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 hostels in Beijing arrange day trips with a drop off in Jinshanling in the morning and pick up later in the day at Simatai, thus taking the worry out of arranging public transport. There is ... read more

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 unfortunate there are standing tickets as well! I booked a hard sleeper which consists of a 6 berth cabin arranged in 2 x 3 tier bunks and open to the corridor. As a larger foreigner it ... read more

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” schools and are given the “best” students. Competitions like this are of some importance in determining your “ranking”, other factors being your qualifications, experience and ongoing commitment to study. Conversely, if you are considered of “lower rank” you are often sent ... read more

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 is able to take photos one day, then give his subjects a copy the very next day. As you can imagine, they absolutely love this. Hans was here last summer to “scope” the place out ... read more

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 nearby Taicang, so it was a good excuse to get away and make contact before she returns to Oz in July. Jacque and I decided to keep things simple (and cheap!) and booked into the Suzhou International Youth ... read more