Guangzhou.is it good place for learn chinese?

[Bilee]

hi...

my friends and i planned to study chinese in China. my brothers who had been in china suggested Jinan University in Guangzhou to me. however, i heard a lot of people say that Guangzhou is not a good place, because a lot of people in there speak cantonese, is it true?

How about the cost of living in Guangzhou for 1 month? my friend (a girl) and I will go to Guangzhou on 11 may 2004. is it possible for us to share a room which is air-conditioned, and how much will it cost?

thanks

[Quest]

If you want to be able to hear people speaking mandarin in the streets, guangzhou is probably not as good as other mandarin speaking cities. but on a college campus, you would likely hear mandarin more often than cantonese. So, I guess it shouldn't be a problem, even though it is not the best choice for mandarin learning. If you want to find an apartment near Jinan University, I believe the rent could range from 500RMB-4000RMB in that district depending on your requirements. My parents actually have a 2-bedroom apartment there rented out to a small family for 1500RMB/month. I believe you can get a single bedroom or a studio for less than 1000RMB. Also, the campus kinda separates the urban and the suburban areas of that district, so it might be cheaper to get an apartment on the suburban side. I suggest that you contact the university directly for infos on dorms and cheap apartments.

[Bamboo Grove]

I studied in Jinan U in 1987 and I thought it was a good place. Although as Quest mentioned you won't hear that much mandarin on the streets. However, there is an additional advantage though and that is you can study cantonese at the same time. As for costs, things have change so much in China since the days I studied there, I wouldn't have a clue.

[Yuanyuan]

Hi, i am a cantonese, i am so happy that you v chosen gz to study Chinese, i agree with them, even though it is not the best place to learn madarin, but you could have a chance to learn cantonese, as Canton and HK these 2 important cities are basically cantonese speaking,, for renting the apartment, it really depends on which distreet you wanne live in, far or near the campus, as i know, the area near JINAN U is rather EXP than some other areas, for example, HENAN area would be much cheaper yet quite a long way to the U, however with the new subway system, that would be better.

anyway, i am still in Paris now, and I will be back around the 5th of may, you can contact me directly, i might have some friends who can give you some help, but no promise, ok, good luck