The Great Wall is the single greatest tourist attraction in China, and to my mind one of the greatest in the whole of the world. After spending the best part of two days in some of the less developed parts of The Wall, I can honestly say it’s one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done. After hearing “horror” stories about the hordes of tourists and massive over- commercialization at Badaling, I decided to hike the section of wall between Simatai and Jinshanling. This is a popular choice for many backpackers as most of the cheaper accommodation houses and [View Full Entry]

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With so much to see and only five days in which to see it, I decided to concentrate on one major site each day. However, this day, the close proximity of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City to each other allowed me to experience both without spending hours crossing from one part of the city to another. First stop Tiananmen Square, symbolic and political heart of Beijing and site of numerous tumultuous events in relatively recent history. At first glance it appears to be a rather nondescript giant concrete public plaza, surrounded on three sides by austere soviet-inspired buildings with [View Full Entry]

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This week I decided to take a quick trip to Beijing before I start out on my “Great Southern Adventure” into Guanxi, Guizhou and of course, Yunnan. An additional reason to go now is to avoid the huge summer crowds and the oppressive summer heat that arrive in July and August. Beijing is an easy 13hr train ride that leaves Taizhou Railway Station at about 6.30pm at night and arrives in Beijing the next morning at about 7.30am. Really “painless”. Train tickets are offered in soft sleeper, hard sleeper, soft seat (not often available) and hard seat. For the really unfor [View Full Entry]

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It’s the end of term and I decided to take a few days off and slip away to Suzhou again. However, Suzhou City itself was not the main reason for this visit. Instead, I wanted to visit a small town only 18km away perched on the Eastern shores of Tai Hu (Tai Lake), the town of Tongli. Tongli is a very well preserved water township with a history of over 1000years. I had been told it was well worth exploring here rather than its bigger cousin Zhouzhuang, as it has a similar history and natural scenery but is much less crowded. [View Full Entry]

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This week Hans and I were given the opportunity to visit local primary schools in order to observe the annual English Teaching competitions. Each year, all over China, similar competitions are held in order to give Primary School teachers a chance to showcase their skills and abilities to peers, parents and authorities. This is an opportunity to really build your status as well as that of your school and also to share pedagogically what you have learned as a teaching professional. In China, teachers who are considered the “best” are given postings at the “best” scho [View Full Entry]

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My first term/semester at Taizhou Teachers College has simply flown by! It’s been an amazing experience and I have met some of the loveliest young people you could ever wish to meet. It is time to say “Good bye and catch you next year”. For my students, it’s just the end of the first chapter, so to speak, as they have yet to sit their term final exams for all other subjects. Some are also preparing for National English exams and other “self study” exams. I don’t know how they have the time (and space in their brains!) to do all [View Full Entry]

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My new colleague Hans (Schneider) has arrived a couple of months early in order to settle in before the start of the new school year in September. We hit it off immediately and have had a number of stimulating conversations about life, the universe and everything. In his first couple of weeks here he has made a big impression on the locals, especially due to his penchant for taking a myriad of photos of what many people here would probably consider mundane and of little interest. An added bonus is Hans brought his camera printer dock with him and so he [View Full Entry]

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All work and no play makes for a boring life, so it is good to know that there are extra curricular activities available on campus for the students to enjoy. Even better, most of the activities are organized and coordinated by the Student Union. In this populous nation of over 1.4 billion, it is easy to forget the importance of these opportunities for students to develop physical, cultural and social skills as well as their mental capacities in order to become well rounded citizens. The great emphasis on diligence in study and doing well in exams is partly in response to [View Full Entry]

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Suzhou is one of China's ancient water towns, and is probably Jiangsu's major tourist attraction. It is famous for its classical gardens, silk, freshwater pearls and beautiful women! In recent times, Suzhou is a popular alternative to Shanghai for international companies investing in hi-tech and light industrial manufacturing. It is about 21/2 hrs from Taizhou by bus, and only an hour by train from Shanghai. I had been looking forward to travelling to Suzhou for some weeks, but time and other commitments had prevented me from doing so. My friend and neighbour in Oz, Jacque, is teaching in n [View Full Entry]

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The weeks have flown by and it's time for a well-earned break. We worked all the previous weekend, so as to have 7 consecutive days off. The students were very excited, as many of them had planned to go home to see their families and friends for the first time since Spring Festival Holidays in early February. The first week of May is known as one of China's "Golden Weeks", the others being in the first week of October, and, of course, the Spring Festival in January/February. It is a time when a large proportion of the 1.4 billion inhabitants is [View Full Entry]

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