Tsinghua University Fall/Autumn 2010

[asianguy]

Hi all

Just wondering, are all of the people in this forum either

1) exchange students or

2) going for language programes only??

I am going for the actual academic courses in Tsinghua. To be specific is an engineering graduate course. Hoping there are some of you out there who are in the same situation as me.

[ScarlettWan]

@Nazreal...thats soooo cheap! My ticket is £695...but its a year return. They can't offer any later return dates than June atm..so i'm definitely going to need to change the date for the return..and they said it'd be around a £90 fee for that..thats BA..but luggage allowance is 23kg...i have no idea how im going to basically pack my life for a year with 23kg! My mums brought me about 10 jars of vitamins (apparently vitamins from the uk are better than ones from china LOL...chinese mothers =.=)...looks like i'll have to pay for the extra luggage allowance, and buy whatever i can out there *sighs* It was 2 years ago...for China at the embassy..but i already see someone's pointed out you don't need to go there anymore..hopefully won't take long now ^^

@MGMT and Nazreal...I assumed that to be the case too...but on the HSBC site it says theres a charge to transfer money from UK HSBC accounts to HSBC accounts held elsewhere....

Anyone have any reccomendations for the banking issue if we're from the uk???

@calif90071..yeh i know >< i felt like crying when my mum told me. The place where we did the booking (yingwah i think) said it was ridiculously expensive from 30th august-5th sept...and i wanted to get there earlier to settle down..i still havent got my travel documents yet, so not applied for accom..i don't even know what my student number is...can anyone tell me how i get the student number? But is accom isn't available i'll probably drop my luggage off at a distant relatives in Beijing and head to HK for a few days until accom is available.

@alfie84..don't know if it'll be any different in london, but i went to the bank of china branch in anchester and they wouldn't let us open up an account, they said we had to open it in China...we couldn't really understand the reasons why...the level of english spoken at that branch was T_T

[lauren.lin]

Hey guys! For those that haven't booked yet, go for China Southern Airlines, they give students around 30-40kg of baggage allowance. Just send them an email and they'll tell you how.

@ScarlettWan Sorry I wasn't able to notify you and the others earlier, just read this thread now

Btw, it says in the documents that in order to get a multiple-entry visa, you have to fill out a physical examination form provided (which will only be sent to you if you applied for at least 2 terms). What if I want to apply for an X visa but enrolled for only a term?

[nazreal]

well my sis has done a bit of research for me and apparently, one of the major banks in beijing is barclays! but I'm still very confused over what exactly to do so will pool all knowledge from well travelled siblings this weekend to sort it out for me cos I'm too lazy hehe otherwise I may well take up jc2010's advice and open up an account with one of the 4 big ones...

on a different note - defos get vitamins here! my mum is so worried about me eating ANYTHING! she's like 'the char siu bao's are all made of cardboard! don't you dare eat anything from the streets!' bring on the instant noodles with sawdust seasoning...

I'm also figuring out what to pack - I figure I won't be able to fit size -0 clothes (from what bunny87 mentioned before about shopping!) and I'll be packing for all seasons - layering may be the way to go....arrgh! boots! dang. I'm size 8 too. stupidly large feet....for a girl I mean....but essentials have to come first and then I'm just gonna buy stuff in Beijing that I need from the market or something as there's no point lugging stuff only for you to lug it back...

[ScarlettWan]

Our mothers are on the same wavelength =.= i say if everyone else is eating it, we can eat it Life's too short...and food is just ^^ Saying that i have read a number of articles from HK about fake china food :S

Ditto for clothes...im normal size in the UK, but fat in china ><

I passed all my exams so i WILL be at tsinghua this august...now just need to get past the visa issue ^_^"...

[calif90071]

I've heard that the street food in Beijing is good, but I guess it depends on where you go...I am still excited about trying it though. As long as Tsinghua's food is better than my U.S. university's, I'll be set

[ScarlettWan]

I've heard that the street food in Beijing is good, but I guess it depends on where you go...I am still excited about trying it though. As long as Tsinghua's food is better than my U.S. university's, I'll be set

My friends already out in beijing, he recommended the scorpion...who's up for that?

[calif90071]

My friends already out in beijing, he recommended the scorpion...who's up for that?

haha I'll probably eat all that crazy stuff (at least once, just for the experience) Are you going to?

