Which university to study Mandarin in Shanghai?

I left Shanghai on the 16th of June and came back to England. It had been difficult to adjust being back but I also made the decision to go back to Shanghai to study another semester at Jiao Tong.

Before I left I went with a friend to visit other universities to see if they offered a better course. The first one we went to see was East China Normal University which sounded promising because it is known as the "teachers university", where students wishing to become teachers go to study. Also, our reading teacher graduated from there and she recommended it. The university is located quite a distance from the nearest metro stop, Jinshajiang Road.

The campus itself is beautiful with many trees, grass, even a bridge over a small river. The foreign student buildings are located in the far corner of the main campus and as you get closer to this area it becomes more run down. The classrooms are in places like shacks and with blackboards and no air conditioning - we came to realise how lucky we were in Jiao Tong.

The other university we visited was the Shanghai International Studies University located at Hongkou. Again the campus was very beautiful, quite modern and closer to the Metro than ECNU. I was interested in this university because they offered an intensive course which I thought could help me learn Mandarin faster, but I was to learn that it was only available for those who had no previous knowledge of Mandarin. Checking out the classrooms we found that the rooms were very dark with little sunlight, blackboards were again being used, and generally very run down.

I would highly recommend studying at Jiao Tong because the facilities are much better as well as the location. Each classroom uses whiteboards, has inbuilt computers and projectors, air conditioning and are all brightly lit. I have to admit though I'm not keen on the teaching hours because 90 minutes is a long time to concentrate without a break which was part of my reasons for looking at another course but I think I would rather do this than study in an environment that I didn't feel comfortable in.

I know many students choose Fudan University but I already found Hongkou to be quite far out and Fudan is even further. If you had the choice I would choose a university over a smaller school/company as last year I considered to study at one of these but they couldn't help with a visa and suggested I keep coming in and out on a tourist visa.

At Jiao Tong we study 3 hours a day (plus a 20 minute break), 5 days a week. We study reading, listening and speaking skills. There are elective courses in many areas from tai-chi, calligraphy, painting, business Chinese, and idioms, as well as many more. There are public holidays but you won't miss classes and be prepared (as is the norm in China), you may be required to attend classes on the weekend to make up for missing time due to pubic holidays!

 Campus at ECNU

 Surrounding area of ECNU

Hangzhou part II

On Friday I had my class then quickly dropped my books back at the flat before taking the metro to Hongqiao Railway station. I totally spaced out and then a girl next to me asked me something in Chinese I wasn't too sure until it was too late and I realised she was asking me if I knew where this train was headed. Line 10 branches out at Longxi Lu and I forgot! So as she had the sense to get off the train and wait on the platform I didn't think fast enough and ended up staying on the train and realised it wasn't going in the right direction.

I got off at Longxi and then found this station isn't like the others where you can cross the platform to get back to the other direction but have to go out and across the walkway to get to the other side. So I had to wait 5 more minutes for the next train and asked a girl on the platform if this train was going to the railway station. She confirmed it was and I felt a bit stupid.

I got to the station in good time and went to get some cake to eat whilst waiting for the train. I was lucky enough to sit in 1A in first class so it was very roomy and quiet. The journey took just under 1 hour and when I left I wanted to avoid all those strange men trying to offer rides in their private taxis. As I headed away from the station and men on bikes or in rickshaw things started yelling and getting me to ride with them it really scared me. I then went to the bus stop and flagged down a taxi which already had a passenger and he kept trying to convince me to hop in as well. When I kept waving at him to go and I waited until I got another taxi. This one had some laminated paper in it telling me he was going there but I couldn't read it so I got out. I then headed away and some man started following me I was so scared!

I quickly got my phone out and tried calling Sam and Richie for some help but without much help. I then walked a bit before trying another taxi and he seemed a bit more helpful that I wanted to be on the other side of the road. I managed to cross over but couldn't get a taxi so I headed back to the station. At this point I saw the K7 bus I took last time to West Lake so I quickly hopped on.

