English Teacher in rural China
January - April 2006
In 2006, I taught ESL (English as a Second language) at a college in Liuzhou, Guangxi 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 4 different provinces: Nanjing, Wuhu (Anhui), Liuzhou (Guangxi) and lastly Shanghai.
Delter-Telford arranged for the teachers to stay on the Railway college campus in apartments, literally right next to the teaching block. I had wonderful colleagues and fellow adventurers. We bought bicycles and cycled in and around Liuzhou to explore rural China. I used this as a base to travel to scenic spots in Guangxi province, such as Nanning, Guilin, Yangshuo, and Longji rice terraces.
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| Fruit and veg vendor - Liuzhou (2006) |
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| Hong Guang bridge crossing the Liu river - Liuzhou |
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 kilometres.
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).
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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On top of Ma-An Shan (Horse Saddle mountain), with a beautiful view of Liuzhou city down below
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About Liuzhou
Liuzhou is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, of the People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban districts. Its total area is 18,777 km2 and 667 km2 for a built-up area. Liuzhou is located on the banks of the winding Liu River, approximately 255 km from Nanning, the regional capital. Swimming in the river is a tradition of the city. The river is normally green, but sometimes in summer, floods from the mountain areas upstream bring sediment which colors the water yellow.
Liuzhou has a history of more than 2,100 years. The city was founded in 111 B.C. (Wikipedia).
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| Rice paddies near Liuzhou |
Teaching in Liuzhou
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| Teaching and admin staff - Delter Telfort |
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| On the left our apartments, on the right the teaching block |
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| Railway College campus where Delter Telford was located |
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| The inside of my apartment |
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| Kids I taught for extra money |
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| Teens we taught on Sundays |
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| Staff Birthday party |
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| Selfie in class |
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| Business English students |
Exploring Liuzhou
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The Hong Guang Bridge crossing the Liu River into downtown central Liuzhou
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| Liuzhou park scenery |
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| Taking pics in Liuzhou park |
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| Enjoying the local cuisine - Liuzhou |
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| Exploring rural Liuzhou by bike |
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| Farmland - Rural Liuzhou |
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| Conchi with Chinese kids who were eager to engage |
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| Fish farm - Rural Liuzhou |
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| Farmhouse - Rural Liuzhou |
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| View of Daqiao park from a hill |
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| Hong Guang Bridge traffic - Liuzhou |
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| Less pleasant scenery - Liuzhou |
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| The day we bought our bikes - Liuzhou |
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| Misty Liu River - Liuzhou |
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| If you just can't take the local cuisine anymore |
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| Street food - He Ping Rd, Liuzhou |
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| Strawberry fields - Rural Liuzhou |
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| Washing line - Rural Liuzhou |
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| Hand water pump - rural Liuzhou |
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| Street food - He Ping Rd, near my apartment |
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| Liuzhou street scenery |
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| Moving 'truck' - Chinese style |
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| Tailor - Liuzhou |
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| Street barber - Liuzhou |
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| Liuzhou neighborhood |
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| Chinese chess - Liuzhou |
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| Railway line - Liuzhou |
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| He Ping Rd scenery - a road I often walked into town |
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| Street Barber - He Ping Road, Liuzhou |
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| At Dule park - Liuzhou |
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| At Dule park - Liuzhou |
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| Fishing - Dule Park |
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| Liuzhou specialty, quite spicy |
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| Liuzhou clothing store |
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| Walking trail - Pan Long Mountain Park |
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| Everything on a stick |
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| Liu River scenery - Liuzhou |
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| Supermarket - Liuzhou |
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| Cycling with Ron |
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| Liu river barges - Liuzhou |
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| Fruit and Veg stall at a market in He Ping Road - Liuzhou |
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| Fruit and veg scale |
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| Market during a monsoon rain shower |
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| Chickens (dead or alive) for sale at a market in He Ping Road - Liuzhou |
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| Skinning a chicken |
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| Fish for sale - Liuzhou market |
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| 'A train track runs through it' - Liuzhou |
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| At Dule Park |
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| Exploring rural Liuzhou per bike |
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| Exploring Liuzhou |
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| Climbing steps up a hill in Liuzhou |
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| On Yu-shan hill with Conchi |
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| Taking a bus with Ron and Conchi into town |
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| Flat tire - fortunately, a Chinese guy helped to fix |
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| More exploration around the outskirts of Liuzhou |
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| At Queshan park - Liuzhou |
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| A remnant of Communist-era - wall painting, Liuzhou |
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| Conchi cycling next to mattress delivery trike - Liuzhou |
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| Overload |
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| At a garden coffee-shop overlooking a lake - Also had a gym I sometimes used |
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| An area adjacent to Liu River - Liuzhou |
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The Hong Guang Bridge
crossing the Liu River into downtown central Liuzhou |
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The Hong Guang Bridge crossing the Liu River into downtown central Liuzhou
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| Downtown Liuzhou |
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| Everything can fit onto a Chinese bike |
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| Street food - Liuzhou |
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| Street food - Liuzhou |
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| Street restaurant - Liuzhou |
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| Noodle dish - Liuzhou |
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Cable car taking one up to Ma-An Shan Park...
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| ...... which could be a very daunting experience as one is not always sure how important safety is for the Chinese… |
Cycling in rural Guangxi
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| In action |
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| At a resting spot |
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| Rice paddy scenery |
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| Workers working in a rice paddy - Rural Guangxi |
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| Bull cart - Rural Guangxi |
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| With members of the Liuzhou Cycling Club |
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| Rice paddies - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Posing with locals - Liuzhou |
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| Village laborer - rural Guangxi |
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| Conchi in the streets of Liuzhou |
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| With fellow cycling club members taking a breather |
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| Rice paddy laborer |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Taking photo whilst cycling - Rural Guangxi |
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| Well-deserved hot lunch on a cold rainy day |
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| Public washing 'bath' - rural Guangxi |
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| In a dry river bed - At one of our stops |
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| Cycling through a village - Rural Guangxi |
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| Rice paddies - Rural Liuzhou |
After 4 months in Liuzhou, I moved to Shanghai where I had a very different experience and adventure...
Read more about my teaching experience in Shanghai.
Read more about my teaching experience in Shanghai.
