Two-semester stay in China - Xiamen vs. Wuhan ?

[coolhandluke]

Hi,

I'm going to spend two semsters studying in China (fall semester 2013 - spring semester 2014). Currently, there are two options available to me. I can either decide to study at Xiamen University or at Wuhan University. From what I've heard and read so far, both universities seem to be quite nice. I primarily need to decide wether to live in Xiamen or Wuhan for let's say a bit less than one year.

I read quite a few things about both cities, mostly good things about Xiamen and bad things about Wuhan, actually.

Maybe there are some who know both cities, Xiamen and Wuhan and could help me out a bit.

There's one point that is primarily interesting to me since I couldn't find any info on it:

Is there that much of a difference concerning the general cost of living? Like how much do prices for an average meal differ between the two cities? Is there much of a difference in price when it comes to groceries?

[lukoktonos]

Don't know anything about Xiamen, but I can offer some prices for Wuhan. Taxis start at 6 or 8 kuai here (2 different kinds), the meals at the cafeteria are around 7 kuai. 8-12 for restaurants outside.

The weather isn't so great here, but they did finally finish the subway line that goes by Wuhan University, so it might be somewhat better than reviews made before that was done. If you have any more questions about Wuhan, ask away and I'll reply again.

[wensente]

I can personally vouch for 厦门. I spent a semester there in 2011. Go there, you won't regret it. I can't compare it with Wuhan, but Xiamen will be cleaner as it is a coastal island. The weather is fantastic. Too hot in the summer, but the rest of the year its balmy, relaxed, and rains once a month. It's not expensive. I paid about 150 euros in rent sharing an apartment on the 30th floor of a new apartment building. A cheap meal was 10kuai back in 2011. If you want to be uber cheap, you can get a good meal for 5 at the university canteen. There are a handful of foreigners who all go to the same bars/clubs so you can have as much or little exposure as you'd like. It's also just a beautiful city, I really miss late night coastal promenades and seaside fish bbq.

[coolhandluke]

Thanks for your answers!

Yeah, I heard that public transportation was a bit messy before they finished the new subway system in Wuhan. But I guess this is a non-issue now that one can simply jump in a subway train and get to the desired destination without losing too much time on the way.

One thing that puts me off about Wuhan is the whole smog issue. As I've never been there before, I don't really know what to make of it...

You seem to have been living there for a while, lukoktonos. How do you perceive Wuhan's air quality in general? I mean I know that Wuhan is an industrial city and that one can't expect a bright clear sky but is the air quality in general just really bad or are there rather certain times or seasons where smog becomes a big issue?

I'm also interested in the nightlife aspects. From what I've read so far I gathered that good night clubs are rather sparse in Wuhan. Would you say there are enough good clubs to enjoy oneself?

Concerning Xiamen... The city, the climate, the sea, seafood :-D - it all sounds fantastic. Of course because of all these pleasant apsects, Xiamen seems to be a quite popular choice among international students searching for a Chinese city that fits their needs and maybe doesn't overwhelm them so much in terms of experiencing a culture shock. I've just been asking myself wether Xiamen would be the right choice for someone who's particularly interested to live in a city which conveys a "true" image of China. By that I mean an image of China that is closest to the realty one would experience in most Chinese cities. Of course I've never been to Xiamen, but from what I've read and heard so far it came of as sounding much more like a nice holiday resort rather than a typical Chinese city. I'm a bit anxious that Xiamen, as beautiful as it might be, would be boring after some time.

Any thoughts on that?

[gato]

Xiamen is a major city that has plenty going on besides tourism. Beijing probably gets more tourists than any other Chinese city, but that doesn't make it a primarily tourist city. So with Xiamen.

[lukoktonos]

The air in Wuhan is pretty bad, especially in the late fall and through the winter. There are several bars and clubs that foreigners go to consistently--I'm not really sure how they would compare to elsewhere in China, though. There are tons of universities here, so lots of foreign exchange students and lots of partying as well.