When I got to the West Lake stop from before I managed to ask some directions and eventually found the hotel. It was a big room with a lake view for about 700RMB. I then met Sam and Richie at the Honeymoon Dessert place and we took a taxi to a restaurant. This restaurant was huge and apparently very well known in Hangzhou.

Food was something different and the view was stunning. After dinner we split up and I walked around West Lake at night it was so beautiful and not to busy. I just missed the musical fountain show but the Dragonboat tour just docked in so I paid 90RMB and sat on board. I didn't realise we'd sit there for 45 minutes before moving! At this point I caught the musical fountain show twice.

On the boat we were given hot tea and some fruit to enjoy whilst enjoying the tour. It was harder to see things at night but the lights were very pretty. After 50 minutes it ended and I walked back to my hotel.

The next day I woke up around 9am and checked out. I took the K7 bus to the other side of the lake and walked around Yangs Causeway for a while before I took a taxi to Lingyin Temple. I had to pay to go into the grounds and was expected to pay again to go into the temple so I didn't go and headed to Yong Temple at the end near where Sam and Richie were staying. It was by complete chance I found their hotel in the village there.

We ate lunch at the local restaurant and then went on a tea tour. The guide, Linda, she took us to Nine Creeks where it was a 30 minute walk to the Longjing Village. Nine Creeks means crossing on skipping stones which felt rather scary and dangerous - I was so glad to not have to cross back again! The tea village was so different and we were  shown the different kinds of leaves and tea ceremony.

We got back in the car and went to the tea museum nearby and got to try some samples of tea. After this we were dropped off by West Lake and went to Hagan Daaz for high tea ice cream! The train back was at 8pm and we arrived back in Shanghai by 9pm. We thought we'd go to Din Tai Fung in Xujiahui but when we arrived nearly all the restaurants were closing! The only thing we could have was KFC in the end!

A family visit

I was very anxious in class to get out and meet Sami and Richie. I dropped my things off and headed to their hotel at the Bund. After meeting up we took a taxi to Yongfu Lu where there is an Elite club we were going to try to have tea there. I had walked past this place before and didn't know it was a bar/restaurant so it was interesting to walk in. They are very strict about no photos! However, we didn't find the tea menu and so we got a taxi and went to Xujiahui where I got to show them my favourite place which is in the basement of Metro City where there are many things to eat.

We went to the Udon restaurant which was nice and cheap for a big bowl of noodles. After lunch we took a taxi to People's Square to wait in Celina's hotel. We then went to Dapu Bridge station where there is a big hot pot restaurant. I had never seen something like this before where downstairs there are many small tables with games to play whilst waiting for a table and even places set up for manicures!

The service here was amazing and food was really good. You can mix your own sauces too.

The next day we had some small bao like xiaolongbao but made with bread it was really tasty. Then we took the sight-seeing bus and got off at Yu Gardens.

We made our way straight for the xiaolongbao restaurant and sat in the VIP section so we didn't need to wait. The minimum spend per person there is 150RMB. I had to quickly rush off to my class and then later met up with everyone at Xintiandi. I actually didn't know the Olympic torch was on display there so that was cool to see! We then walked through People's Square back to Celina's hotel and took a rest.

For dinner we went to Raffles City, upstairs is a big food court. I shared a roasted fish with Celina which was ok but not as nice as the fish I have more locally.  Then I had to say bye to Celina as she was heading back to Hong Kong the next day.

Beijing

At 8pm on the 28th I met with Hannah at Shanghai Railway Station and we took the overnight sleeper train to Beijing.

As we boarded the train we were surprised to find 3 people already in our cabin and they explained they wanted one of us to switch with them so three could be in the same room! I told them we were together and not wanting to split up so two of them eventually left. It was rather frustrating to find they'd opened and used things like slippers left in the room for us to use.

The cabin fits 4 people, two in the top bunk and two in the bottom. There is a table in the middle with a kettle for boiling water. At the foot of each bed is a tv which plays 4 different channels. I was excited to see Inception was showing only to find it dubbed annoyingly in Chinese. Bedding is supplied as well as slippers and there are various plug sockets for charging devices. It was a little strange to be travelling sideways as it were, and also sharing a room with strangers of which the man was snoring really loudly throughout the journey....

