Lianyungang   Aston

        



City:

Lianyungang is a small city nestled between the mountains and the sea in Jiangsu Province.  During the summer LYG is a popular site for Chinese tourists looking for fun in the sun and delicious seafood.

The city is divided into four districts: the most important two for foreign teachers are Xing Pu where the school is located and Xu Gou, which is by the sea.  The beach is easily reached by an 8 yuan / 45 minute bus ride, 30 minute taxi, or a 2 ? hour bike ride if you¡¯re up for some exercise.  

Within the city are Hua Guo Shan (Flower & Fruit Mountain ¨C home of the Monkey King), Green Park (a spacious area filled with older people practicing Tai Chi in the mornings), and Hai Zhou Gu Cheng (the older part of the city with ancient Chinese architecture and a small temple).  Outside the city are lots of mountains, little villages, and miles of beautiful countryside easily within reach if you have a bike or want to take a bus.

The city has a temperate climate getting down to around 0 degrees Celsius and a little snow in the winter and warming up nicely to 36 degrees in the sunny summertime with a cooling coastal breeze.  Although sometimes a bit breezy, fall and spring are beautiful times of year with warm weather and fewer tourists.  The consistent breeze keeps the air quality relatively high all year.

Lianyungang is big enough city to have all three major modes of transportation ¨C airplane, train, and bus.  There are daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing but most people here choose to travel by bus.  Shanghai and Qingdao are about seven hours away and there are other cities such as Nanjing and Suzhou within five hours.  Xuzhou, just to the west of Lianyungang, is a major rail junction in Eastern China with links and convenient overnight trains to locations throughout the country.

The local food here is delicious; fresh & cheap seafood, dumplings, noodles, and ¡®hot pot¡¯ are all abundant.  KFC, McDonalds, and a few Western style restaurants along with several coffee houses are close by for when you need to eat something you recognize.  There are also loads of grocery stores where you can usually find cheese and other western delights.

     


School:

The school is located on Hai Chang North Road in the center of the Xing Pu District.  There is a major walking / shopping street nearby where many people can be found wandering around at night during the warmer times of year.  Also, there¡¯s a small street just across the road where you can find quick / cheap snacks and all the western restaurants are within easy walking distance.  

          

It¡¯s a small school with three foreign teachers, ten part-time Chinese teachers, and about four hundred students.  There are also three beautiful, single girls working behind the front desk all week who are always willing to assist foreign teachers with any logistical issues they may have (bank accounts, booking travel plans, shopping, getting you out of a jam, etc).  They are also lots of fun to talk too and always happy to teach you Chinese or even come over your apartment to cook you a delicious Chinese meal.

We have extensive teaching resources and a comfortable Teacher¡¯s Lounge for our staff.  As with other Aston schools our goal is improving the speaking and listening skills of our students.  Our growth and development since our grand opening have been made possible by the quality in English education we are bringing to Lianyungang.

Internet access is available for free at the school seven days a week during office hours.  Also, there are plenty of internet cafes open 24 hours a day where you can watch movies, play computer games, or chat online (2 yuan per hour).


Apartments:

There are two spacious two-bedroom apartments for the foreign staff.  Both apartments are about a ten minute taxi ride (6 yuan) or bus ride (1 yuan) from the school.  If you have a bike it generally takes about fifteen minutes depending on traffic.

One of the apartments is a fourth floor walk up with a gorgeous view of the mountainside.  The other apartment is on the second floor nestled in the heart of a busy side street lined with street vendors and local culture.  There are many grocery stores, restaurants, and shops within walking distance of both apartments.