Mobility specification

Country:China

Institution:Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

City:Suzhou

Program:Partner universities

Activity type:Study

Academic year:2024/2025

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Arts

Study level abroad:Bachelor

🎓Hit the books! How do you rate the university experience?

Can you enroll in a course where you can learn the local language?yes

Does the university offer enough courses in English?it's alright

Are your credits converted?yes

Was there anything in the teaching methods that surprised you?The exams in the middle of the semester.

Does the university offer international students' programs and activities outside of lectures and seminars to help them integrate more quickly?Yes, there is a orientation meeting, many students events, trips, program in the city, discussion sessions with the local students...

In which areas does the university offer support for students with special needs and strive to be inclusive?Psychological counseling
Barrier-free access to classrooms and dormitories
I haven’t noticed

💸Did you have to rob the bank?

Try to take a guess at what your monthly expenditures were:16000 CZK/month

Did you stay in dorms?yes

Do you have any tips on how to save money?Using your student status helps a lot, when buying tickets for example to the atractions

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How well did you manage to communicate in English?perfectly

How does public transport work in the city?mostly fine

And what about transport outside the city?runs like clockwork

Where to find connections? How to buy a ticket?Alipay and wechat are must for travelling. I had metro and bus card, and when traveling to other places I only change s the location in app and I could immediately activate qr codes to travel. I was also using trip.com when booking high speed trains or also wechat. Didi app is something like a Uber but much cheaper and works well.

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?no

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?Classical Gardens, budhist temples and water towns like Tongli...

What are the must-visit trip destinations?Hangzhou, huge Buddha in Wuxi

Share your best experience:My best experiences were mostly when solo traveling and using my Chinese, because Chinese people are very curious and they always want to talk with me when they know that I speak Chinese, it's always very pleasant experience.

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?yes

Where can it be arranged?I arranged mine at Chinese embassy in Bratislava

What is needed?There was some paperwork that I needed to done before and bring it with me, also my passport

How long does it take approximately?It was very fast, I think it took a week to make them

How did you get to the place?Plane

Is there anything to watch out for before the trip?Downloading alipay and wechat to be able to pay. Don't forget about the VPN.

Can you pay by card?almost nowhere

What not to forget when packing?Don't pack too many stuff, you will take a lot of stuff from China and you need space for then, also everything there is much cheaper than in Europe, so towels, bedsheets and lot of stuff you can buy there

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?This trip really opened my eyes and help me find a little adventurer in myself.