Yantai Aston

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Yantai is pleasantly breezy city overlooking the Liaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province (Google Earth: 37°32’01.29”N, 121°24’00.65”E). According to the Chinese State Statistics Bureau, Yantai ranks 33/50 economic power in China. It’s a modern, forward-thinking, and well-developed (and developing) place. Yantai is an ambitious city with big plans in the near future to increase trade with America, Japan, and particularly South Korea – and this can be illustrated by its huge, booming docklands.

Yantai has the usual range of restaurants and food styles you can expect to find anywhere in China, but it also has a rich supply of fresh sea food. There are also many Korean style restaurants and BBQs to be found here.

The main thoroughfare, Nan Da Jie, sports all the retail you could want, from high-end electronics and designer clothes to the low-end night markets. Most big supermarkets have a small western imports section as well.

Some of the sights to see include the Changyu wine museum, Peng Lai City – the fabled landing site of the Eight Immortals, and the many beaches and promenades and swimming areas that pepper the coastline. Nightlife consists of nightclubs, bars, outdoor BBQ, and the picturesque Chaoyang Street (commonly known as Bar Street). If that isn’t your thing – you can learn salsa dancing or tai chi on the promenade, or take a boat ride across the bay.

School

Yantai Aston English School opened in June 2008. The school is situated downtown in Zhifu district - a mixture of old and new architecture, away from the docklands main. The school design is new, modern, and clean. And, in keeping with Aston’s new design plan, there is a big screen LCD TV in the lobby for movie nights. Our teachers lounge is spacious and comfortable, with lockers, a microwave, and a new computer all in English.

The school is situated on the corner of Xi Nan He Lu and Bei Da Xi Jie, on the second floor – you can’t miss the signs. The surrounding area has many little side streets offering all sorts of things, from cheap street food to the occasional curio. Nan Da Jie (the main downtown street) is about a five minute walk from school, and Wal-Mart, KFC, and McDonalds are only about ten minutes away. Also within walking distance are the Yantai Shan Lighthouse Park and promenade, and Yu Huang Ding Park, two most relaxing locations.

Apartments

As Yantai Aston is pretty new, we only have two apartments for foreign staff. The teachers’ apartment is located in the heart of downtown – it’s only a 5-10 minute walk to Aston, Walmart, KFC, McDonalds, and a few coffee shops and tea houses. In the immediate neighborhood there are also supermarkets, outdoor markets, restaurants, shopping malls, shops, and plenty of street food. About a 15-20 minute walk up the main street there is a Parkson shopping mall where you can find shops, cinemas, restaurants, fast food places (including Pizza Hut and Ajisen Ramen), bowling, pool, and possibly the best supermarket in town – RT Mart. And, if you want to travel away from the city centre, there are plenty of buses heading in all directions.

The apartment itself is located on the fourth floor of a building slightly off the main street. There are two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and an area off one bedroom where you can store things or hang laundry. There’s plenty of closet and shelf space. In the kitchen there are two gas burners on the stove, a microwave, a large water bottle, a large fridge, and a washing machine.

The apartment for the foreign manager is also on the fourth floor, but not as centrally located. It’s about a 20 minute walk from Parkson, which is about another 20 minutes away from Aston. However, you can catch a bus that drops you in front of McDonalds (which is close to the school). Or you can catch a relatively cheap cab. The neighborhood is not far from downtown, but there isn’t much in the area except some restaurants, and a nice outdoor area, and market across the street.

This apartment has three rooms (though one is not really furnished). One bedroom has a bed, bureau, wardrobe, couch, TV, and an air conditioner/heater. There’s also a sunroom area for hanging up laundry. The other bedroom has a bed, coffee table, two arm chairs, a desk, and an air conditioner/heater. The kitchen and bathroom are equipped with the same things as the teachers’ apartment.

 

Resources

"Yantai" on Flickr "Yantai" on YouTube "Yantai" on Picasa Yantai City Guide

Top reasons to pick Yantai Aston

• Downtown location.
• Our proximity to the Jinan Aston Schools enables us to be a part of their on-going training and development that provides excellent practical advice and support to our teaching staff.
• Cheap cost of living.
• Hiking and camping possibilities abound in the surrounding mountains, and for the more adventurous the chance to partake in rock climbing and mountaineering trips.
• A perfect place to learn Chinese language and culture.
• Great air quality.
• Beautiful mountain ranges encircle the city.
• Jinan (5.5 hours) Seaside (5min) Qingdao (3.5hr)