| I'm on exchange at Tsinghua University in Beijing now, and know lots of people who are enrolled in the Language Programme for Foreigners. Also, Beijing University, BLCU and several other universities also offer language courses to foreigners. The courses are not bad, and Beijing mandarin is definitely closer to putonghua than Shanghainese. Shanghai is more cosmopolitan and expensive, but Beijing is certainly highly developed too with plenty of foreigners and the sort of comforts we're used to are available for a price. The nightlife is decent here, with a range of clubs, bars and lounges around. Paul van Dyk played in Tango recently. For convenience's sake, it's definitely better to stay close to campus- traffic jams can be absolutely horrid. |