China internship choice?

[TheDooder]

Hi,

I'll be heading off to China in February to teach English there (one of the big draws for me is that the schools provide Chinese lessons).

I wanted to go with one of the less "western" cities and ,tThe company that arranged the internship for me link deleted has given me three choices of places to work: Xi'an, Dalian and Shenyang.

My question is: which of these is most interesting to live in for five months? I don't want to be pulling my hair out by the end of the placement.

Thanks

[ZhangXue]

wow.These cities are all be very nice.&you dont need to be pulling your hair out by the end of any placement.

[wanderlust]

I've lived in Dalian for a time and have visited both Xian and Shenyang. What I can say is this -

Dalian - small modern city (more like a town than a city), very easy to get from one place to another, pretty clean, very little spoken or written English outside of my workplace, full of parks, shopping squares and IT companies, no night life (like the streets are empty by 8-9pm), doesn't really have anything of cultural or historical interest though. People who want a break from living the fast-paced life in a very busy city might like it here.

Xian - very cultural, replete with Chinese temples, one of China's oldest cities (used to be a capital) certainly busier than Dalian. I only stayed for four days so can't say a lot, just that there's lots of interesting places and things to see (Terra Cotta Warriors being the most famous) and that it was there that I found the most number of Westerners speaking Mandarin - in the hostel I stayed in.

Shenyang - only spent a day here (just accompanied my friend to the US Embassy); what I can say is, and from the little I've seen, that it's busier and a lot less cleaner than Dalian or Xian. There's also a number of places to visit here like temples, tombs and palaces.

I'd guess Xian would be the most interesting to live in, can't beat all that history and culture.

[whereishunter]

wanderlust I don't know what you are talking about when you say there is "no night life" in Dalian??? Sure the streets are empty by about 9pm but there are many bars, restaurants and clubs that are full.

Was just talking to a friend the other day about Xi'an and he told me the he does not like living there as most of the ex-pat places are set up for travelers and are at travelers prices. In July I spent a few days in Xi'an and it was an interesting city and really enjoyed my time there. But I dont plan on going back anytime soon as there are many more other interesting places in China to visit.

I have been to Shangyang and it seems as an interesting city but with not that much to do outside of working and studying Chinese. Which could be a good thing if you really want to improve your Chinese.

After living in Dalian for one and a half years I found it a great place to live. As I could study Chinese and not see any other foreign people (was not living in the center of town). Then if i wanted a break from Chinese things i could head into one of the many non-Chinese bars, restaurants or clubs.

Also everybody says that Xi'an has lots of cultural things, and that is true. But do you need to live near temples, tombs and palaces to enjoy them??

My five cents...

[wanderlust]

whereishunter, I think I meant to say, Dalian has practically no nightlife compared to other Chinese cities, and compared to where I came from. There are bars that would be full on certain nights and practically empty on other nights. Also, I think you could say the same for Dalian what you said for Shenyang - there's really not much to do outside of work or study. Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy living in Dalian (lived there for a couple of years) and it is a lovely city. The first poster wanted a place less western and interesting, and I was thinking, if it was a fuller Chinese immersion he/she wanted, then from that perspective Dalian would have less to offer than the other two cities.

My other five cents

[Purple Chimp]

@ wanderlust: You must be loaded! That was like 10 cents!

I on the other hand have no cents...

[BrandeX]

No one does "internships" teaching English in China. Did you pay a company to find you a job? Hopefully not, also I get the impression you might be working for free or low salary. Care to share more info regarding your future position?

[zerolife]

from what I've heard from my Chinese friends, Shengyang in recent years isn't the safest place to live (compared to other cities of similar size).

[ShawnLin]

I am Chinese and have been to the three city

They are all very interesting. Xi'an is in ShanXi province, and really a western city of China. Xi'an is a city with long history, the capital of the first emperor Qin Shihuang. the first emperor’s mausoleum and the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum presents splendid culture of China. but the dialect of the Xi'an residents is different from Mandarin, though most young people speak excellent Mandarin, communication with the old there maybe a little diffcult. besides, the food in Xi'an is very good:D

Dalian and Shenyang are all in LiaoNing province, in northeast of China, colder in winter than Xi'an, the dialect of residents there is very similiar with mandarin, which would be helpful to learn and practice Chinese. Besides, Dalian is a beautiful seaside city.