Welcome to China! Study and Research at Tongji University, Jiaotong University and Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences
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Welcome to China! Study and Research at Tongji University, Jiaotong University and Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences 36 Welcome to China! 欢迎来中国 /huānyíng laí zhōngguó/ A few words about China Landscape China (中国 zhōngguó) lite- China, officially the People’s Republic of China, has over China is one of the largest countries in the world, and rally means “land of the mid- 1.3 billion inhabitants and as such it is the most populous its different regions are shaped by various landscapes. dle”. state in the world. It is situated in East Asia and has many While the most inhabited east (i.e. Beijing, Shanghai, direct neighbouring countries: Russia, and Mongolia in Nanjing) is characterized by plains, the wet south (i.e. the north, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Guangzhou) is dominated by low mountain range and Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam in the south, Tadzhikistan, subtropical forests. The northwest of China is shaped by Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan in the west and North Korea in the Tibetan lowland and the southwest by the Himalaya the east. In the east China is bounded by the East China with the highest summit of the world, Mount Everest. Sea and the South China Sea. One of the most impressive landscapes you can find in Guilin, in the southeast of the country. The beautiful and unique landscape is famous for its bizarrely shaped karst landscape and clear rivers. Climate China has 23 provinces, 5 au- tonomous regions and four As the landscape does, the climate also differs from re- cities with the same admin- gion to region. Shanghai for example is located on the istrative status as a province eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River and has a (Peking, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing). humid subtropical climate with very warm, humid sum- mers and cold winters with temperatures sometimes subzero. Spring and autumn are in general sunny and dry and therefore the most pleasant seasons. What to bring: Sunlotion and effective insect repellent; raincoat or umbrel- la; an adapter for your electri- cal devices; pocket dictionary 1 Shanghai Tongji University University campus Tongji (同济) means “Cooper- Tongji University, having over 50,000 students, is one Tongji University has five campuses: the Siping Campus ating by riding the same boat”. of the most prestigious universities in China. Its history on Siping Road, which is the main campus of the Uni- dates back to 1907, when a German physician found- versity, located in the north-east of the city; the West ed the Tongji German Medical School. From then on, Campus on Zhennan Road; the North Campus on Gong- the school expanded and in 1923, it was established hexing Road; the East Campus on Wudong Road and the as a university. Until today Tongji University has vari- Jiading Campus in Anding, the international automobile Further information on Tongji ous cooperation programs with German higher educa- city. University: tion institutions. Joint institutions are, for example, the Address of Siping Campus: www.tongji.edu.cn/english Chinese-German College of Graduate Studies (CDHK) Siping Road 1239 or the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences 同济大学 (CDHAW). Also the University of Tuebingen signed an 上海市四平路1239号 exchange agreement with Tongji University. There are over 2,000 universi- ties and colleges in China. The admission to university stud- ies is based on an examina- tion process, the National Col- lege Entrance Exam (Chinese “gaokao”). This exam takes place once a year and takes Siping Campus, Main entrance three days. Pupils of second- A good possibility to get to ary schools study very hard for Housing know Chinese and interna- this exam, because the cred- tional students is to join one of its of this exam decide about Tongji University has a dormitory for international stu- the many student clubs such the university and course of dents which offers rooms which are usually shared by as photography, Chinese Cal- study they will be enrolled in. two students each. A lot of international students rent ligraphy or Taiqiquan. Just as in German universities, Siping Campus Main entrance students in Chinese universi- flats together off-campus. Consider that most of the flats do not have a heater, and that it can become quite cold ties can study in Bachelor and School of Life Sciences and Technology in winter. Master degree programs. Chinese-German College (CDHK) Library Sports field Swimming Pool International Office Foreign Student Building 2 Shanghai School of Life Sciences and Technology Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS) The Bachelor Program Mo- The School of Life Sciences and Technology was founded lecular