Type of housing: On campus

Arranged by: Home university

If returning, I would choose: On campus

Why? Being on campus provided access to the backstreets and a plethora of international students. Who could ask for more of a Chinese University?

Personal comments:
There was not a great deal of fitness equipment available and the rooms were relatively small. It was a University in China, though...what can one expect? If you value your space, privacy, and cleanliness, China (Hua Shi Da, anyway) is not the place for you.

Describe host city: Students interact with the local community without much university involvement

Activities: Takes place mostly within the university/student environment

Nightlife, Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment

Personal comments:
Chinese city life is very centralized so if the campus is located within the city or closer to the main sections of the city, the easier it is for transportation. Shanghai has everything anyone can ask for. Shopping streets, sightseeing, museums, and shows. Nightlife tends to end around 3 or 4 in the morning, but there are many pockets of bars/clubs around the city. You just have to pick your destination. Because the city is changing so fast, bars and clubs (as with shops and restaurants too) sometimes apprears and disappears without notice. But the ones that are quite big is most likely going to stay in one place.

Course recommendations:
ECNU's summer chinese program is suppose to be a mirror of the chinese program in Beijing. So, it seems that the coordinators are still trying to figure out a few things. Classes are taught at a steady pace with different levels, but it is up to the student to determin how much effort he/she is willing to put forth into the language study.

Personal comments:
For serious students of chinese language, Beijing is the place to be. It is the political, cultural, and language center of China. Shanghai has too many distractions for it to be a city to study in. Also, it is China's most international city and the Shanghainese dialect widely spoken. Everyone can speak mandarin, but as part of the south, almost everyone has a southern mandarin accent. Standard mandarin is based off the Beijing dialect.

Language of instruction: English

Main source of funding:
Family

Other sources of funding:
None

Work opportunities:
I didn't explore any work options

Personal spending habits:
Shanghai is China's most expensive city and while the exchange rate made spending very comfortable, some things are actually quite expensive and eventually all the prices adds up. The key is to have fun, but watch your wallet.

Nightlife: was more expensive than at home.

Travel, Overall, Housing: was the same price as at home.

Food, Telephone: was less expensive than at home.

I wish I had known...
How my pre-departing study plans completely sank as soon as I arrived. Watch out for "air-conditioning sickness" during the summer.

In my opinion:
Everybody loved it, you will too!