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Volunteer Locations: Su Zhou, Jiangsu Province

After the success of programs in Shanghai and Mian Yang, Travel to Teach's latest Chinese program is in the city of Su Zhou, in Jiangsu province on China's Eastern Coast.

Su Zhuo sits on the banks of the Yangtze River and was founded over 2500 years ago on a series of lakes, streams and marshes. Today water still covers over 40% of the city and Su Zhou is criss-crossed by a series of canals. Surrounded by traditional Ming and Qing dynasty homes and crossed by beautiful stone bridges these canals and the cities pagodas and classically designed gardens have made it a great tourist attraction and even earned it the nickname the Oriental Venice

However, Su Zhuo is also a rapidly developing city of over 5 million people and the result is a place of huge contrasts. Standing on one of Su Zhou’s many footbridges, volunteers can witness scenes of traditional Chinese life as gondolas coast between the white-walled and grey-roofed traditional Su Zhou-style houses; walk a few hundred meters though and you can find yourself in one of Chinese richest and most developed cities.

Volunteer Projects in Su Zhou

Volunteers will teach English at the Jiangsu Provincial Experimental Primary School: Founded in 1995, the school has grown considerably over the years and now has 33 teaching classes with nearly 1,400 pupils. The school, has gradually transformed itself into a distinct sci-tech educational center. Each class has about 40 students. Each lesson lasts for 40 minutes.

General Su Zhuo Information

Accommodation
Volunteers will share a flat in Su Zhou City. The flat is a 5 minute walk away from the school where volunteers will be teaching and each volunteer will have a bedroom with air conditioning. The volunteer flat also has a washing machine, hot shower and a TV.

Food
From Monday to Friday volunteers will receive 3 meals a day at their school. On weekends the volunteers are responsible for purchasing their own food. Like most Chinese cities there is a huge variety of food available in Su Zhou, ranging from street food at around 1 to 2 dollars, through to expensive restaurants.

Activities
There are historical sites all over Su Zhuo including the 2,500 year old Pan Gate, Xuanmiao, Cold Mountain and Huqiu Temples - all of which date back over 1500 years - the leaning Yunyan Pagoda and numerous other bridges, temples and pagodas dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are over 200 of the cities famous gardens including Lingering Garden, Humble Administrator's Garden and Lion Grove Garden which are all World Heritage Sites.
Other activities include walking the cities bustling back streets, the Tiger Hill and Panmen scenic areas and sitting in one of the cities hundreds of tea shops. Shanghai is only an hour and forty minutes away and makes an easy weekend trip.

Weather
Situated in a Temperate Zone the Su Zhou area enjoys a favorable geographical and ecological environment. The climate in the area is generally mild and warm, marked with the distinct changes of the four seasons. It is a common phenomenon that it is raining while the sun is shining. Rains of this type are generally called "plum rains".

How to get to Su Zhou
Su Zhou volunteers will initially arrive and receive their induction period at our programs in Shanghai before traveling North to Su Zhou. The journey takes around an hour and forty minutes.

Please visit our website for more information http://www.travel-to-teach.org or Email kerstin@travel-to-teach.org

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