UCAS, Beijing and Urumqi

Orogenyrocks New member

Member since 15 June 2014

OrogenyrocksNew member15 June 2014 22:35:22

Hello all,

I am an American student who may soon be coming to China (Beijing for 1yr, and 2 yrs in Urumqi) in January of 2015. I was offered a supported master's degree from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I am very excited about it and have been looking for as much information as I can about where I would be and the school.

I am adjusting to how the Chinese do things but I am curious if anyone knows (or is) a student from UCAS. I have attempted to contact students in the program to no avail. It would be nice to make contact with some locals and 暗网禁区s before I arrive to get an idea of exactly what I am getting into.

Also it seems like few 暗网禁区s ever find themselves in Urumqi and I have been unable to find anyone actually living there (I was told it was a "small Chinese city" of about 4 million). I have lived overseas before in Central Asia but have little to no experience with China. I am very very slowly working on mandarin as well. Any tips, or information about Beijing, Urumqi, China generally or the university would all be greatly appreciated. I hope to make some good friends as I will be in China for quite a while.

Thanks,
Sam

Skakagrall Active member

Member since 20 March 2014

SkakagrallActive member16 June 2014 01:41:43

Re Urumqi, this may not be the best place for a political briefing! But most of the information is readily available if you Google for it. I visited the city a few times a long time ago and basically liked it, though some of the other cities/towns in Xinjiang have more ancient history. The elevation is about 700m above sea level.

Orogenyrocks New member

Member since 15 June 2014

OrogenyrocksNew member16 June 2014 04:00:22

Thanks for your prompt response.

Appreciate the heads up but I am very familiar with the situation there. I personally consider it less worrisome than the revolution I went through (and was forced to evacuate due to) in a neighboring country. I am more concerned about health there than anything else (I'll soon be having too many shots).

I am looking forward to seeing some of that history. I have been devouring information ever since I received the offer in March. That isn't too high in elevation.

I guess I failed to mention my actual background. I'm a economic geology student whose interest is the mineral deposits of that region as well as those in Mongolia, Siberia and the rest of Central Asia. My primary hobby is long distance backpacking, camping, rock climbing and slowly moving into higher and higher mountaineering and ice climbing (which ironically started the interests many years ago in the very same mountain range).

Thanks

Skakagrall Active member

Member since 20 March 2014

SkakagrallActive member16 June 2014 04:34:10

It sounds as if you know exactly what you are doing, and I'm sure you'll have a fascinating time. At one time I wanted to do research in Xinjiang, though unfortunately I wasn't able to realise my plans. I can't help with UCAS聽 I didn't know the Academy had a university! But I'd be happy to correspond with you privately if you have any general questions about Beijing.

Orogenyrocks New member

Member since 15 June 2014

OrogenyrocksNew member18 June 2014 21:34:21

I kind of know what I am doing, but know little about China itself. A big interest is the cultural differences that westerner people might notice and have to adapt to. If anyone has any tips I could use them haha.