Best place to study Chinese (nr. of foreigners, climate, dialect etc)

[gkaa]

ah ok, better stay in china then

[lorenz]

Very interesting thread guys!

Even if the example of that guy living in Ohio who just alone has reached a perfect Japanese level made me sooo sad ='( ahahah

By the way, I want to share with you this experience: I got a lot of Chinese friends here in Pavia (Italy) coming from all over China (just except Tibet and Qinghai maybe...) and I asked them several times about which city would be the best one to live in for a foreigner who wants to learn Chinese (all considered: quality of life, nice local people, good schools, etc.).

Even if each one of them aswered me by his personal point of view (and considering that they have a Chinese perspective of course), I've heard these two options much than others: Qingdao and Wuhan.

[yialanliu]

Beijing, Liaoning, Harbin, Dalian, Qingdao, Nanjing would be cities I'd direct people towards. The similarities between the local dialects to Putonghua means it's a lot easier to be able to overhear conversation and learn rather than have someone speak to you in putonghua but that's all you really learn because everyone else is speak the local dialect

[gkaa]

nanjing is kinda dirty and polluted no? didnt sound very nice so never bothered visiting...

yeah it really sounds like qingdao i great.

[tooironic]

@lorenz Really, they said Wuhan? Are you sure they didn't say Bhutan? Even Wuhan locals don't like Wuhan.

[diggysmalls]

I have only been in China a short while but soon I will start to study with Omeida in Yangshuo( I like to rock climb cycle.. etc) I spoke to a few students and since the place is not very busy they all seem to get one on one tutoring, is this the same in Beijing/ Shanghai ? I know Im close to Vietnam

[roddy]

Wow, and now you're their marketing manager. That's quite the career path at Omeida.

[diggysmalls]

Well I came here wanting to learn Chinese but I was always open to the idea of working. The fact that I didn't budget very well also lead me to working My question above was genuine I did not mean to seem sneaky in anyway. The thing about Yangshuo and I am sure the rest of China is if you come to study/learn martial arts.. etc you will get many oppurtunities. We are working on a better way to allow people to come get some business experience and also learn it is very daunting just saying fudge it I am going to China without a support network to well support you once you get here

[shuoshuo]

I was in Shanghai. Kudos to you for wanting to try another city (one with less foreigners). Although I think the change has to come from within. There are foreigners EVERYWHERE in China. If you stay in a city - no matter how small - you will eventually find one. The only difference is that bigger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are more equipped to deal with foreigners, so in many aspects it relieves us from feeling the extreme culture shock. You know, it is possible to select those that make up your entourage. Choose to hangout with Chinese who enjoy your hobbies, e.g. football, reading, cycling, etc. as opposed to indulging in language exchange. That way, your friends will enjoy hanging out with you and treat you just like one of the guys.

The language exchange thing never worked for me. In fact, I don't think it works for many. It starts with language talk, and then the strategy of "one day we speak English and every other day we'll speak Mandarin" and then somehow our Chinese language partners find a way to exploit us to the extent of it being only a one-way street.

I suggest you pick a city you'd enjoy living in. Add a little effort and a lot of motivation to the equation and you'll grasp the language in no time.

[ZhangKaiRong]

@shuoshuo

"It starts with language talk, and then the strategy of "one day we speak English and every other day we'll speak Mandarin" and then somehow our Chinese language partners find a way to exploit us to the extent of it being only a one-way street."

Then you do something wrong, I experienced the opposite. Most of my Chinese friends' English skills are far worse than my Chinese level. They often try to say something in English, but I can't really understand what they are saying, so we quickly change to Chinese.
Laowais are everywhere, it is true. But Shanghai and Beijing are the worst place to study the language due to the foreigner distraction. Go to a smaller, second-tier city, brave ones can try the third-tier cities. If you want to learn the language, they are the best spots to do this. Of course, you are going to be bored as hell, because the entertainment section in these kind of cities is very underdeveloped, but it you plan to stay just for 6 months/one year, it shouldn't be a problem.

[hyanglee]

I am thinking about studying in Guilin at Guilin University of Technology in the upcoming fall. Somehow there doesn't seem to be a thread regarding Guilin. Does anyone here know anything about studying Mandarin in Guilin? Somehow when I mention Guilin as a place to study, people tend to give me a puzzled look.

[abcdefg]

#51 --

Somehow when I mention Guilin as a place to study, people tend to give me a puzzled look.

 

 

Guilin is usually though of in connection with travel because of scenic spots nearby instead of being thought of as an academic center.

Doesn't mean it's not a good place to consider. Don't put too much stock in the reactions of others. As in many things, there are usually some "big names" that everyone knows. But there are definitely other options.

I think probably the most important factor in making it work for you is whether or not you like living there. Need to pick a place you think you will like. Living conditions are as important as academic conditions, if not more so. After all, study is part of life, not the other way round.

Suggest going there for a look if that's feasible. See how Guilin feels.

[hyanglee]

Being a student at Tsinghua's Chinese language program, I can't say I have been too impressed. While the teaching has been good, I sometimes feel that students aren't offered enough opportunity to speak in class. The number of English speaking people (both Chinese and foreign) here doesn't help as well. I have had many Chinese language partners in the past thinking that by doing so, I would avoid having to speak too much English but this was not the case as I ended up having to hear them speak English most of the time. Perhaps going to a small city with less english speakers would help. Plus, the tuition fees are a whole lot cheaper too. Thanks for the advice!

