Chinese study in Kunming or Hangzhou?

[morningthunder]

Hi all,

I'm looking to do a semester of Chinese study next year and I've been looking at Kunming and Hangzhou, as they're two cities I really like. Yunnan Normal Uni seems good value at $700 for 18 weeks - do others agree that this is relatively cheap?

If anyone knows of any unis that offer semester courses for less than this, or of a good uni in Hangzhou (I've had trouble finding info on these), I'd appreciate the details.

I'm just a cheapskate!

Cheers,

MT

[Daisy]

i am in kunming now,and i am studying in Yunnan Normal University business school!~

[nathanuk88]

my friends went to china for a 3 week crash course at Kunming they loved it and we have chinese teachers at school from over there, they are really nice!

[Jizzosh]

$700 for 18 weeks? How many hours a day? Do they have an English website? That's cheap compared to Beijing, BLCU is about $3000 for 4-6 hours a day going a total of 18 weeks. And the responses thus far seem fairly positive about Yunnan Normal Uni.

[Itchyfeet]

I have been thinking of studying in Kunming as well. I wasn't able to google up any info in English on YNU, but I found this on Yunnan University, which seems to have the same prices, (although some people of this forum have said it is not as good as YNU for language study).

http://webstar.ynu.edu.cn/ynuclc/emain.htm

The $700 at Yunnan University doesn't include the cost of accommodation (just tuition), so I am guessing the same is true for YNU right? The $3000 quote you gave for BLCU, if I remember right, does include accommodation... I thought is was roughly $1300 for tuition at BLCU, and the same again for housing, but it's been a long time since I checked out their website.

Either way, studying in Kunming sounds like a bargain. So I second the call for more info on YNU, for those of us (like me) who aren't good enough to navigate the Chinese website!

[Itchyfeet]

Opps, had another quick look and this page seems a few years out of date (1999), so I wonder if the prices are still valid. Sorry.

While I'm at it, I want to have a whinge about something. I would have thought teaching Chinese to foreigners would be a great money spinner for universities. Why then do so few universities have up-to-date, easy to find websites in foreign languages (particularly English, Korean, Japanese)?

Just seems odd when there is so much money here to be made.

[morningthunder]

Thanks for the replies, YNU does seem good value. I also heard that it was better than Yunnan Uni for Chinese study, as someone else mentioned.

I actually got the e-mail address of the language school from a list of Chinese universities that I found somewhere on the web. The guy who replied to my inquiry was very helpful, and his English surprisingly good! He e-mailed me all the costs of the course/accommodation etc.

The class hours are 16 a week - that's perfect for me as I'll probably be teaching as well. There are different accommodation options ranging from $3 - $10 a day.

If you PM me, I'll pass his e-mail address on (don't really think I should publish it on here).

MT

[dragonslive]

I have been researching courses for Chinese Language Study in Kunming recently myself. I have found 3 main courses available and thought some might be interested in the websites:-

Yunnan Normal Uni - http://www.ynnu.com/lxszs/programs.htm

Yunnan Uni - http://www.ynu.edu.cn/web1/ynu80/english/fori.htm or

http://webstar.ynu.edu.cn/ynuclc/esubmain2.htm

Yunnan Uni of Finance - http://www.ynift.edu.cn/English/EnglishIndex.htm

YOCEC - http://www.yocec.net.cn/english/xxjj.htm

YOCEC is by far the cheapest and produces the most professional website and thorough information on its courses and goals.

I would love to hear any feedback from those who have studied at any of these schools.

Best Wishes,

Steve

[carlos75]

Hello everybody!

I've been meaning to study chinese for the past three years but I always end up traveling to another country and studying. I intially was going to study at Yuxi Teachers College. It looks like a nice campus and last I saw they charged about $600, give or take, for a three month semester, that's after taking into consideration housing. This was the price in late 2003. The web site is below. Maybe you guys will have better luck finding out the current prices.

www.yuxitc.org

P.S.

I agree with dragonslive about the YOCEC website looking professional

http://www.yocec.net.cn/english/xxjj.htm

I think dragonslive mentioned this Website below.

http://www.ynift.edu.cn/English/index.asp

See ya in Kunming!

