China city guide provides the information of the most popular cities for international students to study in China. More and more schools are prepared to accommodate the rapidly growing number of foreign students coming to study in China. Foreign students are studying in over 690 higher education institutions throughout 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China. There are three main factors you have to consider when deciding where to study in China: 1) Budget, 2) Climate and 3) Local Dialect.

1) Budget: China is not an expensive place to study. Accommodation fee is your main concern besides tuition. In major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, accommodation, food and entertainment fee cost a lot higher than second or third tier Chinese cities.

2) Climate: Obviously, southern provinces are warmer. In fact it can be very hot and humid during summer. In contrast, northern provinces are colder. Temperatures during winter time may vary between -20 and 5 degrees Celsius.

3) Local Dialect: There are hundreds of local dialects in China. Some of them are completely different from Mandarin (Putonghua). For example, the common used language in Guangzhou is Cantonese. People in Guangdong and Hong Kong speak Cantonese in daily interactions with people. Foreign students can still take Mandarin learning courses in Guangzhou. However, the language you hear spoken on the streets and in the restaurants will not be same as you are learning in school. Learn more about Chinese languages, please visit Why Study Abroad in China

There are three largest metropolitan areas in China: Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. Yangtze River Delta includes Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu province. The Pearl River Delta includes one province - Guangdong, which also include two Special Administrative Regions, Hong Kong and Macau. The Ministry of Housing Urban-Rural Development National Urban System Plan identifies Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing as China’s five main urban centers for urban development. Among the list, Shanghai is considered the urban center of eastern China; Beijing and Tianjin are the main urban areas in northern China and the Bohai Sea Region; Guangzhou is the center of the Zhujiang River Delta Region; Chongqing is the only major urban center in China’s western region.