Three Years in China - Where would you go?

[JDavies]

I decided a while ago that from this summer I would put three years of my life aside and travel to China to start to learn mandarin. Im currently in the process of deciding which uni’s (as im applying to CSC Scholarship) I would like to go to and the forums have been really useful with this, so thanks people.

However, in resisting the temptation to ask a ‘this uni vs that uni’ question I thought I would ask, as many of you have spend several years in China learning the language, if you were to find yourself in my position starting as a beginner with three years ahead, where would you go?

[Xiwang]

I am currently also on a probable three year plan, having started this past academic year as a beginner. My plan:

Year 1: Peking University, Beijing (Mandarin)

Year 2: Fundan University, Shanghai (Mandarin)

Year 3: Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou (Mandarin and Cantonese) or American University in Cairo (Arabic) or Moscow State University (Russian).

At this point, my third year will be most likely in Arabic. However, last month, they've started killing tourists again in Egypt. I'm going to miss the safety of China when I'm gone.

Good luck. See you around China.

[roddy]

I would sketch out a rough 'small to large, provincial to central' plan. For the sake of argument and to narrow the selection process I'm going to stick to the north-east.

I'd start off somewhere that hardly anyone has heard of, where there are going to be only twelve other foreigners, and they're all English teachers who have been told they're in Shanghai. I'm struggling to name an actual city as if I've heard of it then it's by definition too big. But let's say for the sake of argument you go to Jilin Normal University in Siping, a city of 'several hundreds of thousands' of people, according to Wikipedia.

That's going to be a pretty full-on, no decent coffee and the pizza has carrots on, provincial Chinese experience. The entire city has only two KFCs. Compare this to Beijing, where if you drop a one yuan coin it'll pass three KFC's, a McDonalds and maybe even a Starbucks before it stops rolling. But you'll be in your honeymoon, 'isn't China fun' phase and it will be a great adventure. Your Chinese will sink or swim. Sinking is a possibility though, you could well get culture shock and spend the entire year eating Pringles and watching DVDs. Assuming that you can find Pringles, and that that the citizens of Siping aren't still watching VCDs. But virtually nobody will speak English, there'll be a lot of genuine curiousity about you and where you come from, and with the right attitude and some hard work you'll get yourself a very solid basis in the language.

If after a year you've got an appetite for more, stay there. If it isn't broke . . .

If you feel a need for something a bit different though, move up a tier. A provincial capital such as Harbin or Shenyang, or a high-performing provincial city like Dalian. These cities will offer a wider range of tempting delights - foreign food, foreign friends, and so on, but you'll have the first year of experience which means they aren't your default choice - they're just another option alongside all the others.

If after a year you've got an appetite for more, stay there. If it isn't broke . . .

But if you're still looking for a wider range of experience, it's time to move out of the north-east and go cosmopolitan. Beijing or Shanghai, according to your preference. People will tell you this isn't the 'real China', but it's not like there is a committee deciding what's real. Huge range of cultural and entertainment stuff to do, you've now got the Chinese to appreciate it all, and if you want to spend huge quantities of money on foreign beer and sushi - hell, you've earned it.

Let us know how you get on

[muyongshi]

I'd start off somewhere that hardly anyone has heard of, where there are going to be only twelve other foreigners, and they're all English teachers who have been told they're in Shanghai. I'm struggling to name an actual city as if I've heard of it then it's by definition too big.

Or where the teachers have no clue how to pronounce the name and all spend their time at the one foreign pub getting plastered so then you don't have to worry about it.

Mianyang is slowing getting to the point of falling out of the "small" and "no foreigners" category.

All in all I agree with Roddy. Go small, evaluate after a year.

[westmeadboy]

Just out of interest, I've been living in the centre of Dalian for almost two months now, and only yesterday was the first time I met a westerner! So it is possible to stay clear of westerners - though admittedly I don't go to university so that helps.