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“there are several happy and sweet moments … singing on the bus, playing with monkeys, funny games in the birthday party, having meals together and talk etc.”

Helen Li

GZ 8

When I received the phone call from Sarah I was very excited because I got the lucky draw of TRT trip to Zhangjiajie! In a month, I would be able to travel in Zhangjiajie with EF teachers from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen!

The trip was well-organized. The organizers had made a detailed schedule from which we were clear about the places we were going and hotels we were going to stay. We  got the names and phone numbers from e-mail and we had got we-chat .

Zhangjiajie is a beautiful and famous senic spot in Hunan Province. During the four days, we visited  the most famous places such as Tianmen Cave, Wuling Yuan, Yangjiajie etc. Although the weather was not pretty enough, we could see amazing mountains in foggy weather. The waterfalls in the Grand Canyon is really nice.

I think the most meaningful and wonderful thing of the trip is that I get the chance to meet teachers from different countries and cities. We share the same experience and there are several happy and sweet moments that I’ll recall  in the future — singing on the bus, playing with monkeys, funny games in the birthday party, having meals together and talk etc.

I feel lucky to be one member in EF big family. Thanks a lot for those who supports me this trip.

“I would go back, just for the monkeys.”   

Karen Edes

BJ 4

I loved our trip to Zhang Jia Jie.  It was my first chance to get away from Beijing since moving to China.  The mountains were beautiful.  Our first day going up the mountain in the cable car was and coming out of the clouds into the sunlight was like breaking free.  My favorite part was the monkeys.  They were soooo cute.  I would go back, just for the monkeys.

Chris Gray

Shenzhen Operations Teacher

“We are lost” said Steve.

“I know exactly where we are! “ I replied, fingers crossed behind my back. The early morning quiet of Day 4 had only me and Steve in the forest. Wet leaves dripping, birdsong and green, green, green was all around us.

Steve gave me a long, hard, laconic Australian stare. “So… where are we then, smarty-pants?” he retorted.  A monkey with a bright pink bottom came out of the forest, walked past me and jumped up onto the footpath railing that was above my head, the gradient of the steps up this mountain was that steep. He gave me a long, hard, milk-brown eyed monkey stare, and like Steve, waited for my answer.

“We came down through here on the Day 2. Do you remember? We couldn’t see anything. The fog was so thick that we were only 20 metres away from the Hallelujah Mountain and we could hardly see it. Only 2-300 steps to go and we will be at the top”. Steve nodded his head “Yeah, even though we couldn’t see it, the mountain was still amazing. Like a huge ball floating in the fog”.

I was quite glad of the fog on Day 2 as I am not the happiest person in the world when it comes to speed, heights and taking a risk. My idea of taking a risk is castling on the Queen side in a game of chess.  One year EF took us to the local amusement park at Windows of the World in Shenzhen for team building.  Yumei, my DOS at the time, shares my aversion to speed and heights so when everyone else went on the Giant Rollercoaster we went on the children’s Magic Roundabout. We had horses next to each other, held hands and shut our eyes. We went round and round until it stopped. We still talk about it.

So on Day 2 we had gone up by cable car through a whiteout to the plateau that horse-shoes the monolithic karsts. Safe in a cocoon of endless white, I was unable to see how high we were and so quite happily munched my Snickers bar until we got off. The mind is a curious thing.

Day 1 had been a different matter. On Day 1 we had cable- car-ed over 7km to the top of Tianmen Mountain. Awesome as that ride was, only part of it was in fog and so for most of the 30 minutes I knew EXACTLY how high up I was! But on that day we had passed through a blanket of fog at 1000m and emerged into radiant sunshine.  The paths around the top of the mountain where as if floating on a white cotton sea, lit with rainbows and the sun and the shy face of the moon.  Unable to see the 1500m sheer drop, I even braved the Glass Skywalk.

The cave “Heaven’s Door” at over 60m high was incredible, then down the “Stairway of Heaven” steps, some of the steepest and longest stairs I have ever encountered in China to view the “99 Bends”. Down these by bus to the bottom of the mountain and then for lunch. Day 3 had us in Yangjiajie Scenic Area, a canyon of untouched Tolkein-esque beauty, waterfalls and white headed, electric blue tailed finches.

“I know where we are, Steve” I said. “We aren’t at work. We’re in heaven. This is what heaven looks like”. When we got to the top and the sun was out and we took millions of pictures of Zhangjhajie and put them on WeChat. We found a woman cooking spicy potatoes and spicy  tofu Hunan style so we ordered 2 serves each. The woman had cold beer. Steve found a hammock, kicked off his boots, ate his lunch sank into his hammock and sank his beer. The woman brought him another.

“I think you’re right” he said.

“It’s great to interact and meet new people, hear their stories.”

Roy Kouchakgi

Shanghai Online Teaching Centre

This was a trip of a lifetime. The city of Zhangjiajie is home to the mountains that inspired the movie Avatar and these mountains are truly something to see with your own eyes. The movie is beautiful, but doesn’t do this place justice.

From longest-in-the-world cable cars up, to 7 super-long escalators down; from glass walkways and zip-lining across, to ski-lifts even higher up, and fast slides down, this place has it all. The sheer beauty of the natural surroundings is something to take in, soak up, and bask in. It’s a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of any major city here in China.

Going on this trip gave us all the opportunity to make new friends from both Centers in our city and out. I met teachers from my city I hadn’t met before and instantly clicked with; I met teachers from other cities who both arrived recently and have been here just as long as me, if not longer. It’s great to interact and meet new people, hear their stories. At times, we forget about this path that we’re on whilst abroad; it’s refreshing to meet people still on this path, thirsty for more adventures.

This was truly a great experience seeing what we saw and making connections with people and nature.

“It’s was great to meet such an amazing group of people.”

Stephen Kelly

GZ JNX

This was one of the best trips I’ve done in China. It’s was great to meet such an amazing group of people and I really loved my surprise birthday party. I’m sorry that the weather was not in favour for you guys but I hope to meet you all back up again some time. Enjoy your time in China because there really is some awesome places, people and experiences in this country. Think of this whenever you have a “china day”.