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Jiaxing
From Wikigogy
Asia : China : Zhejiang : Jiaxing
Contents |
Introduction
Jiaxing is a fairly industrial city of a couple of million people a bit over an hours drive south-west of Shanghai. It is roughly half way between Shanghai and Hangzhou, which is famous for its West Lake.
Jiaxing is rapidly developing and expanding, and is set to increase further with the commencement of the express train-line from Shanghai to Hangzhou).
Jiaxing is one of the lesser known cities in Zhejiang, but is relatively relaxed and well worth some exploration.
Schools
Schools in the area were roughly the same as the rest of China (so look after yourself and understand the cultural differences/expectations).
21st Century Foreign Language School
B has worked in a secondary school called 21st Century Foreign Language School in 2005. The head of the school is verging on retirement, so the entire atmosphere might change from B's experience. JB Worked at the School in 2006 and his brother and sister in law in 2007. The school is a great school to teach at and the staff and Children are very friendly. Accommodation of the School grounds has been upgraded and is generally for year 1 and 2 high school, is it middle school. Mr Hu, The Chairman has not retired and is easy to talk to. Classes were relatively small and I taught 16 classes of around 20 to 22 Children. The website can be accessed from the internet. While there I assisted at the Jiaxing college (see below) English Corner interacted with students and adult learners there. My impressions of Jiaxing were that it was a good town to live in and was close, 80 minutes by bus, to Shanghai.
Jiaxing College
Jiaxing College became Jiaxing University around 2007, and is the only university in Jiaxing. It's an easy 15 minute cab ride or bus ride from the centre of town, and the university's neighbourhood is full of local, friendly restaurants. The campus is quite pretty, with large swathes of open space and a lot of trees, and the sporting facilities are ok.
On-campus accomodation for foreign teachers is passable. University administration aren't known for their usefulness or for basic things liek showing a new foreign teacher where basic amenities (banks, shops, doctors) are, but this makes the whole process more fun, and the sense of achievement one gets from overcoming this minor barrier should not be understated. It is also best to avoid the university cafeteria, and stick with home cooking or many of the excellent options a short walk outside the university's gates.
The students at Jiaxing University are, on the whole, motivated and bright- being the only University in the city, it attracts a lot of hard working students who genuinely want to be there, which sets it apart from many other Chinese universities, especially those in larger cities.
I'd recommend this University for anyone who likes adventure and is content not to have everything handed to them on a platter. In some respects, being a little more remote than, for instance, working in Shanghai or Beijing, makes the experience more rewarding.
Life in Jiaxing
Jiaxing isn't a great city to travel to, but it's a really nice to place to live, a city the rewards exploration and patience. The locals are as friendly as anywhere in China, and though a foreigner will often be met with laowai cat calls, they are curious as opposed to hostile. Nan Hu (South lake) is a lovely place to stroll around, and the Mongolian restaurant on its shore is a brilliant place to eat some kebabs and drink yak's milk wine. The area around Jiaxing University is interesting and full of fun, cheap restaurants, and the downtown area has enough bars and shopping to keep most people happy. Jiaxing is a rapidly changing city full of character, and while the number of foreigners has increased in the city in recent years it's still a relatively off-the-beaten-track place, where one can experience 'the best of both worlds'.
Zhejiang is full of excellent travel opportunities. Suzhou and Hangzhou are rightly famous for their lakes, waterways and parks, while there are a number of ancient 'canal cities' in the province that make for excellent day trips. Jiaxing is only 2 hours from Shanghai by bus or train, while other largher cities like Ningbo and najing are also accessible.
Climate
Pack some (not much) Summer gear and lots of layers for Winter gear. It snows/sleets there in Winter and easily has -5 or 0 degree days (Celsius) for about 3 months. Summer can be sweltering and humid.
Tips
There's cheap and yummy Point-and-click food on Jiaxing college campus. Via the back (or side) gate and bridge - walk straight. There will be smooth paving and a courtyard (come car park) on your right. Walk through the car park. On your right you'll see a covered escalator (and ahead half a set of stairs which take you to the refectory). The escalator takes you straight up to the restaurant rumored to be cheffed (is that a verb?) by the same man of the best restaurant in town. As with every Chinese restaurant, you can ask for your own room!
Find a place in town called 'Milo Coffee' (pronounced /mi low ga fay/ or just /mi low/). The taxi man should know it if you say it the way they do. It has real coffee, private rooms, easy to understand menu and a very relaxing atmosphere. It's an absolute oasis after competing [sic] on the streets (or in the classroom).
The biggest shopping centre in town is called Da Ren Fa (/dar ren far/). It's like a supermarket and department store combined. Good shopping (ignore the stares they are just curious and bored).
Culture shock
Warning: this is a generalisation.
There seems to be three directions a 'lao wei' takes mentally after living in China (for at least a year without leaving).
1. The head swells and the person thinks they are far more important than they really are.
2. It gets to them and they become jaded or cynical.
3. The person stays away from the streets (a lot of car travel, etc) and remains oblivious.
Both these states come almost directly from being stared at. People are occasionally are stared at in the west, but generally most avoid eye contact with strangers. When the westerner steps out on the streets (in smaller places like Jiaxing) there are eyes looking at them from every direction. This can be unnerving.
