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元旦联欢会 - New Year's Eve

Whilst the New Year that we, and indeed most of the world, celebrate pales into insignificance when compared with 春节 Chinese New Year here, a group of our members were determined not to let that stop the revelry. So, to picturesque 阳朔 Yangshuo we went...
Continuing to organise things in the city will, hopefully, encourage others to do the same in the future and, although the Chinese seem pretty slow on the uptake, the foreign contingent has already put together a number of their own events. So, while I can't claim credit for organising this trip, I was really glad to be a part of it. Especially as last new year was a bit of a washout. In total, 11 of of us travelled to Yangshuo, a stunningly beautiful town set on the banks of the 漓江 Lijiang River, surrounded by amazing karst mountains.
I'd be lying if I said that drinking to excess wasn't on the agenda and Yangshuo doesn't disappoint. Well, actually, it disappoints if you're looking for tasteful or classy places to go. During the day, it masquerades as a quaint mountain town but, at night, it plays host to a multitude of bars and nightclubs. However, despite its worldwide reputation, the entertainment is still very much aimed at Chinese tourists and their tastes are somewhat different from ours, to put it diplomatically. That said, there are a lot of places to party packed closely together along pedestrianised streets, which is something that can't be said for Liuzhou.
Both nights out resulted in what the Chinese might describe as everyone managing to 吃喝玩乐, roughly "eat, drink and be merry". As with all the best parties, it's best to say that what happened in Yangshuo, stays in Yangshuo. But I'll put up a selection of (family friendly) photos and videos of the event for posterity's sake.
If you'd like to get involved, please contact us via email; whether you're living here or just visiting, we've got a whole community of people waiting to meet you. Also, if you're interested in living in a place like Liuzhou, which allows you to travel to nearby world-renowned destinations like Yangshuo, check out our Facebook page. As mentioned in a previous post, we have a new business in the pipeline and we look forward to welcoming some enthusiastic English teachers to our brand new school! Competitive salaries and a great working environment await.

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