Shanghai.

Exchange life here revolves around campus clubs and a nightlife scene that rivals anywhere in Asia. Fudan fields a team in the Yangtze River Delta's international students dragon boat race each year, with dozens of competitors from universities across the region. For evenings out, Hengshan Road in the former French Concession has grown from residential mansions into a strip of bars and nightclubs, while Yangpu district, home to Fudan and Tongji, keeps a steady calendar of society events for the students clustered there.

• Join in when Fudan enters international students in the regional dragon boat race.
• Head to Hengshan Road in the former French Concession for the busiest bar strip.
• Yangpu district, home to Fudan and Tongji, runs a steady calendar of student events.

Shanghai is the priciest city on the Chinese mainland, though careful budgeting keeps it manageable. A meal at a casual restaurant runs around 30 yuan, and a monthly public transport pass costs about 200 yuan. Renting a one bedroom flat averages roughly 3,700 yuan outside the centre and 6,600 yuan downtown, with basic utilities for a small flat adding close to 390 yuan more. Almost every payment, from noodles to metro top ups, now runs through a phone rather than cash, so set up a local payment app as soon as you land.

• Budget close to 200 yuan a month for transport and 30 yuan for a casual meal.
• Expect roughly 3,700 to 6,600 yuan monthly rent depending on distance from the centre.
• Set up a mobile payment app early, since the city runs on cashless payments.

Most exchange students start with campus housing: Fudan opens dorm and housing reservations for incoming students each semester, and applying early through the international office is the easiest way to secure a room. Dorms near Fudan or Jiao Tong in Yangpu and Minhang are the cheapest option by far. If you go private instead, platforms such as Ziroom and Lianjia list flats across the city, though the former French Concession commands a premium over the rest of town. Always view a place before transferring any deposit.

• Ask your host university's international office about dorm availability early.
• University dorms near Fudan or Jiao Tong in Yangpu and Minhang are the cheapest option.
• Never transfer a deposit before viewing the room in person.

Shanghai runs the world's longest metro network, nineteen lines covering more than 800 kilometres across over 500 stations, so almost anywhere in the city is a ride away. Fares are distance based and payable with a transport card or a phone linked to a metro app. For the airport run, the Maglev covers the trip between Pudong airport and Longyang Road in just over eight minutes at up to 300 kilometres an hour, with a single ticket priced around 50 yuan, cheaper with a same day flight ticket. Budget close to 200 yuan a month for regular metro use.

• Load a transport card or metro app before your first ride, since fares are distance based.
• Take the Maglev from Pudong airport to Longyang Road in just over eight minutes.
• Reckon on close to 200 yuan a month for regular metro use.

Shanghai holds some of China's strongest universities and its largest exchange programmes. Fudan, founded in 1905 and home to nearly 32,000 students, and Shanghai Jiao Tong, with close to 38,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate levels, both rank among the world's top fifty. Tongji is the country's leading name in architecture and civil engineering, while NYU Shanghai teaches its roughly 2,100 students entirely in English and sends every undergraduate abroad for a semester. Apply for an exchange place through your home university, then register with the host university's international office once accepted.

• Fudan and Shanghai Jiao Tong both rank in the world's top fifty universities.
• Tongji leads the country in architecture and civil engineering.
• NYU Shanghai teaches entirely in English if you want a fully international campus.

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

Shanghai eats brilliantly at every price point, from steamed xiaolongbao dumplings to pan fried shengjian mantou sold from corner shops each morning. In autumn, hairy crab becomes a citywide obsession, steamed and served with a ginger and vinegar dip. Local cooking leans on soy sauce and a touch of sugar, giving dishes their glossy red colour. Daily life is thoroughly digital: near enough every purchase, from a bowl of noodles to a metro top up, goes through a phone rather than cash, so a local payment app quickly becomes essential.

• Try shengjian mantou from a corner shop stall for breakfast, not just at restaurants.
• Order hairy crab in autumn, when it becomes the city's seasonal specialty.
• Get a mobile payment app running fast, since cash is rarely used day to day.

The former French Concession, spread across Xuhui and Huangpu, is the most charming place to live if your budget allows it, with plane tree lined streets like Huaihai Road and Wukang Road mixing historic villas with cafes and shops. Yangpu, home to Fudan and Tongji, is the practical student base, close to campus and cheaper to rent in. Across the river, Pudong's Lujiazui holds the skyline and the finance jobs, while Huangpu's older streets keep the Bund and the traditional Yu Garden area within walking distance.

• Live in the French Concession for character, around Huaihai Road or Wukang Road.
• Choose Yangpu, near Fudan and Tongji, for a cheaper and more practical base.
• Cross into Pudong's Lujiazui for the skyline, or Huangpu for the Bund and old town.

The Yangtze Delta puts some of China's best day trips within easy reach of Shanghai. Suzhou's canals and its more than sixty classical gardens are just 25 minutes away on the fastest trains, and Hangzhou's West Lake is a further 45 minutes on the high speed line. Closer to home, the canal town of Zhujiajiao sits at the end of metro Line 17, its stone bridges and waterside houses dating back some 1,700 years. For something further, buses and a short ferry connect Shanghai to the Buddhist island of Mount Putuo in around five hours.

• Take a high speed train to Suzhou for its gardens, only 25 minutes away.
• Ride the same line on to Hangzhou's West Lake in about 45 minutes.
• Catch metro Line 17 to the canal town of Zhujiajiao for a half day out.

Shanghai is the gentlest introduction to China, but a few basics still catch newcomers out. Google, Wikipedia and most foreign apps are blocked by the country's internet filtering, so arrange a VPN before you fly rather than after. Set up a mobile payment method as soon as you land, since cash is barely used and many small vendors will not take it. Budget more than you would elsewhere in China: this is consistently the most expensive city on the mainland, so rent and eating out both cost more than in nearby Suzhou or Hangzhou.

• Install a VPN before arrival, since Google and Wikipedia are both blocked locally.
• Set up a mobile payment app immediately, as many vendors do not take cash.
• Budget above what you would elsewhere in China, since Shanghai costs noticeably more.