Mt. Jingshan Park, Zhuhai - A Great Sunday Trip!

After 3 weeks spend in Zhuhai, I haven't really explored this city in personal yet. I normally work 10 hours per day, and spend my weekends outside Zhuhai. I therefore decided that it was time to stay a see what Zhuhai has on it's program. 

After another Saturday out having drinks with friends around here, we planned to use our Sunday hiking up a mountain to burn some calories, after lasts nights unhealthy dinner. The mountain is placed inside the Mt. Jingshan Park and leads hikers up to the famous Fisherman statue, looking down at his famous wife, The Fisher Girl, (Symbols of Zhuhai)   

View from the mountain - Half way up

In that fact that people are in different shapes, did we need to hike up the mountain slowly, which typically doesn't fit me, because I love physical exercises etc.. I took advantages of peoples bad shape and took some amazing pictures instead, meanwhile waiting for them.

The girls are posing for a picture - Close to the top

The girls caught us halfway up. Maybe they weren't in such bad shape anyway. 

The Zhuhai Fisherman - Looking for his Fishergirl

We finally reached the top of the mountain, after some beautiful 360 degrees panorama views on our way up the mountain. When we reached the top, we explored the famous Fisherman monument.     

The slide down the mountain 

Everybody was exhausted after the climb, which resulted in taking down the slide of the mountain. We used more than 2 hours climbing up the mountain, and only 5 minutes to come down :) 

This mountain in Mt. Jingshan Park is definitely a visit worth if you are planning to stay in Zhuhai for a while. 

This was another great experience as well. Next weeks trip is going Foshan, and I can't wait to blog about that next time. 

New country, new food

After two weeks in China, I already had some great experiences. One part of the Chinese culture is the great Chinese food. If you can't speak Chinese you should go to one of the numerous restaurants which have pictures on the menu, just to know what you're going to order.

But once you made it to order, it will be awesome!

New country, new food

One of China's specialties is salmon slices. You get them on ice and eat it like sushi with soy sauce.

New country, new food

One property at this salmon dinner is that you get everything of the salmon fish, when you order the slices. That means you will get the ordered filet slices and the rest of the fish fried as starter.

I'm really impressed of the amazing Chinese food I got until now and I'm really curious what I can discover in the remaining 6 weeks.

Weekend Trip To Shenzhen!

I have now spend nearly two weeks in China and I'm already about to fall in love with this place. The food, the cultural differences, the architecture and my job here.
As mentioned in my latest blog in here, will Zhuhai be my residence for the next 3 months. One of the benefits by living Zhuhai is that the city is geographically placed very well if you want to explore Southern China - So this is pretty much want we all do every weekend.

Last weekend we where a larger group, who decided to go to Shenzhen. The city is next to Hong Kong and only 1 hour away from Zhuhai by ferry, so we didn't need to use many hours on transportation.

Shenzhen is a major city in the Guangdong Provence with a total population around 15 million people. Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of its vibrant economy, because of a lot of foreign investments. I was therefore looking forward to explore this modern city.

Shenzhen's modern cityscape

When we arrived there in the evening, we went around those fascinating buildings and actually got lost because we where truly too much fascinated of this enormous city. 

Exploring Sea World square 

Next morning we went around the city, and discovered that the city actually has more than only tall skyscrapers on its program. The Sea World square is a new area, with inspiration for western buildings. 

Old sculpture in Splendid China Theme Park

After breakfast in Sea World area, we decided to go and explore some of China's history. The theme park, Splendid China is a park where China's history is visualised in a new and more fashionable way. 

Random selfie with Chinese people outside Splendid China

Splendid China, was definitely a good experience. The experience was not only supposed to be good for ourselves, in the matter of fact that a lot of Chinese people finds it pretty much attractive to have pictures together with foreigners, as in everywhere in China. 

After such a good experience in Shenzhen, can I not wait to blog about my next upcoming experience here in China. 

My first days in China

Hello everyone out there, my name is Tom and I'm a 19 years old male from Germany, currently studying for my undergraduate degree in Business Management and Sales at Heilbronn University.
I just started a marketing and sales internship at a outsourcing company called the ODM Group.
I'm staying in a shared apartment with two other interns from the UK in the south of Zhuhai, called Gongbei.

Sunrise over Zhuhai seen from my balcony

Arriving on Thursday I just had 5 days in Zhuhai, but I could already experience very much.
On Sunday, I went together with other interns from InternChina on a waterfall trip in the mountains outside of Zhuhai. Having around 35 degrees we went a little bit through the Chinese jungle and hiked up a mountain to the waterfall.

View from the mountain 

  It was totally worth it climbing the mountain

I'm really looking forward to the next 2 month here in China and can't wait to start working for the company and learning new skills.

