Taiwan or China

[mango]

Hi everyone, I'm 22 year old from UK planning to study mandarin abroad.

I'm not too sure whether I should go to Taiwan or China, for China I choosing between Nanjing or Qingdao (depending on costs) and Taiwan probably Taipei.

Can anyone give me any advices? I'm also not sure whether to apply directly or through agencies such as study china abroad ( which is more costly)

Thanks

[ashwell]

Hi there

I'm also from the UK. Have been in China (mainland) studying Chinese for the last 3 months, but I'm not at a good university, so I've done a lot of research into good places to go to after my course finishes.

The advantages of Taiwan seem to be that there are some good places that offer good value courses and small classes. You'll find that many courses on the mainland of China have big classes (around 20). If that's not a problem for you then cool, but you may find that you would like to study in a small class as it will give you the chance to practice speaking. Something to consider, have you studied Chinese before? I have already studied simplified characters, and I find them hard enough to memorize, so going to Taiwan, where they teach traditional characters, would be a hard transition for me to make. Other people don't think so, but I'm not convinced! But if you haven't studied Chinese before then you won't have any experience of studying either, so why not jump straight in with the traditional characters.

Anyway, check this link for accredited universities in Taiwan.

Any thoughts on why you want to go to Qingdao or Nanjing? Is it due to recommendations regarding location or university? I've heard good things about both, but I believe some of the best universities are in Beijing. I've heard good things about the Beijing Normal University and BLCU, and the Taipei Language Institute (not a university but a language centre) which has branches in Taiwan and Mainland China.

Anyway, any more questions, then please fire away. All my information has been taken from what I have read. I have no first hand information, just so you know. Good luck!

[shanghaikai]

Try using the search engine. There have been several topics recently discussing Taiwan vs. China. Taipei will be a much more happening city than Qingdao or Nanjing, but that doesn't mean the latter two won't have plenty of things to see or do. The standard of living will be cheaper in China than Taiwan, if you have a budget. I recommend applying through the universities themselves and not through agencies. At least so far, I haven't seen any agencies offer anything worth their premiums.