Studying Abroad in China (在中国留学)

Table of Contents

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1. General Information
2. Study Abroad Programs
3. Expatriate Magazines, Sites
4. Virtual Private Network (VPN) Services

General Information

• Study in China — A general resources page for studying abroad in China.  I haven’t used or heard of anyone using this service.  If the site asked you for money to apply for any programs, don’t give any.  Talk to me!  🙂
• Beijing Municipal Chinese Promotion Center — Information on studying abroad in Beijing.

Study Abroad Programs

NOTE: You do NOT need to be a permanent/full-time student of these institutions to attend their summer session Chinese courses.

• Princeton in Beijing (普林斯顿暑期北京中文培训班) – I attended this program, and remain good friends with some of the instructors.  Let me know if you are interested in PIB.
• Columbia Programs
• CIEE
• IES – IES’s program is at Tsinghua.
• Duke: Beijing Summer Program
• NYU: Experience Shanghai
• Beijing University (北京大学) – I attended BU (北大) for a semester.  BU is one of the, if not the, most popular study abroad university for American students.
• Tsinghua University (清华大学) – Tsinghua lies just down the road from BU, and is considered the Yale to BU’s Harvard.
• Beijing Language and Culture University (北京语言大学) – I attended this University for a semester.
• Beijing Foreign Studies University (北京外国语大学) – I did not attend BFSU, but I was accepted and did tour the campus.  Located on the west third ring road, away from Haidian District — where most universities lie, including BU and Tsinghua — BFSU offers a mature vibe.
• People’s University of China (人民大学) –  人大 sits just south of BU in the heard of China’s “Silicon Valley.”  人大 is one of China’s most famous university’s, especially it’s political science and law departments.

Expatriate Magazines, Sites

Once you’re in China, there are also a wealth of websites you can use to learn the lay of the land, so to speak.  Here are a few of them (note: all of these sites are listed elsewhere on the blog):

• The Beijinger — Weekly magazine aimed at expats (non-Chinese living in China) living in Beijing; The Beijinger is a great resource for finding information on restaurants, concerts, clubs, and other activities
• Time Out Beijing and Beijing Expat— Competitors of The Beijinger; offers similar information, reviews, etc.
• Shanghai Expat — The Beijinger, Shanghai edition
• Shanghaiist — Shanghai news, music, nightlife, etc.
• Life of Guangzhou and Best of Guangzhou — Guangzhou info.
• GoKunming — For you Kunming expats.
• Lost Laowai — Not a expat magazine, but still another source for info on living in China.  This site does an especially good job at discussing problem that often plague new expats to China: getting a cell phone, finding a job teaching English,  issues of etiquette, etc.  I especially like the section on Chinese culture.
• Laowai Chinese — Another site dedicated to the foreigner learning Chinese in China.  Updated often.  Lots of articles on slang.
• BLCUer — social network for current and former students of Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU);  if you go to or live near BLCU, check out this site!  Lots of valuable information.

strong>Virtual Private Network (VPN) Services

Many websites are blocked in China.  YouTube, the New York Times, and the BBC are often censored.  In fact, all WordPress blogs — including this one!! — are blocked in China.  Don’t worry, though.  With a virtual private network (VPN) you can access any of these sites from China.

• Vtunnel —   Website-based VPN.
• Hotspot Shield — Provides the same features as Vtunnel, as well as some not offered on Vtunnel.  Also, Hotspot is a piece of software and not — as Vtunnel is — a web service.
• List of VPN sites/software