The New Yuan Ming Palace - Zhuhai

After only one day spend here in Zhuhai, I planned to visit one of the city's biggest tourist attractions here, The New Yuan Ming Palace. This place is definitely a visit worth, and especially because it is located in relatively central in Zhuhai so you don't need to use hours on transportation. And about that, I really not needed hours of transportation this day, because we where a bigger group of interns here in Zhuhai who went out on bars the night before.
After a cold shower around 10:00-11:00 am my flat mates and I took the bus down to the palace to discover the place.

The Palace seen from outside

The palace is a smaller copy of a bigger one, which is placed in Beijing and even though, it still has around 10.000.000 visitors a year. The palace has beautiful surroundings as well with a huge lake and a mountain from where you can jump on cable cars and enjoy the view up. 

The view of Zhuhai from the cable cars up the mountain

After a cold beer and a break from the sun, we spend 40 RMB each so we could enjoy the view up the mountain next to the palace in cable cars. This trip was just simply amazing and breath taken in the same time, you barely forgot all about your hangover from yesterday. 

Hiking down the mountain

After a stunning view we decided to hike down all the way down, which was just as beautiful as the trip up the mountain, because we reached the sunset. 

This trip was really an amazing experience, and I'm really looking forward for new experiences like this within next 3 months in Zhuhai. 

 

我对珠海第一印象 My First Impressions of Zhuhai

Bordering the bright lights of Macau and nestled in the Pearl River Delta, the city of Zhuhai resembles the rivers namesake. A place where the international world of Macau can mix with Chinese sensibilities, to make a vibrant and exciting city. Renowned in China for being the most livable city, as voted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, it even managed to best Hong Kong in the rankings. No small feat for a city that was only founded in 1979, where it began as a one of the first Special Economic Zones due to the locations’ closeness to the then Portuguese colony of Macau. 

Though Guangdong’s summer temperatures can at times resemble the surface of the Sun, Zhuhai is blessed with sea breezes that keep the humidity at bay, yearly the temperature averages at 22^oC. Zhuhai is famous not only for its’ comfortable climate, but also for its’ fantastic eating and shopping options. Notably the Wet Market of Zhuhai is any food aficionados dream come true; while the Underground Shopping Centre beside the Main Railway station has fake branded items for all those who wish to look the part, but do not want to pay the full price. Furthermore are the International High-end Malls in the West of Zhuhai, where one can find the best shops, restaurants and bars that this fair city has to offer.
Although Zhuhai may not have the lights of Shanghai or the history of Beijing, it is a city of relaxed vibes with beautiful surrounding scenery, a fantastic environment of green trees and blue skies, and coastline that stretches for 690 kilometres.

Not a bad view for an afternoon stroll

Though I have only been in Zhuhai for a short amount of time, the calm and slow way of life here is peaceful compared to the hustle of the big three main cities. There is always plenty to do and see; and if boredom takes its toll then there is no better place to go than to the 146 tropical islands within the city and see a side of China that you couldn’t see from an armchair.

As for myself, I’m Vincent, 24 years old from the UK. I have spent the past year studying Mandarin in Guangzhou, where I had the opportunity to visit Zhuhai briefly on the way to Macau, in a foolhardy attempt to win my fortune. After concluding my studies, I wished to gain professional work experience whilst also being able to use my Chinese in a professional setting. It was thus I contacted InternChina, who put me in contact with The ODM Group. The ODM Group is an international outsourcing company, based in Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Singapore. This company would provide the perfect opportunity for me to learn from a group of high-calibre individuals, while also helping to advance the skills and abilities I already have.
I shall be in Zhuhai for the next six months, and I relish the opportunities and challenges that will come with it. After all who can complain with 22^oC average temperatures and the beach only a walk away.

Dragon Boat Weekend

This weekend I got the chance to witness the famous Dragon Boat Festival which takes place every year in China. The history behind this event is long and fascinating, dating back over 2000 years. In 278bc during the Warring States period, poet and minister, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in protest of the corruption going on at the time. The locals are said to have tried to save him by dropping balls of rice into the river in an attempt to make the fish eat the rice instead of him. This gave rise to both the dragon boat festival and zongzi, a traditional rice dish eaten at the day. 

Dragon Boat Weekend

A friend of mine found out about celebrations going on in Foshan which is located close to Zhuhai. A few of his Chinese coworkers offered to drive us around and take us to the festivities. We got there around 12 meaning that we had 2 hours to spare before it actually started. The Chinese coworkers took us to a local restaurant that had some interesting food. We were served chicken feet and head, frogs, and a lot of other things which I don't know it was. Might not have been the best meal I've had here but it was definitely one to remember!

Dragon Boat Weekend

Seeing the dragon boats compete against each other was really cool. I was surprised at how big they were. Some of them had at least 50 rowers. Unfortunately we had to catch the train back at 5 so we couldn't stay to watch the whole thing.