When talking about Guizhou, what comes to your mind first?  Guizhou, in the impression of most people, is actually a vague concept compared to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen etc. In fact, Guizhou is definitely a place worth visiting and working. Rapid development, beautiful natural scenery, distinctive local cuisine......Nik, as one of our teachers at MGTS who is working in Guiyang, Guizhou, hired by recruiter Jennifer, shared something from Guiyang and his experience there. Let's have a look at his article together!

Guizhou is a beautiful city with many things to do, especially for those who love to be outside, we have fresh air year round. Also because it is being surrounded by mountains, it is safe from most natural disasters.  Below I will highlight some of the city's in Guizhou, as well as some of the food and even a school.  Guizhou is a melting pot of Chinese heritage with many minority cultures living here.

Anshun: Is a beautiful city and is home to a massive waterfall in China called Huangguoshu. It is a real wonder of the world and must see if you are in China. Anshun is also home to Dragon Palace which is a cave you can kayak through and be mesmerized by the crystal clear water and rock formations.

Tongren:  Once again Tongren is a place for those who love the outdoors it has an UNESCO world heritage site named Mount Fanjingshan which is a sacred mountain for Buddhists.

Guiyang: Lastly we have the city I have called home for the last 2 years and will continue to do so for many years to come. Guiyang is a major city of western China but it still has managed to keep most of its charm which can be seen in most places away from downtown. Some must see places in Guiyang are Qingyan Old Town and Qianling park. Qingyan Old Town is a great place to explore what an old fort town looked like and has lots of great shops and food. Qianling park is a beautiful mountain park that has monkeys walking around, a Buddhist temple and even a zoo at the top.

Food: The food in Guizhou is great especially for those who like spicy or sour. Some of the specialty food here are sour fish hotpot, sheep noodles and dried meat. It is hard to explain the food as it has a unique sour and spicy blend but it has definitely become one of my favorite cities in China for food.

My working Experience:  I have been lucky to work at this school in Guiyang now for some time, and have learned a lot. It is the top primary school in Guizhou province as well as having a leading experimental English program which allows teachers to teach various subjects in a semester. This has been the first school I have been at in China where everyone is helpful and willing to help you succeed. All the co-teachers I have worked with are remarkable and just a joy to be around. At times it can feel like a lot of work but it is work you can enjoy and want to put effort into.  The classes offered at this school allow more teacher inout and allow you to teach the way you find most suitable for your current class. While you have tasks that need to be completed in each unit it allows for wiggle room in how you decide to do it, from posters, videos, group work, etc. The overall environment in this school is completely positive from having a principle that wants to talk to you to the co-teachers always helping any way they can. There has never been a moment where I felt like no one had time for me. As for the foreign staff, it is a good group of people who get along and enjoy doing stuff during and after working hours.

Final Thoughts: While Guizhou isn’s a hotspot for expats it truly is a wonderful and remarkable city.