City guides · · 2 min read
Nanjing for international students: two top universities and China's most student-heavy city
A former imperial capital with an unusually high ratio of students to residents, and two universities inside the global top 150.
Quick answer
Two very different universities
Nanjing University is the comprehensive one: strongest in astronomy, earth sciences, chemistry, Chinese literature and information science, with campuses at Xianlin, Gulou and the new Suzhou campus. Southeast University is the engineering one: the historic "old eight" architecture school, plus electronic, information and civil engineering, with campuses at Sipailou, Jiulonghu and Dingjiaqiao.
They are both strong, but they suit different applicants. If you want to do pure science or humanities, NJU; if you want architecture, electronics or communications, SEU.
Costs and living
A dormitory-based budget of CNY 2,800–3,600 per month is realistic, and a shared flat room costs CNY 1,500–2,800. Nanjing is roughly 30–40% cheaper than Shanghai.
The Gulou and Xuanwu districts are the historic, walkable centre with the best food and nightlife. Xianlin and Jiangning, in the south and east, are the modern university districts and where most students actually live.
History and quality of life
Nanjing offers more visible history than almost any Chinese city — the Ming city wall, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace and the Nanjing Massacre Memorial — and it is a comfortable, green, relatively quiet city with excellent public transport.
Summers are notoriously hot and humid (the city sits in the Yangtze basin) and winters are cold and damp. Spring and autumn are long and pleasant.
Getting to the rest of China
Nanjing South station is one of the country's principal high-speed rail hubs: 60–75 minutes to Shanghai, about 3 hours to Beijing, 2.5 hours to Hangzhou and 3 hours to Wuhan. That makes weekend travel and internship commuting genuinely practical.