[Tsunku]

I live in Kunming, and have studied here (and taught as well) at Yunnan Normal University. It is probably the better of the universities as far as Chinese language study goes. Another option though is the newly opened Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture. The tuition is a lot less than the universities and I have heard good things about the instruction. In fact, I'll probably enroll with them myself because I need a visa and funds are limited at the moment. Their website is www.elcec.com. When I spoke with the headmaster he was very nice and reasonable. A lot of people I know here have started attending this school -- smaller class sizes than the universities, more flexible schedules, stuff like that seems to make it attractive.

As for Kunming itself, it is a great place to live -- great weather, relaxed atmosphere, good nightlife. Hope to see you all here!

T

[morningthunder]

It does seem like there are a few good options for studying in Kunming.

Tsunku, did you study at YNU and arrange to do some teaching, or the other way around? I'm still looking at doing some English teaching as well, but I may just opt to study if my meagre funds can stretch that far!

Thanks everyone for all the info anyway - let us know where you opt for in the end, and I will do the same when I eventually decide.

MT.

[Chappie]

Go 2 hangzhou.

They have 1 long street full with western bars, 1 great dancehall (bouncing floor), you can do lots of excerises (1 huge mountainious area), the west lake, lots of KFC's and if you go to ZJU, its one of the best Uni in china ;)

(For guys lots of pretty girls also!)

[mpallard]

Can anybody tell me what the accomodation situation in Kunming is like? Can you just rent a place? Do you have to stay on campus? Is there any way to find a homestay? Also how much are we talking about for rent?

[Danski]

I'm studying in KM at the moment - now at YU after starting at YNU. YNU was too random - sometimes the teachers turned up, sometimes they didn't. Also, there was no real structure to the time of the classes. YN seem a bit more organised and I've never had a teacher not turn up. Major downer though is there is an 8 o'clock class every morning. How dumb is that?

KM seems OK as a place, although having previously lived in BJ & SH I have to say that KM's nightlife is somewhat limited. Loads of good bars, but nobody in them. (unless you want to hang out with a bunch of western deadbeats with crap beards and dreadlocks thinking they're cool and hip).

Accom is dirt cheap - currently paying rmb1,500 for a huge modern furnished apartment. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, nice furniture, TV, DVD - 750 a month for two of us - wow - that works out at about gbp12 a week.

The big problem about KM though . . . . it's a major urban myth that KM's weather is good - si ji ru dong! It's blooming freezing here. And there's no heating in the houses. Also, most of the houses have solar powered hot water . . . . yup, you guessed . . how can they heat the hot water when there's no sun. Maybe that's why most of the people here are a bit grubby.

Really, this isn't a wind up. KM's weather is not springlike. Believe me. And I've heard it get's worse in Jan & Feb . . . . better get on down to Walmart for another heater then. I'm lying here on my sofa typing, heater full on, under two duvets. Aaaaaarghhhhhhh!

[Itchyfeet]

Danski, you've just shattered all my illusions about Kunming. Now I don't know what to think. Tsunku said good weather, good nightlife, and that YNU is a good school. Then you come along and say ordinary weather, a nightlife which is take it or leave it, and that YNU is substandard. Shesh, I'm confused.... guess I just need to get there and figure it out for myself!

BTW, are you British? Just asking, because a lot of folk from the 'motherland' come to Oz expecting warm weather year round, only to be disappointed!

[morningthunder]

Confusing information indeed, curse these message boards! The last time I was in Kunming was February 2003 and the weather was perfect - clear blue sky and not cold at all. Mind you, climate change and all that...

Maybe I'll just go to Hangzhou, a pleasantly humid 40 degrees when I was there in August. You can't beat a good sweaty summer.

MT

[Tsunku]

Well, sure it is cold here now, it is the middle of December after all. Kunming is at a pretty high altitude, and it can get cold, but nowhere near as cold as up north. As I write this actually the sun is shining and I could go outside without a coat if I wanted to. The weather isn't perfect (it tends to rain a lot), but it isn't extreme either, which is probably why it is called the Spring City, never really hot, never really cold (it is actually often colder here indoors than outdoors because the apartments are poorly insulated and lack heating). If you want real cold, go to Beijing in the winter, or Harbin! And I've never felt heat here like what is normal from about April to October back in Texas.

