Hey All,
I got an ESL job in Gejiu for the year. I would love some insight from other people who have lived/been in Gejiu. Are there any dance schools/gyms/places to bike? Is there a decent bike shop where I could BUY a bike? How easy is it to be social in Gejiu? Is the dialect very different from Kunminghua?
I am also interested in travel ideas, especially ones that involve biking. I would love to hear about trips that go up, down, or across Yunnan. I'll have a residence permit, so I'm not sure if I want to cross borders or not. It almost feels like it might be faster to bike to Kunming than take a bus...what do you think?
Hai Mei
I have never lived in Gejiu, it is one of the few cities I have never even stayed in. However, a few thoughts.
Depending on the hours you will be working, I would consider actually living in Mengzi, now less than one hour away through the tunnel. Plenty of modern apartments and an overall much cleaner city: the honour of being the administrative center of Honghe was taken away from Gejiu a few years ago as the city had run out of space to expand.
Directly around Gejiu you have more a history of heavy industry with the population overwhelmingly Han Chinese. The immediate vicinity of Gejiu and indeed the city itself is still dominated by grimy mining operations with most likely effects on air and water pollution. Sitting in a very small depression where air gets easily trapped certainly does not help.
However, the situation changes completely once you cross the Red River, which is, by bus, only about an hour away. However, from a biking perspective this much further away: the direct route now goes through a long tunnel and then almost a mile down. Then it is another mile up to the more interesting minority areas. North of Gejiu is a succession of plains with the cities of Shiping, Jianshui and Mengzi, all more pleasant than Gejiu and easy to reach.
Transport: eventually the new expressway connecting Kaiyuan and Mile to Kunming will open, which will cut journey times from Gejiu to Kunming to about four hours. The railway from Mengzi to Yuxi was supposed to open this November, but there were still sections unfinished a few weeks ago. Again, once it opens, transport to Kunming will become more convenient.
Overall, I would say that Gejiu would not be in top 100 places to live in Yunnan.
The only obvious suggestion is for any prospective teacher to do their research BEFORE they are appointed.
Find out if the school has a curfew, this is common in smaller cities. Sometimes the gates are locked at about 9pm and no one gets in or out (even staff) after that. Sometimes access is limited during teaching hours as well.
Thank you Dazzer-I wasn't looking for criticism. I really am looking for the positive aspects of the city. Also, if no one wants to go there, it is clearly a school that needs teachers!
I am interested in learning if any one has spent time in Gejiu and what they have done there. There seems to be very little information in books and on the web :)
Hi,
Please PM me with your number if you want to know something about Gejiu, don't have time to type any descriptions...
"Is the dialect very different from Kunminghua?"
Yes, it will be different from Kunminghua. But don't worry too much about the dialect. Honghe Prefecture has Hanizu parts and Yizu parts. You will encounter a mix. But the actual local speech may very well be different in every valley.
Enough Han are there that you will find plenty of Putonghua spoken. Plus 98% of your friends will speak it as a second language, regardless of their minority ethnicity.
"Are there any dance schools/gyms/places to bike?"
There will be a gym and there will be places to bike. You will also find bike shops. Some gyms will have "dance-aerobic" type classes.
Best bet for dance, however, is to get out to one of the town squares in the evening and practice with the locals. Fun as well as a great, informal way to make friends. Everybody goes: young, old, male, female.
Thanks so much! I was hoping that there would be dancing in the squares...That is my favorite type.
Don't worry about the dialect,you can talk with the locals in Putong hua.Gejiu is a small city,but you can find many things are the same between the Kunming and it,including the gyms\ square\dance room,and so on.
If you want to buy a bike or travel by bike,i can give you a number.
0873-6807131.This is a professional bike shop in Gejiu,it calls"Gejiu zhi dian che hang(bike shop),such as mountain bike\highway vehicle.Also if you want to know any information about travel in Gejiu or the border areas,they can give you suggestion.
Gejiu is my hometown,when i was 2 years old,i moved to Kunming with my parents,but many relatives there.And i'm a mountain biker,so i have contacted the bike shop.
If you need more information, i think i can give you my cousin's number or email,he is a high school student.
Good luck.
