My love affair with China began in the summer of 2009 when I came to the country for the first time as a wide-eyed twenty something. That first spell of English language teaching in Beijing was an incredible experience. Moreover, the time I spent on the road exploring the country served up some of my best ever travel memories.

I ended up doing two years in the Chinese capital. Let’s make no bones about it, living and working in China was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. In fact, I’d say you haven’t fully understood the term culture shock until you come here.

Nevertheless, if you put in the time and effort and learn to take setbacks with good humour, China can be one of the most rewarding places on earth to work and travel.

In 2017 I took on another teaching job in China, this time in the wildcard location of Ruian in Zhejiang Province. It was during this two year period that I made a much larger dent in the country, visiting countless cities, towns and villages.

I was even lucky enough to make it to some isolated regions that few foreigners get to see. As a result, I now have a vast library of travel articles to share. To find out more, why not visit China through my travel reports on:

Tianjin (coming soon!)

Shandong Province

Beijing

Harbin (coming soon!)

Pingyao (coming soon!)

Xian (coming soon!)

Guangxi Autonomous Region

Hong Kong (coming soon!)

The Great Wall of China (coming soon!)

Liaoning Province (coming soon!)

Snippets of China’s Unloved Northeast (coming soon!)

Chengdu (coming soon!)

Zhejiang Province

Fujian Province

Macau

Shenzhen (coming soon!)

Jiangsu Province

Shanghai 

I’ve also penned a series of short stories about my first year living in the country:

 Challenged In China!

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Check out the Leighton Travels interview on Ericotrips.