Beijing really the best place to study?

[flameproof]

i was just referring to the temptations that come along with one's environment. and your demons of 50 different types of cigarettes are relative to you. to each his own i guess.

I don't smoke, so I am not tempted at all. I have not much interest in meeting westerners in BJ and I am not tempted there too.

For me, testing my Mandarin skills (or lack thereof) on innocent Chinese people has a greater temptation and outtemptates other temptations.

You worry should be what to do and not what NOT to do. You should make contact with locals in any situation for whatever reason. The locals are quite friendly and usually curious. Most are chatty. In some situations locals can't really escape, like taxi drivers or while having a haircut. In other situations it's just a small talk, still nice though.

To give an example: I am in a bus. I ask somebody next to me if that's the bus to Carrefour (sure I know it is otherwise I wouldn't got on in the first place), then chat on if there are other shopping places nearby....

The point is, you can create your own friendly situations and use those. But take care with young folks, they often know English and they are ruthless in trying it. Not use English with locals, that should be your worry...

PS: not sure in BJ is "the best" place to study, but it's certainly quite good. And I like the city too.

[greenarcher]

Xiamen is a great city. Albeit very serene and extremely clean. I studied there before for 2 months and if your main agenda is to learn Chinese, it's a great place to start. Yes the local dialect is Minanhua but unless you speak to them in this dialect, they will most likely use Mandarin instead. Their Mandarin also has little to no accent, unlike the northern parts of China where the "-r" accent is very strong. I'm no longer updated on the city but recreation might be limited.

Xiamen University is clean, big, modern and to some extent, "high-tech". I've seen the BLCU campus in Beijing, XMU wins hands down.

However I'm already decided that I will study in BLCU this winter.

[putonghua73]

Agreed.

If were to move somewhere for 6+ months' date=' I'd pick a city I'd love to live in[/b'], rather than worrying about the number of westerners or Koreans. Even if the entire population of S. Korea moved here, Koreans would still be a tiny minority here in China.

Bold annotations my own.

I pretty much agree that I shall be [2011] far more concerned with my living environment rather than the number of Westerners, as I will be principally be looking to study for a year. I'm looking for:

• green spaces (parks and other amenities)
  
• little pollution (relatively speaking)
  
• comfortable weather
  
• good living / study / work balance
  
• access to beautiful landscapes / mountains / rural areas to explore
  

I also like spicy food and am a vegetarian, and have almost zero interest in bar culture / clubbing. Spent my 20s at the alter [DJ] of hedonism, and have zero appetite. Also, it proved spectacularly poor for meeting women =/. I don't mind the odd bar now and again (rarely drink) but would prefer places to relax, which are more conducive to chatting.

At the moment, my heart is on studying in Kunming. I met an American girl, who studied Chinese in Beijing for 2 years, whilst I was in Magome (Japan) with my (ex)girl-friend last year. It was a real insight to hear her views and experiences living in Beijing - and she recommended West / South-West China based upon my criteria. I initially had Chengdu in mind, but she warned me off because of it's reputation as the "furnace" in summer months. She recommended Kunming as an option.

I'll be spending a few weeks in Yunnan in September, so I'll have the opportunity to see Kunming for myself for a couple of days or so.

I'll check out other options [cities / places], such as Xiamen that Greenarcher recommended. From gut feeling, I'd feel I'd be much happier situated in the West / South-West of China.

Cheers!

Edited April 26, 2009 at 09:58 AM by putonghua73
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