As for nightlife, I guess it depends what you're after. Sure, Beijing, Shanghai, big east coast cities are gonna have a lot more options. But at least there are places to chill here besides discos and sleazy expat bars (both of which, of course, Kunming also has if that's what you're after ... but yeah...). There is a pretty good music scene here if you know where to look (just last night I was listening to some great Blues/Jazz jamming going on at the Speakeasy, although I did spy a few dreadlocks in the midst).

I didn't study and work simultaneously by the way. I studied for a semester, went back to the US, and when I came back to Kunming the school gave me a job as an English teacher. You can't really work for a university and be a full time student, you won't have enough time to do both properly. If you decide to study, you can do some extra teaching on the side for a bit of cash, or if you teach you can study in your spare time, but taking on a college course load in both teaching and language study would be kinda crazy.

[Danski]

Sorry, take it back about the weather. Today was fantastic, sitting outside drinking green tea by the lake without my jacket, scarve and gloves. I guess the difficult thing about the weather is that on a cold day you can't really retreat indoors like you can in Beijing. Yup, Beijing is unbelievably cold in winter but at least indoors most places have industrial heating. I think I prefer that to Kunming's sometimes warm winter weather but always cold inside without a heater.

The Speakeasy as an entertainment option? That's a wind up right? the same 12 western faces every night!

Anyone else know any decent nightlife options in KM? Kundu is too loud, JinMaFan too young, Upstairs at The Hump too beardy hippy.

Man, why do Hippy travellers think they're alternative and different and then express this by wearing the same clothes, getting the same tatoos and piercings and drinking in the same bars as all their other hippy travellers on the trail.

[Tsunku]

Forget Kundu and JinMaBiJi ... you're totally right, way too loud, crappy music, plus the annoying Emcees who all sound like 12 year old boys on speed ... I HATE places like that. Overpriced too.

I prefer the Speakeasy personally. Maybe I'm one of the 12, hehe ... But, Thurs-Sat there are a ton of people there, Western AND Chinese. The owners are friends of mine though, so maybe I'm biased. Anyhow, they did a huge renovation a couple of months ago and it is a big improvement from before. I prefer the music there to most other places (definitly to Kundu, ugh).

The Hump is ok sometimes. They do good buffet style dinner party things sometimes on Fridays. Recently it is way too cold for outdoors type stuff.

Maybe you'd like the Camel? I dunno. It used to be the only real ex-pat hangout in Kunming, but not anymore. Nowadays I find it a bit sleazy. Too many hookers.

I guess it just depends what you like when it comes to nightlife. Most cities in China are pretty limited in that department. Beggers can't be choosers I guess.

The weather this past week has been gorgeous though, I gotta say.

[Danski]

OK, gotta say that this whole Kunming thing is really getting to me now. My term finished a week ago and I’m getting really bored . . . . maybe should start doing one-on-one’s.

Starting to get a little hacked off with the fact that it’s warmer outside than it is in my apartment. OK, great, the weather is pretty good at the moment . . . but so what, there’s actually nothing to see and do in Kunming once you get outside. I’ve seen everything I want to in terms of sights etc. . . . it’s not like Beijing where there’s so much to see and do you can never get bored. Staying inside studying isn't really an option cos my apartment is like an ice box even though I have 2 industrial heaters on the go (can't wait for me next leccy bill).

It would be nice if there were some good coffee shops where you could sit and study and get talking to the odd Chinese person once in a while. Yeah, there’s a few coffee shops on wen lin jie but the only people in them are wasted western losers waiting for a sensible time to start drinking or drugging.

Starting to get a little hacked off that my hot water runs on a solar powered system and I can only get showered once every three days.

Starting to get fed up with the town being full of stinking peasants.

If you’re thinking of coming here to study I would definitely recommend Beijing or Shanghai over KM.

Kunming is crap after you’ve been here a few months.

Actually, I suppose it could be worse . . . . . I could be back in the UK doing some crappy pointless job, staring at a computer screen, with no aims or targets, having to go out and get hammered every night cos there's nothing else to do.

Hooorah for China

(Gotta get out of farmersville though!)