City guides · · 2 min read
Dalian for international students: a coastal engineering city with Japanese links
A clean seaside city in Liaoning with a leading technical university and a strong Japanese and Korean business presence.
Quick answer
Dalian University of Technology
DUT is one of the four leading engineering universities of the north-east, particularly strong in chemical engineering, engineering mechanics, civil engineering, shipbuilding and software engineering. It was one of the first national key universities designated in 1960.
Its Panjin campus hosts an international college with English-taught engineering programmes, which is often easier to enter than the main Linggong campus in Dalian.
Costs and lifestyle
CNY 2,600–3,400 per month in a dormitory, CNY 1,400–2,600 off campus. Seafood is inexpensive and excellent, and the city is compact enough that cycling and walking are practical alongside the metro.
Dalian is repeatedly ranked among the most liveable Chinese cities, with low air pollution and clean beaches at Xinghai Bay and Jinshitan.
Japanese and Korean links
Dalian has the largest Japanese business community in China after Shanghai and a very large Korean population, with corresponding Japanese and Korean language teaching, food and job opportunities. If your career target is Japanese or Korean firms operating in China, Dalian is an unusually good base.
Software outsourcing to Japan is a major local industry and recruits heavily from DUT's software engineering school.
Climate
Four seasons with cold, dry winters at -8 to 2 °C, very pleasant springs and autumns, and warm summers at 22–28 °C. The sea moderates the temperature compared with inland north-east cities.