Harbin Institute of Technology

Harbin Institute of Technology was founded in 1920 to train engineers for the Chinese Eastern Railway and is a member of the C9 League. It is among China's leading institutions for mechanical, electrical and aerospace engineering, with around 25,000 undergraduates. It operates three campuses in different provinces: Harbin in Heilongjiang, Weihai in Shandong and Shenzhen in Guangdong. These are separated by thousands of kilometres and differ in climate, living costs and programme range. Which campus a programme runs at should be established before anything else. Harbin is the northernmost major university city in China and its winters are severe, with January averages well below freezing. For a Kazakh applicant from Astana that is familiar; for one from Almaty or Shymkent it is a genuine adjustment. Living costs in Harbin are among the lowest of any C9 location.