国际学生在西安：丝路历史与两所百强工科大学

The universities

Xi'an Jiaotong University is a C9 League member and China's leading institution for energy and power engineering, electrical engineering, high-voltage technology, materials and management, with a new 1,600-hectare Innovation Harbour campus.

Northwestern Polytechnical University is one of China's defence universities and the country's leading school for aircraft design alongside Beihang — its alumni designed the J-20 stealth fighter, the Y-20 transport and the AG600 amphibious aircraft.

Costs and daily life

Xi'an is one of the cheapest large cities in China: CNY 2,400–3,200 per month in a dormitory, CNY 1,200–2,400 for a shared off-campus room. Noodles, the local speciality, cost CNY 10–15 a bowl.

The Muslim Quarter around the Great Mosque has a large Hui Chinese Muslim population and excellent halal food, which makes Xi'an particularly attractive to students from Muslim-majority countries.

History and travel

The Terracotta Army, the Ming city wall — which you can cycle around in about two hours — the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Shaanxi History Museum are all within the city or a short bus ride away.

Xi'an is a rail hub for western China: 4 hours to Beijing, 6 to Shanghai, 4.5 to Chengdu, 3 to Lanzhou and the gateway to Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang.

Climate

Dry, cold winters at -5 to 8 °C and hot, dry summers reaching 38 °C, with a short rainy period in September. Air quality can be poor in winter, though it has improved considerably since 2018.