Volunteer Work and Teach Abroad Programs in China!

Eternal Spring:

	Kunming, China

Kunming - The The city is nicknamed "City of Eternal Spring" for its verdant, fragrant cloak of trees and plants.

Endowed with a pleasant climate, the city's 15,000 square kilometers of land is adorned with more than 400 kinds of flowers, and is world-famous for its abundance of camellias, orchids, azaleas and Primula malacoides. With summer high temperatures seldom higher than 25 C and winter low temperatures seldom lower than 15 C, the fresh air and sunshine of this "mile high" subtropical city are famous throughout China.

Among the major scenic areas around the city are Dianchi Lake, Cuihu Lake, the Village of Ethnic Culture, the Jindian (Golden Temple) Park, the Western Mountain Forest Reserve, the Stone Forest, the Jiuxiang Scenic Belt, the Yuantong Mountain, the Grand View Pavilion, and the Qiongzhu Temple.

Kunming is also a renowned historical and cultural center. In ancient times, it was an important gateway to the celebrated Silk Road which conducted to Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. Today, Kunming is the provincial capital of Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam to the south. At an elevation of 1,891m, the city is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with one side facing Dianchi Lake. Dianchi Lake is the 6th largest fresh water lake in China and has an area of 340 sq km. This "pearl of the high land" is over 40km (25 miles) in length and stretches magnificently from the southwest of Kunming into the Yunnan countryside.
Read more about Kunming here.

Americans first became familiar with Kunming when the American author and journalist Edgar Snow introduced Yunnan to the outside world through his book "South of the Clouds" in 1931. There are still many beautiful memories of Sino-American friendship left by US Army General Stillwell and the Allied Forces he led during World War II in this area. This is the site of the famous "Burma Road," which ended in Kunming after winding more than a thousand miles from northern India. There is a monument near the city today to the thousands who died creating this road -- which enabled the Allied Forces to supply China during the war with Japan, and prevented the slaughter of millions.

Yunnan Province is home to 25 minority nationalities -- comprising almost 50 percent of the total ethnic groups in China. With colorful costumes and fascinating dances and songs, these distinct societies carry on their own ways of living, and practice ancient traditions of their own cultures.

The Kunming Municipal Region Department of Education has requested English-speaking volunteers to provide a "Teaching the Teachers" program for their primary, secondary and post-secondary English teachers. This program was established in January, 2005 through the Sino American Society and Global Volunteers. Traditional Chinese teaching of English concentrates on grammar and writing needed to pass examinations. Now, American education is becoming more and more appealing.

Volunteers stay at the Golden Springs Hotel, near the heart of downtown, conveniently within walking distance of shopping, banks, parks, restaurants and other sight-seeing attractions. The hotel has a modern indoor hot springs swimming pool, with water naturaly warmed to 25 to 27 C, surrounded by exercise equipment and a sun deck.

Check dates for a service program in Kunming.

Read more about the service program fee and project arrangements. Learn more about Global Volunteers' China Program. Learn about our volunteer work programs in Xi'an, Haikou City and An Shang

Volunteer Work Abroad Programs were initiated through a partnership of the Haikou Municipal Education Bureau on Hainan Island, the Teachers Education University in Kun Ming, several university and secondary schools in Xi' An, and the Education Committee in An Shang Village, China and Global Volunteers, 375 E. Little Canada Rd. St. Paul, MN 55117 800-487-1074 © 2008
email: volunteerinchina@globalvolunteers.org
Volunteer In China