Dongguan Hanlin Experimental School

Dongguan Hanlin Experimental School

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Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China

(Wangjiang District)

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The nearest airports are in Guangzhou (90 minutes by bus) and Shenzhen (60 minutes by bus).  Hong Kong can also be an option (about 3 hours by bus).  Dongguan is also a regional railway hub with service from Dongguan Railway Station

 

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Lunch and dinner are available for 12 RMB each

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Currently 2 teachers in the High School program, 2 in Junior High, and another 14 in the Elementary school program

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Elementary: 9-12 hours of classes per week of ESL

Junior High: ESL, Writing, and Literature

High School: Writing, Literature, and US History.

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Dongguan Hanlin Experimental School is located on the outskirts of Dongguan city.  The main campus has approximately 9000 students and our program is located in two dedicated buildings near the east side.  The athletic facilities boast large playing fields along with basketball and tennis courts.  A unique feature of the campus are rows of small, air-conditioned piano rooms available for the students to practice.

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The apartments are located about 1 mile from the campus and are closer to the center of town.  The apartments are in a large, modern complex in a quiet area of town.  They are single person apartments with a living room, bedroom kitchen, and bathroom.  Facilities include basics like a washing machine, furniture for the living room and bedroom, and a microwave oven and fridge in the kitchen.

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Off Campus

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Both the school and especially the apartments are fairly close to the downtown area, with access to Walmart, Carrefour, Starbucks, physical fitness clubs, restaurants etc.  These are a 10-minute taxi from the apartments and 15mins. from the school.  They are also near both of the main bus stations with access to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.

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Dongguan is in the south, located between Guangzhou (about an hour away by bus) and Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong.  To get to Hong Kong takes about three hours, including the time it takes to pass through immigration, so a weekend getaway is totally do-able. Dongguan is also about an hour away from the beach.  The bus services are excellent within the city and to nearby cities.  The underground is expanding but doesn’t fully connect the suburbs yet.  There is no airport in Dongguan, but both Shenzhen and Guangzhou have international airports with easy access to Dongguan by bus.

 

The city is an industrial one, but you’d hardly notice.  Trees, shrubs, plants and flowers abound, with many beautiful rivers and lakes.  The scenery is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in China (and I’ve travelled extensively).  

 

Dongguan is highly populated but because it is such a big area, the streets, parks and malls are much less crowded than most other cities in China. This is a definite plus.

 

Pollution still exists, but is much lower than most Chinese industrial areas.

 

Winter never really arrives in Dongguan and it alternates between warm and very hot, with a humid, sub tropical environment with summer rainfall.

 

There is a huge expat community here, which means that you have a fantastic support base.  As most expats rarely have family in China, other foreigners (and especially the foreigners at our school) become surrogate family. 

 

There is so much to do here!  An expat magazine called Here! is published monthly which gives up to date information on everything a foreigner needs to know: places to go, services available, things to do, as well as interesting and helpful articles.

 

There are many places where you can buy western food and goods.  Foreign restaurants abound.  Culinary options include Irish, Brazilian, English, German, Italian, Indian, Thai and many more.  Because Dongguan has a large migrant population, food from all the Chinese provinces is also readily available. 

 

Pubs include western and Chinese drinks and often have live music, both western and Chinese.  One pub has a pool (a godsend in summer).  Many of the pubs and restaurants are foreign owned.  There are many clubs available too. 

 

There is a huge selection of cultural places to visit too, including the beautiful, massive parks, Chinese opera shows, ballet, museums, art galleries and many more.

 

You can take up a variety of classes, including pottery, painting, kung fu, tai chi, jewelry making, cooking, dancing (both Chinese and Latin American), music, yoga and so many more.  At the school, we offer free Mandarin lessons to our teachers.  In the south, Cantonese is the local dialect but because Dongguan has such a large migrant population, Mandarin is more often heard and spoken.  Almost everyone speaks Mandarin, even if their local dialect is different.

 

Monday night for our female teachers is Spa night, where, for a measly 90 RMB, we enjoy a sauna, steam room and massage.  Dinner is also included in the price.  Other treatments in Dongguan include cupping, acupuncture and other traditional techniques, gel nails, lazar hair removal and excellent hairdressers (both Chinese and western). 

 

Dentistry in China is really cheap and professional.  Plastic surgery is also very cheap (although you only want to go to reputable surgeries).  Hospitals are very efficient and the quality of doctors and nurses is very high in the bigger hospitals.  Traditional Chinese healers are also available.  There is a western doctor operating in Dongguan as well.

 

Some of our teachers have formed a meditation group which meets every Tuesday night.  Two of our team members are spiritual teachers and Reiki practitioners, with combined experience of over 15 years.  Together with our spa night on Monday, the meditation begins our week on a nicely grounded and positive note.

 

We have a lunch club and teachers often get together to eat, but on Wednesdays most of the teachers gather at a restaurant we’ve dubbed ‘The Hotel’ (even though it’s not one).  The food is delicious and we all look forward to it each week.  The cost per person usually comes to about 30 RMB.  Across from the school is a great little outdoor restaurant which serves fried rice, noodles, boiled or fried dumplings and other good food for between 5 and 10 RMB.  The school also has a couple of canteens where you can choose between Chinese or Korean food.  The food is really good and you have a buffet to choose from.  Food is about 12 RMB.  All meals are available to our teachers.