Guangzhou.

With ten universities and around 120,000 students sharing the Higher Education Mega Center on Xiaoguwei Island, student life in Panyu is close-knit and social, and campus canteens are always close by. Sun Yat-sen University runs formal exchange agreements at university and school level, so joining clubs and cross-campus events is straightforward. Jinan University, a short ride away in Tianhe, hosts more than 13,500 overseas students, making it one of the most international campuses in China. Come evening, students head into central Guangzhou for the bars and restaurants the university island itself does not have.

• Ten universities and about 120,000 students share Xiaoguwei Island's campus cluster.
• Jinan University in Tianhe hosts more than 13,500 overseas students.
• For nightlife, most students head off-island into central Guangzhou.

Guangzhou is a first-tier city but noticeably cheaper than Shanghai or Beijing. A one-bedroom rental runs 2,500 to 7,000 yuan a month in the centre and 1,500 to 3,500 yuan further out, with Tianhe among the pricier districts. A cheap meal costs 10 to 40 yuan, while a proper dim sum sitting at a heritage house like Taotaoju runs about 15 to 30 dollars a head, more at a garden-style restaurant such as Panxi. The metro starts at 2 yuan for the first 4 kilometres, and a Yang Cheng Tong card, a 20 yuan refundable deposit, also covers buses, ferries and taxis.

• A one-bedroom rental runs 1,500 to 7,000 yuan a month depending on district.
• Dim sum at a heritage house like Taotaoju runs about 15 to 30 dollars.
• The metro starts at 2 yuan, and a Yang Cheng Tong card covers buses and ferries too.

Campus dorms on Xiaoguwei Island are the simplest start for exchange students whose programme provides one, inside a Higher Education Mega Center built to house 350,000 to 400,000 people. Off campus, most exchange students move into Tianhe or Haizhu for a shorter commute into the rest of the city, working with a local letting agent since listings run almost entirely in Chinese. A one-bedroom rental averages 2,500 to 7,000 yuan a month in the centre and considerably less, 1,500 to 3,500 yuan, further out.

• Campus dorms sit inside a Higher Education Mega Center built for up to 400,000 people.
• Off campus, most exchange students move into Tianhe or Haizhu through a local agent.
• A one-bedroom rental averages 1,500 to 7,000 yuan a month depending on area.

Guangzhou Metro is the world's third-busiest, 19 lines and 399 stations carrying more than 9 million riders a day. Fares start at 2 yuan for the first 4 kilometres, and a Yang Cheng Tong card, a 20 yuan refundable deposit, also works on buses, taxis and the Pearl River ferries. Ferries add a scenic, cheap way to cross the river in the centre, and QR-code payment now works on buses too. The metro reaches Xiaoguwei Island and University Town directly, so most days you will not need anything else.

• Guangzhou Metro runs 19 lines and 399 stations, the world's third busiest system.
• Fares start at 2 yuan, and a Yang Cheng Tong card also covers ferries.
• Metro stations reach Xiaoguwei Island directly at Higher Education Mega Center North and South.

Guangzhou's universities are research-heavy and increasingly international. Sun Yat-sen University, founded in 1924 on the site of the old Lingnan University, spans five campuses in three cities and runs exchange agreements at both university and school level. South China University of Technology, dating to 1952, hosts around 1,800 international students across its Tianhe and Panyu campuses. Jinan University, founded in 1906 specifically to teach overseas Chinese students, now enrolls more than 13,500 overseas students, one of the largest such populations in the country, through its International Students' Affairs and exchange offices.

• Sun Yat-sen University, founded in 1924, spans five campuses across three cities.
• South China University of Technology hosts around 1,800 international students.
• Jinan University enrolls more than 13,500 overseas students, among China's largest cohorts.

For a full semester you need an X1 student visa; anything under 180 days uses the X2. Your host university sends an admission letter plus a JW201 or JW202 form, and you take both to a Chinese embassy or visa centre back home. Requirements and fees swing a lot by nationality, so check your own local embassy rather than trusting a mate from another country.

The bit people forget: an X1 visa only gets you in the door. Within 30 days of landing you must convert it into a residence permit at the local Public Security Bureau (Entry-Exit office), which means a health check and passport photos. Miss the deadline and the fines are real.

• X1 visa, stays over 180 days, needs JW202 + admission letter
• Residence permit, apply within 30 days at the local PSB
• Medical exam, required for the permit, budget €50–80
• Rules vary by nationality, always check your own embassy

Guangzhou is the cradle of Cantonese cuisine, and yum cha, tea alongside dim sum, is the everyday ritual. Taotaoju, open since 1880, and the garden-set Panxi Restaurant on Liwan Lake are the classic heritage houses for har gow, siu mai, char siu bao and cheung fun, at fifteen to fifty dollars a head depending on the setting. Liwan is also the place for crackling-skinned roast goose, while wonton noodles and clay-pot rice turn up across the old Liwan and Yuexiu districts. Shamian Island, a former British and French concession dotted with colonial buildings from the 1860s, makes a calm, tree-lined break from the heat.

• Taotaoju, open since 1880, and Panxi on Liwan Lake are the heritage dim sum houses.
• Liwan is the place for crackling-skinned roast goose and old-school wonton noodles.
• Shamian Island's colonial streets from the 1860s make a calm break from the heat.

Tianhe is Guangzhou's modern core, with the Zhujiang New Town skyline facing the 600-metre Canton Tower across the river in Haizhu, and most of the city's nightlife and offices. Yuexiu, the historic municipal seat, and Liwan next door hold old Guangzhou: temples, arcades, Shamian Island and the best traditional food. Panyu, out on Xiaoguwei Island, is where most exchange students actually live, inside the Higher Education Mega Center shared by ten universities. All of these are connected by the metro's 19 lines.

• Tianhe holds Zhujiang New Town and most of the city's offices and nightlife.
• Yuexiu and Liwan hold old Guangzhou, its temples, arcades and Shamian Island.
• Panyu's Xiaoguwei Island is where most exchange students actually live.

Guangzhou sits at the centre of the Pearl River Delta, so big cities and quiet countryside are both close. High-speed rail reaches Hong Kong West Kowloon in as little as 47 minutes, and Shenzhen in half an hour to two hours depending on the train, with fares from 47 yuan. For something completely different, the Kaiping diaolou, fortified watchtowers built by returning overseas Chinese and UNESCO-listed since 2007, sit about two hours away by road in villages such as Zili and Liyuan. Shamian Island's quiet colonial streets make an easy half-day even without leaving the city.

• High-speed rail reaches Hong Kong West Kowloon in as little as 47 minutes.
• Shenzhen is half an hour to two hours away, fares from 47 yuan.
• Kaiping's UNESCO watchtower villages, Zili and Liyuan among them, sit two hours away.

Learn a handful of Cantonese words, tone matters more than you would think, even though Mandarin and increasingly English get you through daily life. Summers are long, sticky and prone to sudden downpours, so carry a light umbrella from May onward. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly, since cash is barely used, and download a VPN in advance since many foreign apps and search engines are blocked. Dim sum houses fill up fast on weekend mornings, so arrive early or expect a real queue at places like Taotaoju.

• Learn a few Cantonese words, tone matters, even though Mandarin and English work too.
• Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay and a VPN before you fly, not after.
• Arrive early at Taotaoju, weekend queues can run about an hour.