Former Evening Press journalist Keith Crane reports from north-east China, where a York emigrant is building a cultural study business.

HEADS turn naturally in this part of the world at the sight of westerners, but never more so than in the case of Scott Calvert.

It's not just his blond hair that makes him stand out from the crowd, but also his fluent Mandarin, self-taught over the past two years of living and working in Harbin. The stares that you get as a foreigner turn to smiles as the locals realise they have someone they can communicate with.

And communication is one of this 29-year-old York migr's strengths.

Frustrated by the lack of creativity offered by a material engineering degree course at Leeds University, he dropped out after the first year. Various consultancy jobs followed, but his passion for travelling took over.

He completed a course in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) and applied online for a position in Mudanjing, about four hours from Harbin, near the North Korean border. It lasted six months before he returned to York, disillusioned by the disorganisation and lack of support he received, but with the knowledge that something better could be done for foreigners wanting to teach in China.

That was how his business, Gather Dragons, was born.

"I felt like I'd only done half the job - I loved China and its people, but I wasn't satisfied with the conditions and realised there must also be a lot of people in the same position," he says.

"To teach is fine, but there must be a greater aspect to what we should be doing, getting stuck into the way of life and learning more about the culture, something more mutually beneficial.

"One of the big problems with China is the lack of understanding of foreigners because all they see are stereotypes in films, hardly anybody travels and it's like one big village. But once you can speak Chinese they can finally learn what your needs are."

Scott registered Gather Dragons in York two years ago as a cultural study programme with support from his mother, Dee, the owner of Minster Fine Arts in Minster Yard.

Participants pay £400 for their first four months in China which provides them with Chinese classes, a teaching position and free accommodation for an initial four-month renewable contract, with Scott providing support and advice.

The salary for teaching, at around 4,000 Yuan (about £240 pounds) a month is four times the Chinese average.

Scott lives off the income provided by the participants, and his other work translating and acting as an agent for Chinese companies needing an English speaker, but says he's not rich as a result.

My own introduction to Gather Dragons came through a national newspaper advert. As an inveterate traveler, the opportunity of a career break after more than 20 years in journalism and PR, and the chance to explore what is soon to become the world's second largest economy, was too good to miss.

Packing up the contents of my house, redecorating and letting it in York's buoyant property market was the easy part - waiting for my official papers from China proved more frustrating.

However, two months on I've made new friends, both Chinese and English, and every day brings a new fascinating insight into the way of life.

But why Harbin? Scott says that the city, with a population of nine million, is unlike anywhere else in China.

"You can go to Shanghai or Beijing, but they are far more westernised. Here pure Mandarin is spoken. The people are friendly and you get so many unique experiences. It is such a good starting off point for seeing the rest of China."

Situated south of the Songhua river, responsible for far more devastating floods than York has ever suffered, its pedestrianised main street is full of Russian shops, fashion boutiques and nearby, a Russian Orthodox cathedral, while north of the river lies Sun Island, a summer recreation park.

Winter, though, is Harbin's peak tourism period, when with temperatures as low as -30 degrees, the city celebrates with a renowned ice festival.

But where does Scott see his future now?

"I think we've done the hard work now in getting Gather Dragons off the ground - we now need to expand."

He currently has eight participants in China and links with five major universities and three private language schools. He has also invested several thousand pounds in a joint venture school to teach Chinese, but says the opportunities are there for people with the skills and drive.

"No one else is offering what Gather Dragons is offering, the chance both to teach and explore the culture and learn the language - teaching is just the first step but if you want to get on there are endless opportunities in China."

For me the opportunity has just begun - and if I can at least master more of the language, who knows?

Updated: 10:57 Thursday, July 07, 2005