[ScarlettWan]

I told myself i'd try everything...but well....i'm not a fan of bugs or lizards....so...perhaps?

just thought i'd add...my friend says the texture isn't crispy..its stringy, like the aromatic duck you get at the chinese :S

[yudi90]

Hi guys..I am really excited bout coming to tsinghua this fall for 1 year chinese lang course..about me..I am a 20y old Indian(new delhi) male..I just wanted to ask wether there is some racism in china or not..sorry for raising this controversial topic..i know many westeners wont be worrying about it..but being a BROWN SKINNED, coming from a poor counttry like india and what all is happening with our community in OZ, i do have some genuine apprehensions...i am asking this coz last year I was at LSE summer school and some "PAKI" comments by a few spoilt British brats did not go down well with me..I hope I will be welcomed as a guest into the country,and treated as a friend by my future class mates........

BTW,do we have any Indians at Tsinghua??or am i the lone sindabad???

[Embla]

Yudi, bummer to hear about the racist comments but this Tsinghua Fall 2010 group seems to be an awesome and friendly bunch~ ^_^ I hear that there are a lot of Indian/Pakistani students that go to Beijing (esp BLCU it seems?) to study Chinese, so no worries. Anyway, considering we're all going to a different country to study a different culture and language, the language students should be pretty open minded and enthusiastic about other cultures. You have a legit question, but I think you'll be fine.

I'm in Hawaii but I didn't get my packet yet... People in the UK and on the east coast got there's already?! >____< Making me nervous! Hoping it's just because I applied really late and not because they.. forgot me.. or something.. :unsure: haha~

[calif90071]

Yeah yudi, don't worry about it--personally, I am really excited about meeting students from other cultures. I've been hanging out with Americans for too long...I'm ready to branch out (but it'll be cool to meet the Americans going too). That's one of the great things about this program: we're going to learn about so much more than the Chinese language, especially from each other. I can't wait to meet you in Beijing and the other students from countries I've never been to and cultures that are different from mine It will be a very rich and rewarding experience

[Jenmia]

Hi Yudi90,

Yeh sorry that you've been on the receiving end of racist comments but unfortunately I think you need to be prepared for some ignorance of Chinese people (while most are nice and tolerant you will get people like this even in the MOST multicultural cities in the world).

I'm most concerned re your comments on racism in OZ. I'm from Sydney and I think we are NOT racist in general towards Pakis/Indians - in fact I've got quite a lot of Pakis/Indians as good friends and they tell me most have never experience racism here. I know the media blow things out of proportion but you always get lone cases which media grab it and sensationalise it to sell papers. If you think there's racism towards Indians, then you could also argue there's 'racism' towards Asians, towards Muslims, and even towards Anglos!!! haha I think it's a can of worms best left unopened.

PS I'll be in Tsinghua for 2 yr maybe we can share out Bollywood film collection

[NeN~]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here, nice to meet you all >w<

I've been accepted as a general scholar (undergraduated visiting student). My admission notice package arrived yesterday, telling nothing about registration date. TT^TT

By the way, are there visitng students like me here? I'll be at Tsinghua for 1 year period aiming for study only English taught courses. (I'm Thai and my Chinese sucks TT^TT)

[ScarlettWan]

@lauren.lin What ok...BA allows another 23kg for an extra £30 so its not too bad

@embla I'm in the UK and i still haven't received my documents either :S

[Embla]

Scarlett,

I just got my admissions packet today!

It says it was sent on the 28th, so it took ~8 days to get here (I'm in the U.S.). O_O Don't fret if you haven't gotten yours yet, as long as it says you've been accepted, they should have sent it out before the 30th. People way on the east coast got there's before I got mine, sooo... blame it on the post. ;)

I'm so excited for this!!! Congrats to everyone who's been accepted!!! I can't wait to meet you all. ^_^

[calif90071]

I got mine a few days ago too...it took forever because I live out in the boondocks of Maine lol. If you have given them the correct post address and have been accepted, then it will be coming, it just may be really slow.

[ScarlettWan]

The visa only takes about a week..but i need to apply a month in advanced...and im flying o nthe 25th august...if it doesn't arrive soon its going to mess my plans up >< ...you would have thought they would send out all the documents out at once, but people started receiving their packs 2 weeks back...oh well..hopefully in 49 days time it'll all be over and i'll be in beijing ^^

[calif90071]

I just think it doesn't make sense that they wait a whole month after they admit us to send out the documents...do they really need that much time to get everything together?

[Irumi]

Hi all! I'm also going to Tsinghua this fall, taking master in international relations. Wonder if anyone's in the same faculty at least? Heh.

Btw, I'm from Malaysia, and I was told via email that I was accepted in mid June. I've waited for my official admission letter to arrive since, but it never come. So I emailed to ask the office yesterday, only to be replied with "Please give us your mailing address and we'll send you the admission package". @@

So I haven't got my letter yet. Sigh. Judging from the posts I read here, I think I'll get my package next week? I hope ><

Oh, and I asked in my email too, when would be the registration date and they told me mine is on August 30 and 31.