THE WEATHER:
Really humid. Hot just about every day. The sun will burn you. It does rain every few days, though. Sometimes there are pretty intense thunderstorms, but not frequently. There happened to be a typhoon while I was there. I’d advise you to bring a small umbrella, for both sunny and rainy days. Stick to t-shirts and shorts. I brought one pair of pants when I went and I only used them once or twice (and I was suffering). Perhaps one light jacket, for the airplane, but you won’t be cold often. Oh yeah, deodorant is a must. Bring a stick that’ll last you, because it’s not a particularly easy commodity in China.
THE CITY:
Big and (in my opinion) beautiful. Easy to find a nice, quiet place, but if you want something to do there are plenty of places to go. Cafes, KTV, Young Mix, Huafa, Gongbei, a foot massage place, the coast, etc. Just by walking around on the street you’ll discover cool hangouts. For shopping, there’s always a market nearby. Zhuhai even has a Walmart and a Sam’s (GO TO THE SAM’S ON WEEKENDS FOR FREE SAMPLES). The bus system is super convenient and you get a bus card which you can refill at most markets. You can track all of the buses on WeChat and double-check their routes on Baidu. The taxis aren’t very expensive and you’re safe as long as you get in an official one. Public transport may seem overwhelming at first, but it’s really easy to figure out. Bonus: For some reason, I filmed the tunnel route on the 70 while I was going home. Watch here.
THE PEOPLE:
Friendly! It didn’t seem like there were a lot of sketchy people in Zhuhai (at least, compared to some other cities in China). I’d gotten lost at least six or seven times, including in my own neighborhood. I asked three different old ladies in broken Mandarin to help me find my building and they pointed me in the right direction. When I got lost in a different district, I asked a Chinese worker in a bakery to talk to my host mom on my phone, which he kindly did. When I got lost in Gongbei, I asked a stranger where the nearest KFC was, and even though he didn’t know what I was talking about, he tried to help. Besides some strange looks and odd comments, I was treated well and I am still grateful. If you ever do get lost, I suggest you seek help from old women or shop workers who don’t appear busy.
THE FOOD:
A lot of it is Guangdong-style, of course! Truthfully, you can find most of what you’re looking for in Zhuhai, though it won’t be exactly like it is in the U.S. A short list of places I or my classmates ate at outside of BNUZ: a mushroom restaurant, Shanghai-style, Hong Kong-style, Portofino (Italian), the London Lounge (British, American), pulled noodles, hotpot, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Haagen Dazs, and of course, McDonald’s.