GoKunming Forums

research in China

Peter99 (1246 posts) • -2

Horrible place, avoid even if scholarship. Every minute there is torture.

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • 0

Shanghai government is much more progressive, more open minded to outside ideas, and has a history of international co-operation at all levels. You are more likely to get support there.

Shanghai is a diverse city, with rural and urban poor, as well as rich middle class. There are all levels of society. A study in Shanghai may not be exactly what you want to do, but it looks like you are much more likely to be able to do it.

I don't know how much you know about the culture in China, but people do not like to say 'no', on most occasions you will just get no reply. Sound familiar? At least now it sounds like you have found a gatekeeper, or someone who knows one.
IMHO take what is on offer, especially if your timescale is limited. Otherwise you may well end up with nothing.

Ishmael (462 posts) • -2

Yes - is there any reason that such research in Pu'er would be any more significant than if it were carried out elsewhere? What's special about Pu'er that needs investigation? Granted you may want to be in Pu'er because you were there before, and maybe there's something, but how important is it?

kaddibuddy (45 posts) • +2

I would lie if I would say that I already know people in Pu'er wouldn´t be important for me.
But I also can tell, I was once in Beijing for holiday and I felt so uncomfortable, I wanted to leave after a few days. I just don´t feel comfortable in such big cities, it gives me too much pressure, I feel lost all the time.
Of course, Shanghai also has great culture and I know it is more open minded. But I just can´t imagine going there.
I have to think it through

Peter99 (1246 posts) • +1

You dont need to say shanghai has a great culture to please the crowd here - it doesnt. If u liked Puer u will dislike every minute in Shanghai, a mug of coffee is 35 yuan btw, and when u sip it in that weird environment, and if that day air is polluted too, it feels like prison. Only ppl u can easily connect to are the scammers on nanjing rd and bund, its a world away from Puer, which probably has avoided a dystopian shadow.

kaddibuddy (45 posts) • +1

Yes I know. But I guess many people would be happy if they would have the option. But by the way, only because my supervisor sent me the email address of a person he knows personally in Shanghai doesn´t mean I can go there. Of course I will sent her an email, but I will also try to make clear that I plannend to go to Pu'er.

It´s just, once there was a PhD student at my University who also went to Yunnan doing fieldwork, he went to Xishuangbanna. So I thought, having that in mind, there will also be the chance that I can go to Yunnan, as there already was a person who went to Yunnan. I did a lot of research finding the a good University that also fits my wishes (yes, I am only a student and the people who work there have the knowledge) but I considered what others wrote about and then chose the University. So I think, that I am now a bit disappointed because my supervisor just says "find another way" is okay, because he didn´t think about how to go to Yunnan, it´s just the comfort zone, because he has a contact in Shanghai. That is my opinion. I´m not the kind of person who just says "my supervisor recommended me that, so I will do that", because it is my dissertation, I will do fieldwork, I will be there for around one year, I have to fit into it, I have to write about it and I have to feel comfortable. Going from fieldwork in Pu'er to fieldwork in Shanghai is huge for me, it´s not the same, it´s not what I imagined and it´s not what I so far wrote about in my dissertation.

So Pu'er doesn´t have a language school that offers chinese, only english, another step that didn´t work out.

Ishmael (462 posts) • -1

OK, so you don't like Beijing and you don't want to go to Shanghai and you can't find a way to get a visa to do research in Pu'er. So compromise, come here and wing it and/or see about going somewhere else.
What else would you like us to tell you, now?

kaddibuddy (45 posts) • +1

I´m sorry for wasting your time when I was talking about my progress or not progress. I searched for some advices and I got a lot of advices. You don´t need to tell me anything, because obviousely we don´t have the same opinion.

Peter99 (1246 posts) • -2

Ishmael is one of our resident communists here, he is also guarding this forum, so expect him to come and poke around. Also expect him to report u if u cross his lines.

kaddibuddy (45 posts) • +2

I don´t think that I cross anyones lines, I was just asking for some advices and wanted to let you know about my progress, as i got so many answers. :)

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