Chinese version of it, and I paid him (20RMB) and he gave me a receipt, so I didn’t have to pay the taxi directly. Fine by ... read more

Another early start as I was off to another UNESCO World heritage Village today, the village of Xidi. I headed back to the bus station to get the 8 am bus. I was going to take the official bus today, as the minivans don't run to Xidi, but drop you on the main road, which is about a 3 km walk away from the village. Some bloke found out the hard way in the mini van the day before. The bus journey wasn't too long and it felt really quick. We were at Xidi before I knew it. The village seemed pretty quiet as there were only a couple of tour groups there that early. I headed to the ticket office and bought my ticket. It was 104 RMB, the same price as the ticket for ... read more

Mount Huangshan – Yellow Mountain I’ve written this as we were looking for information to help plan our trip to Huangshan Mountain and couldn’t find enough to give us a clear view of what is possible in a day especially relating to the trekking route. We wanted to go up and down the mountain in one day as time was short. Key for us was maximising the walking time and keeping costs low. This is more factual than painting a picture of the mountain views etc. For some background, we’re two 27 year olds from London. Both have done walking trips before but would be no means far above beginner in terms of walking ability. We both keep fairly active and fit in normal life. We visited mid April 2017. It’s tough to predict the weather, ... read more

Je survolerai Hangzhou où nous avons passé quelques jours. Je retiendrai cependant les brochettes d'araignée de mer, la beauté du Lac de l'Ouest -immense tâche bleue que l'on a sillonnée à vélo et à pied- ainsi que notre hôte, Zhenan. Zhenan a une bonne vingtaine d'années, et a accepté de nous héberger Alexis et moi, via couchsurfing. Pour ceux qui l'ignorent, couchsurfing est un site mettant en relation des voyageurs ayant besoin d'un logement pour une nuit ou plus, et des gens prêts à les héberger. Le tout est gratuit, et fonctionne sur le principe de l'échange, les hôtes sont très souvent des voyageurs "à terre"; généralement les deux parties échangent des histoires de voyages, des projets, des conseils etc. Zhenan lui, était quelque peu différent de mes hôtes précédents. Son appart notamment, était assez spécial ... read more

Today’s stop was in Hongcun Village, which is one of many “ancient villages” throughout China that have been protected by the government as historic zones. Hongcun Village is one of many in the Huangshan Mountain area. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was another location for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Hongcun is small, but has over 140 dwellings that date from as far back as the 14th Century. Many are considered among the best examples of architecture of their eras. The Village is a draw for artists. The day I visited, student artists sat throughout the village working on pieces. It’s picturesque, but also suffers from one of the major Western influences on China. The Village is more a tourist site than village at this point. There’s about a $10 admission charge to enter ... read more