For my first time volunteering solo abroad, Omeida sets the bar high. Yangshuo, China is an absolutely gorgeous place surrounded by mountains, combined with both modern amenities and rural lifestyles. I had the absolute pleasure of spending a month volunteering in their marketing department. The work isn't difficult at all, as the marketing manager works with your skillset and is adept at showing you the ropes. After your shift, you're free to do whatever you'd like. Whether it be bike rides along the river, hiking through caves, board game nights, or dancing in Chinese discos, there's always something to do here. There's an eclectic mix of students and volunteers from all over the world, and there's always new friends to make each week.

The staff here is incredibly welcoming, quick to accommodate any requests or take you to their favorite local BBQ spot. Their positive attitudes are incredibly contagious and will always plan fun group activities that make it easy to break the ice. This was incredibly valuable to me as a solo traveler, because I definitely left a family behind in Omeida. The dorms are basic, but there's plenty of storage and space. The food is delicious and family-style, so meals are a different experience each time.

I left Omeida wishing I could stay longer, which is probably the best feeling I could have gotten from this whole experience. One thing I do have to say is that because there's a lot of freedom here, your time is here is what you personally make of it. For me, I had the time of my life.

Hello, totally I spent more than half a year at Omeida being a volonteer and learning Chinese. For me it turned to be the most exceptional place for learning Chinese as the education there is very well organised, groups are small (on my level there were just 1-2 students in the class), teachers are very nice, patient, ready to explain and give examples.

I loved the place where the school is located as it's just 10 minutes cycling to the countryside, and 20 minutes to the famous Yulong River. You can explore the place by bicycle or scooter as there are many paths leading to different mountains, and lots of climbing spots.

Volonteering at Omeida is great as well, nice opportunity to teach English and make more friends among Chinese students. They come from different places of China and having conversation class with them can help you to discover China better. And it helps to save you money as well, if you have one volonteering class a day (Monday-Friday) you get free food or free accomodation, if you do two classes you get both.

So I definitely recommend the school for learning or for volonteering, you will love and come back! As I did ;)