English Teacher in China
September 2005 - December 2005
In 2005, I taught ESL (English as a Second language) at the Traditional Chinese Medicine College in Wuhu, Anhui province, China for a 4 month period. I left South Africa in June of 2003 to go and teach ESL in Taiwan. I stayed for 18 months in Taiwan and then decided to experience mainland China too.
I stayed a period of 19 months in China, mainly working for one company called Delter-Telford International Business Institute. I was fortunate to move around China with Delter, staying and teaching in four different provinces: Nanjing, Wuhu (Anhui), Liuzhou (Guangxi) and lastly Shanghai.
Anne (Canadian) and I were the only expat teachers at the Chinese Medicine College in Wuhu. We lived on campus in small apartments just below the men’s hostel. We could eat our meals at the Cafeteria on campus, but after I ate dog meat accidentally, I tried other options. It was winter in Wuhu at that time and Anhui being an impoverished province, campus made for a sad and depressing scenery. I had wonderful students. I had a class of nurses who taught me to speak Chinese and took me on outings in and around Wuhu to do sightseeing. One of these trips they booked a mini cruise for us on the Yangtze River.
I also had a bicycle which I sometimes took out for a spin to take pictures of the countryside. Anne, an elderly lady, and I had a standing Saturday morning arrangement to go and eat at a restaurant in Wuhu.
I also had a bicycle which I sometimes took out for a spin to take pictures of the countryside. Anne, an elderly lady, and I had a standing Saturday morning arrangement to go and eat at a restaurant in Wuhu.
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| Wuhu street scenery |
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| Chinese chess - Wuhu |
About China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia. It’s the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing) and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). It also claims sovereignty over Taiwan. The country's major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Hong Kong. It covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers.
China is the world's second-largest state by land area and either the third- or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement. China has a vast and diverse landscape, ranging from the Gobi and Taklimakan Deserts in the arid north, to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir, and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia.
The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, respectively, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long (Wikipedia).
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| Wuhu Taxi tuk-Tuks |
About Wuhu
Wuhu (literally "Weedy Lake") is a prefecture-level city in south-eastern Anhui province, of China. Sitting on the south-east bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou, and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei to the northwest, Ma'anshan to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the east, and is approximately 90 km south-west of Nanjing. Its population was 3,545,067 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,264,539 in the built-up (or metro) area.
Wuhu is known to have been inhabited since at least 770 BCE. It became a strategically important town during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD) when it was controlled by the Eastern Wu. Under the Ming dynasty, Wuhu developed into a major commercial center and river port and since that time has been known as a center of the rice trade. The city is the second largest economy in Anhui, after Hefei, the provincial capital. In 2015, Wuhu’s GDP reached RMB 245.7 billion (Wikipedia).
Wuhu is known to have been inhabited since at least 770 BCE. It became a strategically important town during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD) when it was controlled by the Eastern Wu. Under the Ming dynasty, Wuhu developed into a major commercial center and river port and since that time has been known as a center of the rice trade. The city is the second largest economy in Anhui, after Hefei, the provincial capital. In 2015, Wuhu’s GDP reached RMB 245.7 billion (Wikipedia).
