Dalian lies near the southern tip of the Liaoning Peninsula. As a port town, it has a different feel and a different climate to the other major cities of northeastern China. International, cosmopolitan and modernized, Dalian is considered by many to be the most livable city in the whole of China.
In common with the rest of the region, Dalian has both suffered upheaval and seen great progress over the last 100 years. Controlled at various stages by both the Russians and Japanese, the city retains much of its inheritance from both these periods. Many buildings from these periods are still in use, and they are one of the reasons why Dalian is a popular destination for Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian tourists.
Most of the products manufactured in around the northeast of China are transported down to Dalian and exported through its ports, making it a key logistics hub. In this sense, Dalian’s fortunes are linked very closely to those of the other cities in the region, and it is likely to continue growing quickly in the coming years. The city also has vibrant shipbuilding, software outsourcing and aqua-marine produce sectors. It has recently even managed to attract a big investment from Intel to develop a semiconductor plant in the north of the city.
The city itself is clean, well-organized and compact. Warm summers and cool winters add to the pleasant environment. The large foreign population in the city means that there is no shortage of restaurants, coffee shops, bars and shops catering to foreigners. Indeed, from the perspective of foreign students of Chinese language the only drawback to studying in Dalian is its convenience. It requires discipline to not be distracted from studying by the range of entertainment available in the city.
There are a number of universities in the city. For foreign students, the best ones are Dalian University of Technology, Dalian University of Foreign Languages, Liaoning Normal University and Dongbei University of Finance & Economics.
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