Medicine of the Uni- in 1996. It is located on the Siping Campus. The campus Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences of the Chi- Further information on SIBS: versity of Tuebingen signed an is nicely kept with small parks, meadows, small rivers and nese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was established in July, agreement on a direct student www.sibs.ac.cn/en exchange program with the buildings of different styles and times. Besides teaching 1999 through structural reorganization and institutional School of Life Sciences and buildings, libraries and dormitories the campus offers innovation of eight former CAS biological institutes. The Technology. Every year three everything one needs to live such as supermarkets, copy scientific and technological innovation activities of SIBS students from each university shops, dining halls, student organizations and entertain- are focused on various areas, including functional ge- have the possibility to study ment. nomics, proteomics and bioinformatics, research and de- for one or two semesters at the The School of Life Sciences and Technology encompass- velopment of new Address of SIBS as well as of partner intitution. es the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Depart- pharmaceuticals PICB: Further information: ment of Biotechnology, the Department of Molecular for prevention 320 Yue Yang Road University of Tuebingen and Cell Biology, the Department of Bioinformatics and and treatment of 上海岳阳路 号 Faculty of Medicine the Protein Research Institute. The school has about 260 major diseases, 320 The Dean’s office students in Bachelor and Master Degree programs as innovation and Dept. Study and Teaching well as nearly 210 doctoral students. application of www.medizin.uni-tuebingen. biotechnology, vi- de/en/Research/Office+of+th rology and immu- e+Dean+of+the+Faculty+of+ Medicine.html nology, computational biology as well as interdisciplin- ary studies between life sciences and other disciplines. CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB) PICB, which is part of SIBS, was founded in May, 2005. It Further information on PICB: was jointly established by the Chinese Academy of Sci- www.picb.ac.cn ences (CAS) and the German Max Planck Society (MPG). The research at the institute is focused on the interface between theoretical and experimental molecular and cell biology. Further information on study and research at SIBS and PICB can be given by the Division of Tongji University, Siping Campus Immunopathology of the Ner- vous System. 3 Shanghai Jiaotong University Housing Jiaotong (交通) means “traffic, Jiaotong University was founded in 1896 as Nanyang On Minhang campus, Jiaotong University offers single Address of Minhang Campus: transport, communication”. Public School by an imperial edict issued by Guangxu room apartments for international students. Beside ba- 800 Dongchuan Road Emperor. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious uni- sic furniture the apartments are comfortable equipped Minhang District versities in China. with a private bathroom, refrigerator and air-condition- 闵行校区 In its history the university was placed under several ing. 上海市东川路800号 Further information on ministries. In 1938, the Ministry of Education took over Jiaotong University: the university. Today, the university focuses its teaching Systems Biology Lab http://en.sjtu.edu.cn/ and research on engineering, sciences, life medical sci- ences as well as humanities and social sciences. The Systems Biology Lab is part of the Center of Systems Biomedicine. The research is mainly focused on endog- University campus enous cancer network, metabolic network kinetic mod- eling, genetic switch, evolutionary dynamics, stochastic Further information on The university has 31 depart- The Minhang campus, founded in 1987, is the main processes and other related topics. They are connected Systems Biology Lab: ments and 11 state key labora- campus of Jiaotong University. It is located in the Min- together through a universal theoretical framework of http://systemsbiology.sjtu. tories and national engineer- hang district on the outskirts of Shanghai and it takes Darwinian dynamics, aiming to understanding the gen- edu.cn/ ing research centers. about one hour by subway to the city center. Most de- esis and progression of complex diseases. Its total enrollment of stu- partments and administrative offices are located here. A dents amounts to approx. lot of international students take for example classes at 36,000 of which approx. 1,500 How to get there: are international students. the School of International Education. Moreover, several high-tech companies placed their research and develop- Take line 1 to its final station ment centers near the campus. (Xinzhuang) and then line 5 to Dong Chuan Station. Then it is a 30 min walk to one of the west gates. From there it takes 20 minutes to reach the Systems Biology Lab. Jiaotong University, Systems Biology