Teaching in Wuhu
Group photo - with my Business-English students
College campus
Men's hostel on floors above my apartment
Entrance to my apartment at the bottom floor of the male hostel
Garfield, Anne's cat
Campus scenery
The street where college is located
The opening ceremony of the new sports stadium - Wuhu
Campus show
Entrance to our offices
My students
Rex - one of my Chinese English teaching colleagues
Campus scenery
The main entrance to College
Campus scenery
With my students....I'm the only non-Chinese
May and Mary
Dinner at Anne's - Garfield on my lap
Campus activity
Exploring Wuhu city
Downtown Wuhu
Central shopping district - Wuhu
Central lake - Wuhu
Central park - Wuhu
Central park - Wuhu
Street market adjacent to Canal - Wuhu
Street market adjacent to Canal - Wuhu
Street market adjacent to Canal - Wuhu
Street vendor - Wuhu
Wuhu accommodation
Just the two of us
Wuhu streets
Wuhu streets
Rural China - near Liuzhou
Wuhu Fruit and veg market with fruit & veg garden
Wuhu streets near the port area
Wuhu lake restaurant flotillas
Wuhu cyclist
Charcoal delivery - Wuhu
Wuhu street scenery
Apartment block - Wuhu
Impoverished community - Wuhu
Impoverished community - Wuhu
Central park - Wuhu
Central shopping district - Wuhu
The Yangtze & Wuhu canals
Canal walkway/corniche
View of the surrounding area - taken from main Canal walkway/corniche
Canal walkway/corniche
Yangtze River barges - Wuhu
Yangtze River canal - Wuhu
Yangtze river boats - Wuhu port
Yangtze river boat - Wuhu port
Yangtze river boat - Wuhu port
Yangtze river community - Wuhu port
Yangtze river boats - Wuhu port
Canal scenery
Teaching in Wuhu
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| College campus |
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| Men's hostel on floors above my apartment |
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| Entrance to my apartment at the bottom floor of the male hostel |
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| Garfield, Anne's cat |
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| Campus scenery |
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| The street where college is located |
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| The opening ceremony of the new sports stadium - Wuhu |
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| Campus show |
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| Entrance to our offices |
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| My students |
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| Rex - one of my Chinese English teaching colleagues |
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| Campus scenery |
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| The main entrance to College |
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| Campus scenery |
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| With my students....I'm the only non-Chinese |
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| May and Mary |
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| Dinner at Anne's - Garfield on my lap |
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| Campus activity |
Exploring Wuhu city
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| Downtown Wuhu |
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| Central shopping district - Wuhu |
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| Central lake - Wuhu |
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| Central park - Wuhu |
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| Central park - Wuhu |
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| Street market adjacent to Canal - Wuhu |
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| Street market adjacent to Canal - Wuhu |
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| Street market adjacent to Canal - Wuhu |
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| Wuhu accommodation |
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| Just the two of us |
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| Wuhu streets |
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| Wuhu streets |
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| Rural China - near Liuzhou |
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| Wuhu Fruit and veg market with fruit & veg garden |
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| Wuhu streets near the port area |
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| Wuhu lake restaurant flotillas |
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| Wuhu cyclist |
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| Charcoal delivery - Wuhu |
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| Wuhu street scenery |
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| Apartment block - Wuhu |
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| Impoverished community - Wuhu |
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| Impoverished community - Wuhu |
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| Central park - Wuhu |
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| Central shopping district - Wuhu |
The Yangtze & Wuhu canals
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| View of the surrounding area - taken from main Canal walkway/corniche |
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| Canal walkway/corniche |
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| Yangtze River canal - Wuhu |
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| Yangtze river boats - Wuhu port |
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| Yangtze river boat - Wuhu port |
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| Yangtze river boat - Wuhu port |
Main canal - Wuhu
Main canal
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal scenery - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal boat cook - Wuhu
Main canal - Wuhu
Main canal - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal boat - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Canal boats - Wuhu
Outings with Students
Two of my students on a boat we took for a cruise on the Yangtze
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| Main canal |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal scenery - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal boat cook - Wuhu |
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| Main canal - Wuhu |
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| Main canal - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal boat - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
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| Canal boats - Wuhu |
Outings with Students
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| Sunset on the Yangtze - near Wuhu |
Bitterly cold
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| My students |
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| On the banks of the Yangtze |
Xuancheng
About Xuancheng
Xuancheng is a city in the southeast of Anhui province which was founded in 109 BCE. It has Xuancheng has over 2,000 years of history. It is located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta, and it borders Wuhu to the northwest, Chizhou to the west, Huangshan to the southwest, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu to the southeast and northeast respectively (Wikipedia).
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| Xuancheng - Street market |
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| Xuancheng - Street scene |
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| Xuancheng - Street scene |
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| Xuancheng - Street scene |
