“Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” by Terry Pratchett – Let’s find it out by going to study in Shanghai.
Shanghai is one of the four municipalities of the People’s Republic of China with nearly 25 million residents. Originally it was just a fishing village and market town but now it is the most populous city in China and the second-most in the world. It is a national center for commerce, trade, and transportation. Shanghai’s six largest industries are retail, finance, IT, real estate, machine manufacturing, and automotive manufacturing. They have also hosted many national conferences and events, such as Shanghai Fashion Week, the Chinese Grand Prix, and ChinaJoy every year. Shanghai is a global center for finance, innovation, trade, and transportation. The Port of Shanghai is the world’s busiest container port. It is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world.
The wealthy city
Shanghai is one of the wealthiest and also one of the most expensive cities in China. Tourism is also one of its major economies. Their most famous attractions are the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower, which are the city’s iconic, the City God Temple of Shanghai, Yuyuan Garden, and the China Pavilion. Shanghai has become very international nowadays. If you walk around the city, you will also see that they have nice and perfectly blended its traditional architecture Chinese style to Western-style. At some corners, you may think that you are walking in Europe, like at The Bund. You might be surprised by how fast things have changed from your last visit in Shanghai once you return to study there once again.
Major center of education
Shanghai is a major center of education in China. Many international students come to Shanghai to study Chinese. There are many good language institutions in the city and they offer courses all year round. For those who want to come to study in high school or higher education. There are 64 colleges and universities, 929 secondary schools, 698 primary schools, and 31 special schools. Among all senior high schools, there are Shanghai High School, High School Attached to East China Normal University, High School Affiliated to Fudan University, and High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University which is top high schools and is termed “The Four Schools” of Shanghai. These are the top high schools in China.
Some of Shanghai’s most prestigious universities are Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, and East China Normal University. These are the world top ranking universities as well. Many of them also have collaborated with universities abroad, such as Fudan University established a joint EMBA program with Washington University from the USA, which is ranked as one of the best in the world, Shanghai University has cooperated with the University of Technology Sydney from Australia and Shanghai Jiao Tong University joint with the University of Michigan from the USA. There are also many other good private high schools and universities that welcome international students who wish to study in Shanghai for their own future.
Living in Shanghai
Despites being one of the wealthiest cities in China, living and studying in Shanghai is very convenient. Shanghai has an extensive public transportation system comprising metros, buses, ferries, and taxis, all of which can be accessed using a Shanghai Public Transport Card. Bicycle is still a commonly used kind of transport in Shanghai. There are chinese Restaurants, international restaurants, café, and convenient stores everywhere. There are also many shops, local markets, and department stores. Nanjing Street and Tainzifang Street has everything you need. You can choose to share an apartment or student dormitory with your friends or stay with a local host family arranged by your school, which is highly recommended because you will get to learn real Chinese culture, and more importantly, you can really practice your Chinese too.
There are plenty of things you can do after class when you study in Shanghai. Let’s start by visiting museums, exploring historical sites, shopping and sitting down in a park or a café with your friends. If you would like to see the development of one of the global economic centers, go travel and study in Shanghai and find the answer to what can be the same as never leaving when many things have changed over time yourself.
