Being in academia I try to make it my business to visit the local campuses wherever I go, especially if the local campuses are affiliated with well-known universities. Shanghai has its fair share of universities, many of them the elite of Chinese higher-education. Among the big names you’ll find Fudan University, Tongji University and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. These are very large universities and are considered the absolute best in China.
Last time I was in Shanghai, I decided to drop by the old Jiao Tong campus to check things out…
As you can see, it was a gloomy day and the campus seemed somewhat plain and ordinary. At some parts it was just very local, I couldn’t really imagine myself there as a student or faculty. I was honestly expecting something a bit more glamorous and international coming from a top university in China, but there is this possibility that I was simply not looking at the right campus. Next visit to Shanghai will hopefully offer a peak into the other campuses Shanghai has to offer and I’m still waiting to be impressed.