Are you looking to experience a totally different culture and country? China offers a fantastic immersion experience where you can challenge yourself to do new things and integrate into the Far East. Find your perfect experience today.
Paid Work, Volunteering & Backpacker Trips in China
Beijing to Tokyo Tour
• 16 days
• Price from £3,749
China Adventure
• 12 days
• Price from £tbc
China Express
• 8 days
• £1,049
Gap Years and Backpacking in China
Part of China’s appeal is that it isn’t just a modern country. It boasts thousands of years of cultural heritage, and evidence of its history can invariably be found even as new skyscrapers and shopping complexes rise up around them.
Right in the heart of Beijing there’s the Forbidden City, China’s best preserved palace buildings, and once home to two dynasties of emperors. Exploring the hutongs, the extensive old neighbourhoods of the city, you’ll find a sense of the traditional communities that take a more relaxed view of the world. But it’s worth noting that China is rapidly building over these traditional neighbourhoods, and that there is always going to be a time limit for seeing the past before the future overtakes it.
Outside Beijing you can see the famous Terracotta warriors in Xi’an, hike the Great Wall, explore bustling modern cities or go on an adventure to bike the Silk Road. If you want to travel, go backpacking, volunteer, work, study or book an adventure our website can help you plan a dream trip to China.
China Gap Year Ideas
From studying Chinese, volunteering, to living and working in places like Beijing and Shanghai, there are so many incredible programs available. These are some of the most popular things to do when backpacking or travelling to China:
• Teach English – live and work in China and get paid
• Volunteer – make a difference to communities, wildlife and the environment
• Travel – go backpacking or book a tour and discover the best locations in the country
• Study Chinese – local language schools offer Mandarin and Cantonese classes to foreign students
Featured Destination
Work in China
Thousands of foreigners work in China every year and there are so many gap year jobs available here. From professional careers and teaching to internship and work experience placements, there is a lot of variety. One of the popular popular ways to live in China is by au pairing or teaching English. Schools and recruiters hire foreign au pairs and language teachers to work throughout the country in places like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Volunteer in China
Are you open to a totally unique and incredible experience? Apply to join a volunteering program in China. This is a popular way to spend a gap year and there are lots of placements available to foreigners and English speakers.
You can join community, sports, educational and also wildlife conservation projects. We highly recommend apply to volunteer with pandas, there are projects setup in places like Chengdu which allow foreigners to participate and conserve these beautiful animals.
Teach English in China
China is becoming an increasingly popular country to teach English. In recent years, the pay and benefits you receive has improved dramatically. Big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen now rival countries like South Korea in terms of salaries.
You could take a TEFL course which provides you with the necessary preparation and training so you will feel confident in managing your classroom and teaching your first day of class. All positions are paid competitive salaries and you will get lots of free time to travel and go sightseeing.
Foreign teachers usually sign 12 month contracts with schools and begin the teaching experience of a lifetime. You will grow professionally as you gain valuable international experience; as well as personally as you forge lifelong friendships with your colleagues.
Students will come from a variety of backgrounds and range in ages from kindergarten to adults and local people are very respectful. The majority of your classes will concentrate on conversational English skills, grammar, and vocabulary.
Teaching English in China can seem like a daunting experience if you are totally new to this idea, but it is a very rewarding and lucrative way to live abroad and get paid.
Study in China
Education has always been a major player and contributor to the economic development and the cultural history of China. Although programs of education were severely disrupted during the Cultural Revolution, things were put back on track by Deng Xiaoping.
The concept of ‘Four Modernizations’ was put into place by him. This concept recognized the need for higher training levels in order for agriculture, national defense, industry, and technology to advance. Study China programs that are available today incorporate this concept in all disciplines.
As an international student, you will find that China offers courses of higher education in almost all disciplines. You can take advantage of non-degree, degree, technical, scientific, and vocational courses of all kinds.
The most popular fields here are science and engineering although fields like medicine, international relations, and law are catching up. Some of the best universities are the Peking University, Jiao Tong (Shanghai) and Tsinghua University (Beijing). As a foreign student you must keep in mind that you will also have to study Chinese if you decided to pursue your education here.
Learning Mandarin is really popular. This won’t just help your career, it’ll give you a skill that’s currently highly regarded. Being able to claim basic Mandarin on a CV is an asset you might find useful in any number of later career choices.
You could learn Mandarin and might find yourself wanting to China to teach English – a popular vocation in high demand – and being able to speak and understand any level of Mandarin will allow you more freedom of choice in finding a good job in this field.
China Tours
With the language barrier and also the size of China booking a tour really is one of the best ways to see the country. Popular places to visit include Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi’an, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Kunming and Suzhou.
Local and international tour operators offer trips to foreigners taking you to all the best locations in the country like The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors and more. You will get to travel in a group with likeminded people and enjoy the trip of your life. Some companies also offer trips to also explore more of Asia.