Culture here is very different and it seems entirely normal to wander carriages in your pajamas and slippers and brush your teeth next to a stranger who is spitting up in the sink next to you. The journey time was about 11hours and 30 mins. Arriving in Beijing Railway Station it was very chaotic and we got away as fast as possible from the crowds.

Google maps in China are entirely inaccurate and showed the hotel as being in a completely different location! We walked a long way and I feel I asked about 10 different people for directions. Beijing people I find are friendlier than in Chengdu. Eventually when we found the hotel I made the stupid mistake of booking for yesterday! Luckily it wasn't very busy and we were able to get a room at the same rate. For 300RMB for two of us it wasn't too bad for a 2 star hotel and within walking distance to the Forbidden City.

After dropping off our bags we walked back to Beijing Railway Station to take the metro to Jishuitan Station. From there we walked to Deshengmen Arrow Tower to take the bus to Badaling gate of the Great Wall. By now it was already 11.30am and so many people. We paid 12RMB to take the bus which took just over 1 hour.

Entry to the Great Wall was 45RMB and was extremely crowded, I didn't walk much of it as it got rather steep and I feared my safety. At 2.30pm we started to leave and the queue for the bus back was so very long. We didn't board until 3pm and at this point we tried to use our ticket back but as it was a slightly different shade of blue many buses wouldn't let us on so we had to buy more tickets just to get back. The traffic was so bad we didn't arrive until 5pm.

Taking the metro we headed to Tiananmen Square and walked along until we got to a small paved area with lots of shops and cafes and a trolley car. We ended up eating in a Japanese restaurant before walking back along Tiananmen Square which had lots of lights on. Walking back to the hotel we stopped by Dairy Queen and had some good desserts ^^

The next day we got up super early and got to the Forbidden City by 8.30am which was when it opened and was so surprised just how busy it already was! We bought tickets and went in and was amazed at the size of this palace. We didn't have much time to detour and just stayed in one straight path. The garden was very beautiful and we got to see the golden throne. We then made a move to the Beijing South Railway station and the 5 hour journey back felt so much longer as there were so many stops.

I want to visit Beijing again for a bit longer as we were disappointed there wasn't a bus tour like there is in Shanghai. I'd recommend the sleeper train is a great way to travel, you get to your destination so very early and don't need to pay for a hotel.

Thames Town

On Sunday, Hannah, Jorge and I went to Thames Town which is in Songjiang Xincheng, end of line 9. It took about 45 minutes to get there and its so different compared to central Shanghai. It is much more rural and the place itself is so picturesque. We didn't have the address of the place and in the end we were directed to just follow the main road.

It was so hot (I later found out 36 degrees) and we were walking in the hot hot sun. My UV umbrella was a lifesaver. We passed many parks and saw many couples taking professional photos in beautiful colourful clothes.

We reached Thames Town which is a small community built up to look like English buildings. Even the roads are named things like "Oxford Street" and buildings "Windsor Island" etc. The guards wear uniforms like English guards found at Buckingham Palace (minus the bearskin hats).

Throughout this community you see more couples with photographers and make-up crew and crew carrying reflectors and props for the shoot. There are a few red phone boxes and in the centre of the place is a huge church. It looked like a commercial was being filmed and the outside of the church was set up as if a wedding was about to take place, including guests and professional cameras and dollys. There were some advertising banners around it too.

This place also has a museum that shows the advancement of the town and has interactive projections etc. It was so strange like walking into a movie set!

This weekend Hannah and I are off to Beijing and I'll have my first experience on a sleeper train. I'm not sure what to expect really but I hope it isn't too bad.

Today I had a better day than I'd had in a long time and felt productive writing 2 hours worth of Chinese characters in Starbucks before going to the Vietnamese restaurant for lunch and then to a 3 hour class. I think I'm slowly finding my focus again.