[scoopneals]

HAHA totally off topic- I just saw Roddy's signature, I have two notebooks with the same writing on the front. I crack up every time I read it

[AdamD]

Distractions and temptations keep coming up in this thread.

 

I've been to Beijing twice now (and am going back in a few weeks, hence reading threads like this), and I've found it to be almost completely devoid of English. That's not necessarily because it is, it's most likely because I deliberately stay away from English speakers. I don't hang around Sanlitun, I don't go to western bars, I don't watch English television in my room, and I don't return to shops or restaurants where staff members insist on speaking English. As a result I find Beijing to be a completely immersive environment.

 

When I did a short Hanban scholarship at TJNU, I forced myself to use Chinese as much as possible. After every class I'd go into Tianjin and deal with locals, or I'd take my study notes somewhere, or I'd track down our local language partners and explain English language concepts in Chinese. If my classmates spoke too much English when I was up for studying, e.g. at pre-class breakfasts, I'd say “对不起，我不会说英文” and stand my ground; it gave me the practise I needed, and a few other students would take my lead and do the same.

 

Ultimately I don't think it matters where you go, as long as you're disciplined about what you do. tooironic has made the case that you can learn Chinese pretty much anywhere as long as you have opportunities and persistence.

[Chris Two Times]

AdamD,

 

Many thanks for resurrecting this thread. As I look for "my place" to study Chinese full-time for one year (I would like to enroll in a Chinese university program for foreigners), it has been good to come across this thread and look at the various points that have been made.

 

I started out learning Chinese in Chengdu which actually worked well for me, but now that I am in Beijing, I am finding that my tones are f%@#ed so I need to work on that this year.

 

I am finding what you have said about Beijing to be true. What has been refreshing about Beijing is that even though locals see my white foreign face, they will just speak to me straight up in Mandarin. I didn't always get that in Chengdu and found locals there to be more hesitant to speak Chinese with me, figuring I wouldn't understand.

 

Minus this lung-busting pollution with aqi's of 400+ this past week, I am finding that Beijing could be a very good place to immerse oneself. I am seriously considering registering as a student at BNU for next year. Like you at TJNU, as soon as the final 下课 for the day cleared, I would make a beeline for the nearest city bus stop and throw myself into the city getting my "Mandarin only" on.

 

AdamD, I like what you've written about your approach to Beijing (avoiding Sanlitun and other western haunts) and I am already following a similar path.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[Chris Two Times]

Qingdao seems to come up again and again in these kinds of discussions. Sticking to Shandong province, I wonder how studying would be in the provincial capital, Jinan, or further out near the sea in Yantai.

 

Also, as people often mention Harbin and Dalian for this topic, I'm wondering how places like Changchun and Shenyang would fit into this mix.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[tooironic]

Since all cities in China suffer from varying degrees of pollution and grime, coastal cities like Dalian, Qingdao and Xiamen are often favoured by local Chinese students and foreign students alike since they are among the cleanest in China. Note though that they don't compare well with cities in developed countries, but to Chinese standards they are considered quite clean and orderly. So if you're looking for a comfortable living environment, these three cities are your best choices, but of course standard Mandarin is hard to come by in Xiamen unless you mix exclusively with students from other provinces, but even then there's still no guarantee. Not that local Dalianers and Qingdaoers necessarily speak entirely standard Mandarin either, but they're pretty close.

 

My understanding of Changchun and Shenyang is they are typical provincial capitals (省会) - big, dirty and polluted, without too many things that make them special. I certainly got that feeling when I was in Shenyang, but I can't say I've ever been to Changchun.

[AdamD]

I am finding what you have said about Beijing to be true. What has been refreshing about Beijing is that even though locals see my white foreign face, they will just speak to me straight up in Mandarin.

 

Yes! There's no hesitation at all. I really like that.

 

AdamD, I like what you've written about your approach to Beijing (avoiding Sanlitun and other western haunts) and I am already following a similar path.

 

Which parts of the city do you spend time in to achieve that? (I'm asking publicly because I think it will help other people who read this thread.) I have a lot of luck in 后海／鼓楼、 五道口、 the warrens off 前门、西单 (that's worth going to for the giant Xinhua 北京图书大厦 alone) and random places like 虹桥 and 刘家窑 if you happen to be around there. As long as I stay away from the obvious places I find it easy to avoid nearly all English.

 

Edit: Hey, this is probably a good thread idea for the various 'Life, Work and Study in China in General' subforums, if it's not there already.

[Chris Two Times]

I usually just stick around Haidian District near Beijing Normal University. For a while I was going over to Post and Telecommunications University's sportsground/track for a morning workout. I was the only foreigner there and the older guys started to get curious when they saw me show up every day. It was then easier to break the ice and start chatting with them. Too bad my laziness and the pollution got in the way for me to continue working out over there.

 

I find that that's the key to me connecting in Chinese: staying away from Western haunts and just doing "no-frills" daily life activities kind of things. I like to just walk around the city (well, usually in these neighborhoods branching out from BNU) and I agree with you about staying away from the overly touristed areas, no sense in going to those places; I plan to hit those in February when the cold and Spring Festival will keep crowd levels lower.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times