I read a book about travel in U.S. I learnt some new ideas, like the Amtrak in America that connects all major cities. I was quite excited to find out another way besides air travel in U.S. If you ask me to list some cities I think are most important in U.S, I will give the following list

• Washington D.C.
• New York
• Philadelphia
• Boston
• Chicago
• San Francisco
• L.A….

They are just the names pop up in my brain when I listed them, in no particular order. I can draw a relative location map for these cities, but sometimes, I still make mistakes. I made bet with a friend on where Detroit is. I insisted that it is in South Texas. It turned out, without doubt, that I lost the bet. I was talking about Huston, TX….

China v.s. U.S.: Unbalanced Level of Understanding

This experience helped me get an idea of the situation first time visitors China is facing. Where is Guangzhou? Where is Hangzhou? Is Hangzhou nearer to Guangzhou or Shanghai? These simple questions may not be easy for foreigners.

I remember one question the student in Beijing asked President Clinton when he visited Beijing was: “The young generation in China knows about America much better than those in America do about China. Do you have any plan for that?”

The situation is very true. I guess many people in China at least know New York is on the east coast and San Francisco is on the west but not many people in U.S know where exactly China is.

China Cities

So here is a brief introduction about important cities in China.

Beijing is on the north, near the sea, but not a port. It is in the north area, a location similiar with Philadelphia.

Shanghai is in the east of China.

Guangzhou is on the south, near Hong Kong.

The distance between Beijing and Shanghai, Shanghai and Guangzhou are almost the same (Guangzhou-Shanghai distance is longer).

Chengdu is in the south-west.

Hangzhou, Suzhou is very near Shanghai – they almost merge with each other. The distance is 2 hour and 1 hour train’s ride.

Here is a China mapfrom Encarta. It is good enough to get some idea of the cities. Here is another map.

Transportation

Travel between Beijing and Shanghai? Train and Air are both preferred.

Travel between Beijing and Guangzhou? Only Air. Train is too tiring.

Travel between Guangzhou and Shanghai? Air preferred.

Travel between Shanghai and Hangzhou/Suzhou? Train or Bus. It is too near to operate a flight….

From Shanghai to Chengdu? Air – definitely air. Don’t try train since it is among the most crowded train lines in China. Don’t take taxi. I got an email this morning, asking me how much it costs to take a taxi from Shanghai Pudong Airport to Chengdu. It is the third email on the same question since I started this site. Well. My answer is, I don’t suggest anyone to take taxi to Chengdu. It is 1600 KM away from Shanghai. If you do want to have a try, I guess it costs at least 5000 RMB and three days (if the car does not break down in the middle way)… This is also a trigger for me to write this elementary level China Geographic Knowledge Book.

Scott, an American in Tokyo is planning to move to Shanghai to study Chinese. He sent me the following questions:

Around this time next year, I’m planning to move to China to take intensive Mandarin courses for at least a year. I’m definitely a city person, and from my current perspective, Shanghai appeals to me most. However, I’m having second thoughts. I’m having a difficult time deciding which city to focus on–Shanghai, Beijing, or somewhere else. I was hoping you could help me with two questions:

1. In your opinion, do you think Shanghai is still a viable option for studying (and learning) Mandarin considering the dialect spoken in Shanghai, plus the higher cost of living compared to other cities in China?

2. About how much money (in RBM or USD) would a student need to get through one year of studying at a university in Shanghai (including tuition, rent in an average part of town, food, drinking money, and some spending cash)?

Credit: Scott. Quoted with permission

Which City?

Regarding your question about which city to study, it is highly dependant on where do you plan to work and live after you learnt the language. If you choose to work in Shanghai (I recommend it), you’d better study there since it gives you plenty of time to get familiar with the city, settle down and for the job hunting.

The living cost is higher in Shanghai compared to that in Beijing. Shanghai is a modern city with good living facilities, so you will feel less culture shock. Check the 10 Things You Love/Hate About Shanghai.

Beijing is more like a typical Chinese city – long history, traditional architectures, slower pace of live, beautiful landscape. You can understand the Chinese culture better there. Although, the side effect is, the culture shock will be great for you. As you said you are a city person, Shanghai is a safer choice for you and Beijing is an exciting adventure.

Purely Learning Chinese

If you don’t consider other aspects of moving, I would highly recommend you to go to Beijing to study Chinese. Beijing is the capital. It is the culture, art, architecture (traditional) central. There are very good universities there, like Beijing University and Tsinghua University. They offer very course – I heard some expat friends recommend them.

Regarding the dialect, Beijing also have a strong dialect, that is different than Putonghua (Mandarin). Personal, foreigners who can add some Beijing dialect appear to know the language better to me. Sometimes it is a hint to really know about the culture in China.

If you choose Beijing, Beijing University has better reputation on literature and language. So does the foreigner language education there.

In Shanghai, Fudan and Jiatong University are the options. Fudan has better Chinese language program while Jiaotong’s Xuhui Campus is in the downtown.

Cost

I don’t know the cost of Beijing. For Shanghai, here is the tuition and accommodation cost for Shanghai Jiaotong University (SJTU):

Tuition Fee:

USD990/term or RMB8200/term

Accommodation:

Single Room: 3300 RMB/month or 1200 USD/3 months

double Room: 3600 RMB/month or 1300 USD/3 months

Course

4 hours/day, Monday to Friday for 12 weeks

Schedule:

April 7, 2003 – June 27, 2003

July 7, 2003 – September 26, 2003

September 8, 2003 – December 5, 2003

October 8, 2003 – December 19, 2003

January 5, 2004 – April 2, 2004

Source: Shanghai Jiaotong University Adult Education School Language Training Center For reference propose only.

The room on campus of 3300 RMB/month is very high. You can find apartment in nearby neighborhood with lower price – around 2000 RMB. For other cost, it is definitely cheaper than that in Tokyo or U.S. Food is cheap here but drinking (especially at bars) are expensive. The cost depends what you think is necessary for life.

Chinese Program Review

John:

Fudan University’s Chinese language program is TERRIBLE. All foreigners who have studied there agree on this. I know it’s a famous university, but evidently they don’t put much effort into developing a good Chinese language program.

Have you studied in any Chinese Lanaguage Program in China? Please let the others know your experience by posting a comment on this page. You will find the comment form at the end of this page. In your comment, answer the following questions:

1) Which university did you go for the program?

2) Which program did you attended?

3) What is the length of your program?

4) What is your Chinese language level before attending the program?

5) Overall comments on the program?

6) Top three reasons why you are satisifed or dissatisified with the program?

7) What you’d like to say to those who are considering enrolling the program?