The best place to study chinese mainland?Taiwan?HK?

[Lalla]

Hi everyone!

I am a french student (with malian origins) and with my school, i have to spend one year aboard. Since i've been learning chinese for one year and that i am very interested in this culture, i'm planning to go to China. We have the choice between different univerities (Tsinghua, Beida, Beiwain fudan, Chinese university of HK, Nanjing daxue, Taida etc...) which are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nanjing and Taiwan. I know that all these universities are really good, but i was wondering where do you think is the best place to learn chinese? I don't know what to choose between Taiwan and mainland (i know they use traditional characters and a local language in Taiwan but still i really wanna go there >_<, in the other hand, i really wanna experience what its likeliving in the mainland etc...)

Could you please help me >_<? thank you!!!

[pat_togo]

If it is only for the language I would stick to Beijing, as other places have their own languages/dialects.

[Jatoo]

I recommend Beida (Peking University), the most prestigious in China in science, liberal arts, social science and medicine. Beijing dialect is considered the authentic Mandarin. As Pat mentioned, most Chinese speak Mandarin with more or less accent.   

[Lalla]

Yeah, i made a few research and spoke to some friends (from China) and it seems that Beijing is definetly one of the best places to study and practice mandarin...
But i also heard that the advantage of places such as Taiwan and HK is that westerners are less desorientate when they go there (comapred to mainland)
... Oh after all, i'm supposed to discover a new country so i think i might as well just go for it ^^, i hope it's gonna be a pleasant change of scenery^^
Beijing here i come!!!

Now, i still have to choose between Tsinghua, Peking U and Beiwai, i'm gonna check their websites to see their program for exchange students...

Thank you!

[NINJA ASSASSIN]

.....in my opinion the best place to study is hk or taiwan.....i lived in the mainland and still visit there alot but if ur soft hearted china starts to suck pretty quick even if ur pure white....do not dare go study in the mainland if ur not pure white....u wlll be bored within a week....harsh but true...the chinese are friendly but have this pre conceived notion that if u do not come from america or england......ur a second class human....and all they can master for u is pity....and its not good being pitied by people u pity...coz seriously after being in china for two days u start to feel deep pity for all of them...another thing no one believes in God there so ur in a place God abadoned long ago....and if a quake or typhoon hits u....do not ask the good lord why...ur in the outer limits dude...there its luck not grace that makes things move....hk is cool its a small ny or if u like.....more informed bout the way the world works...

[Lalla]

@ Ninja Assassin,
Oooh really?
Actually, I am black so what you're saying about  Chinese people treating non white people as second class human is scaring me a bit... are you sure about that? I read a few posts on this forum and a lot of people said that the Chinese are very welcoming and nice. I was really excited and full of hopes and expectations as far as my trip to China is concerned, and what you are saying is really worrying me.
Could you explain it a little more?

(p.s: I want help but think that you sound a bit delusioned, is it just me?)

[summerquin]

Hi,

Im a black young woman in china, and have never felt like I have been treated with 'pity' by any of the locals. Many of them stare at me, but always come up to me and say nice things such as 'your very beautiful, are you a  model' and 'I like your hair'. They are always friendly and just curious, really. I find it very easy to make friends. Of course there are racist chinese people, but who really cares! As long as it does not effect you in a negative way.

I always read about black people having negative reactions from some chinese people. But this is not always the case, believe me. Sometimes I feel like a get treated better because I'm different to them.

Well everyone has their own experience and opinion on this. So thats just my 2 cents.

So don't worry and come to this place with a open mind. And I'm sure you will have a fun and crazy experience.

 

[NINJA ASSASSIN]

@ Ninja Assassin,
Oooh really?
Actually, I am black so what you're saying about  Chinese people treating non white people as second class human is scaring me a bit... are you sure about that? I read a few posts on this forum and a lot of people said that the Chinese are very welcoming and nice. I was really excited and full of hopes and expectations as far as my trip to China is concerned, and what you are saying is really worrying me.
Could you explain it a little more?

(p.s: I want help but think that you sound a bit delusioned, is it just me?)

                                                                   .....delusioned maybe....but to say the truth if u plan to come to china kill all that hope coz i like to say things as they are the chinese are not all that nice....they seem very nice if u dont understand their language ....but once u start getting it....thats when u can form an opinion based on what u hear generally around u....i have chinese friends who are so cool 2 but majority read..99% are just terrible....keep ur expectations at minimal till u settle in china then post and maybe u can agree or disagree with my views....maybe the member who said she is always called a model don't understand a word in chinese so i give her time....once a chinese asked a black gal how long it took for her to give birth...thats just a tip of their soft ignorance or racismn....but it depends on who u ask about china....for me its hitting it straight on the headt..no false hope.

