Beijing vs. Tianjin language study

[Springbokke]

Hi there

I am looking to study Mandarin long term in China and have been referred to Beijing by many. While I have man quesitons regarding, middleman agencies (direct or not), types of schools (universities vs. private schools), accommodation etc., I have read some rave reviews about Tianjin when in comes to studying Mandarin.

I speak zero Mandarin right now, and intend arriving in August 2005. Can anyone comment on the pros an cons of these two places?

Thanks

[sunpixy]

I personally think the academic atmosphere of Beijing is better than that of Tianjin. There are more unis in Beijing for you to choose than those in Tianjin. While the living cost is Tianjin is relatively lower. I've been living in Tianjin for more than 14 years. If you ever choose to come to Tianjin to study Chinese, I recommend Nankai University(That's for sure, hehe). It is considered the top uni in Tianjin. Good luck with your choice making

[Dan Bang]

Hi there!

Would you be so kind to guide me to a website - or even post pieces of information here - about the prices of the different universities in Tianjin... I'm looking for a cheap place to study outside Beijing, and a place that isn't too unpleasant for foreigners as well...

Thanks in advance!

[sunpixy]

Hi Dan Bang, I just sent a PM to you. Here are the links of a few unis in Tianjin. Please forgive some not-so-good layouts and not-so-useful informations. Those are all that I could find with their websites... And I am sorry that some of them do not have English version. The links I sent are about the unis that I personally think are not bad in Tianjin. If you are interested in a particular one or want to figure out some detailed information, just ask.

Best luck to you.

The links:

Nankai University

http://www.nankai.edu.cn/english/exchanges.htm

Tianjin University

http://ico.tju.cn/TjuIcoEV/TjuIcoEV.cfm

Tianjin Foreign Studies University

http://xibu.tjfsu.edu.cn/other/waishi/

Tianjin Normal University

http://202.113.96.10/departments/hanyuan/index.htm

Tianjin Polytechnic University

http://www.tjpu.edu.cn/

(Where I graduated from, hehe. The International Office used to have an English version, I don't know why it is not available now... :-)

[Harvey]

Is there a dialect in Tianjin that would make it difficult to learn Mandarin there?

What is the general make up of the nationalities in universities in Tianjin?

I heard in Dalian it's mostly Japanese and Korean and Russian, and in Beijing more Westerners... how about Tianjin?

Thanks for any info!

- Harvey

[Desmond]

Hey,

I know this thread is getting old, but I'm really curious about the answer to the last guy's question.

I was reading that the accent in Tianjin is a lot different than in Beijing (practically its neighbour!!). That the tones are completely different.

Is this true? I know Harbin's accent is pretty much like Beijing's, and it is quite far up northeast.

How about Dalian? How does its accent differ?

[zrk]

Hi,

I am looking for a 6 month chinese language course. I am looking for a place with clean air, not like in Beijing. However, I would not mind if it was close to Beijing, for approachability reasons.

I was thinking about Tianjin but I just cannot find a direct e-mail or any info on their website, where I could apply. Can anybody help? Or suggest where to look for a 6 month chinese language course near Beijing?

thanks in adv.

[esz]

>Zrk

For which university would you like to apply?

In Tianjin there are quite a few of them, see the posts above.

And BTW, I have to dissapoint you: the air in Tianjin is not that clean...

(Actually it is said to be dirtier than Beijing, but this may or may not be true. I was thinking the same way as you when I've applied for Tianjin and was quite dissapointed to read this, too... But I can't do anything about it now, except for going there in ca. a month andsee it for myself. X"D)

[Benzi]

I studied a year in Tianjin (TJU) and I have to say: TJ air is far worse then BJ air. I am not sure if it is allowed to post this, as it is some sort of ad I suppose, but friends of mine used "study in the prc", a program adjected to tianjin normal university - and they liked it. If this is too much ad I apologize >_<

[zhouhaochen]

the air quality in both Beijing and Tianjin depends on the time of the year. Once this horrible August will be finished, it should actually be quite nice. Autumn usually is. And while during winter its pretty cold, usually its also a lot of blue skies and very dry.

[rollo]

Hi,

    I chose to study Mandarin in Tianjin. It was out of random choice, but seemed to make sense later... Tianjin is much cheaper, and close enough to Beijing to do all the 'useful' stuff at the weekends. If you are going to enter a uni program to study Chinese, then you'll probably be quite busy as usually the demands on your time are quite high. On this basis a study-all-week- relax-at-weekends option is what most people tend to do.

Tianjin is very safe and cheap, and you can get to anything you want to in the main part of the city in roughly a 20 minute cycle. With Beijing on the doorstep ( well, a 30 minute bullet train ride) I'd say it fairs pretty well. Pollution wise they're both awful so there's not that much in it either way over the course of  a year.

 

I'm not saying it would do the job for everyone, but it did for me.