# Tianjin vs Dongguan vs Dalian



## Thrash (Dec 24, 2015)

Hey guys,

Moving to China to live in one of these cities for a year.
I've looked up as much information on them as I can.

But there's only so much you can learn from wikipedia and random lonely planet/trip adviser posts, so I would like to hear anyone's experience/opinions to help me decide.
I would like to learn some Mandarin while i'm there, so i'm not sure about Dongguan.
I'm leaning towards Tianjin, but the extreme pollution is really putting me off.

Thanks!


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

Dongguan wins for me, I live in Sichuan now but Dongguan holds a lot of happy memories and they have very little smog plus it is sub-tropical so good weather all year round.

Dongguan is like Shenzhen, a modern and green city with lots of work opportunities and they speak mandarin, they also speak the local language of Guangdong wah (Cantonese) but all of them understand mandarin, also known in China as ****ng wah.

Tianjin is smoggy cold and smelly despite having a long history of connection with the west and many expats living there.


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## Thrash (Dec 24, 2015)

Hi,
Thanks for taking the time to reply! It's really appreciated.

How horribly b*stardized (excuse the language) is Mandarin in Dongguan?
I know that most people can understand Mandarin, but have difficulty speaking it, or at least their pronunciation of words vary considerably from northern Mandarin. Is it a waste of time trying to learn it there?


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## Zhongshan Billy (May 18, 2014)

The inhabitants of Guangdong are from many Provinces and their dialects are a bit different to the simplified Mandarin. Maybe when you first start talking in Mandarin to a person they will take a moment or so to take in your accent and use of words.

In my years here I have found that if you say a few words in Chinese they are convinced that you are fluent and start talking to you at such a pace its hard to pick out any words!

I have found that the longer I am here the less I have to say anything in Mandarin or other dialect. Chinese teachers her try to teach foreigners the Chinese way and that means cramming ones head with facts which, because of my age, meant that very few stayed there. 

Mind you the younger you are the easier it is to pick up the language.

Zhongshan Billu


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

No matter which part of China you choose they will speak Mandarin with a local accent which means unless they speak slowly you will find it difficult to catch what they say.

As Billy pointed out most of the big cities especially in the south have loads of migrant workers who you will find hard to understand. Personally I find northerners and western Chinese harder to understand because of their accent but I live in the West of China now and get by with little problem, mind you I have been all around China in the last 21 years.

As Billy said the younger you are the faster you will learn.


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## cschrd2 (Oct 31, 2011)

Dalian might be the best choice, although pollution is all around in China so don't base your judgement purely on that.


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## Eric in china (Jul 8, 2014)

This may help;

In Pearl River Delta, people breathe easier - China - Chinadaily.com.cn


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## Zhongshan Billy (May 18, 2014)

Out of the three places I would recommend Dongguan. That is quite close to where I live. 

Up in the north of the country they have cold, cold temps and lots of snow and people are dressed like Michelin Men.

But today 7th January I spent the afternoon on my balcony in a T shirt where I drank a few cold beers whilst enjoying the sunshine. 

Sub tropical it certainly is.

Zhongshan Billy


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## MsJones (Mar 5, 2016)

I spent a summer in Dalian and absolutely loved it. This is, of course, no guarantee that you won't hate it once winter rolls around 

Could you tell us a bit more about what you're looking for?


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