[Lalla]

thank you for your opinion, even though i'm kinda worried right now i really appreciate your sincerity.
But the thing is that your description of the Chinese people does not match at all with the Chinese people i know, they are really nice to me, they never miss an opportunity to know more about my culture, they are really open minded and we get along really well... so when you say that Chinese people are terrible...i just don't get it... (maybe i don't recognize them in your description because most of my chinese friends are from the upper class so they are not really representative of the chinese society as a whole...)... anyway i'll see when i get there...So you recommend HK or Taiwan?
And about chinese language, i've been learning it for one year now, and i'm really into it lol, never miss an opportunity to practice (its funny how people are surprised when they see a black girl speaking chinese, i guess i'll have to get used to it) and i hope that one day i'll be able to speak chinese fluently (at the moment its just a dream lol).

[NINJA ASSASSIN]

 ......its cool if ur chinese friends are good...this is the 1% i said....ur right also about the class.....but the sad thing is most visitors interact with the normal chinese...99%......ur lucky or  xtremly hot....we all know hot gals dont count in polls......even infants recognise hotness...even chinese......

[Lalla]

Waw...It's been a long time... i was on hollidays ^^ (and back to school now >_<)

I changed my mind, i think i'm gonna go apply to Taiwan first (National Taiwan university or Chengchi university) and then to mainland universities. But the thing is that people use traditional chinese characters in Taiwan. Is it hard to go from simplified characters to traditional ones (because ive been learning simplified chinese)...? Is it really useful to know traditional characters or should i focus on the simplified ones since they are more used?

[rabbit74]

I live in Taiwan and have traveled to China.

Taiwan is not the best place if your goal is learning Chinese.

The dialect here is heavily influenced by the local Taiwanese language. And although Traditional Chinese characters are nicer to look at they are being used less and less in the world. I am sure before long they will be history.

In Taiwan they do not use Pinyin. They have their own version... which was poorly thought out and even more poorly executed. This is key to learning Chinese. The very first thing is Pinyin. Hanyu Pinyin. You will use it everyday. Living in Taiwan you can not ask anyone on the street for help because none of them know Pinyin. But in China you can stop and ask anyone on the street what this word is or how to tap out some phrase on your phone or PDA. This one problem alone has contributed to the lack of foreign students in Taiwan more than any other.

It will cost you more to live here and more for tuition and the economy just keeps getting worse.

And they are no more or less racist here than on the mainland. I have a couple Black friends here and they struggle to get decent jobs.

Hong Kong is the most internation place in China and everybody speaks English in the city so transitioning is easy.

[sabresaurus]

Are things in Taiwan more expensive than in Hong Kong? 

[Lalla]

Hey,

Thank you for your reply.  I was quite surpirsed to read that taiwan is not a good place to study chinese... i  never heard about that problem with hanyu pinyin...well, i'll be going to univertsity anyways so 'ill learn proper pinyin there...and if people don't understand pinyin, i guess this is going to be an incentive for me to work harder ^^.

Yes i know that they use a local language in Taiwan, but they also use mandarin right? My friends who went there told me that they had to use mandarin in their everyday life (as everybody dont not speak english) which enaables them to progress a lot more...

Hmmm are you sure there is only a few foreign students in Taiwan? Because i read that  people tended to go to Taiwan more...as it is said to be more "open", and "free" than mainland china...

Well money is not really a problem... and i know that things are more expensive in taiwan than china, but i'm going to the #2 university in asia, so it is  still worth it...

About them being more or less racist than on mainland China...well I don't have much to say about that...i guess i'll just have to deal with it... i know that beign racist has a lot to do with ignorance...so if people avoid this place  precisely because of this point, then it's never gonna evolve is it?

Yeah, a lot of people gave me this argument about hong kong...but i guess that this is also part of the adventure...i mean, i'm given the opportunity to go to any university in the world, so feeling a bit disoriented is also part of the adventure i guess...

[Lalla]

I stuck to my choice which was to go to Taiwan, and I got in the university in wanted ^^. I'm going to study chinese and some other subjects in english (i don't even know what to choose). Here i come Taiwan !!!