Dave Daily

I've been living in Dongguan, in the deep tropical south of China for the past two and a half years and though I've tried hard and had some good experiences here I just don't like it!

After much discussion Yolanda and I have decided to close down our training center here in Chang'an and move back up to Harbin. We're working on a post-Spring Festival departure date - and starting to get excited about the move.

The "Global Economic Crisis" has ripped the guts out of the manufacturing industries that we rely on for students here in Chang'an and business - which was lively a few months ago - is now but a memory. There's no one here. The once crowded streets, packed with workers from the nearby factories, mobile food sellers, trinket stands and all manner of singing and dancing are now silent and empty. Something like 60% of the 30,000+ workforce has been laid off and the rest are thinking about getting home for Spring Festival and whether or not they'll have jobs to come back to.

Yolanda has a great opportunity to get a government teaching job back in her home town, all her friends and family are back there and with the changes here it just doesn't seem worth staying.

So, back to Harbin. I've always considered it to be my Chinese home and for those of you who haven't had the chance to visit Harbin, it's a unique and vibrant city that's different from any other I've visited in China.

We're in the process of looking at a new business opportunity in Harbin that should prove interesting and hopefully lucrative that will get me away from teaching English - although that will probably be our initial source of income until the new project gets up and going.

It's going to be fun... and cold!