Zhejiang University - fall semester

[chubijia]

Hello,

Just curious if anyone is at/will be starting the year-long language program at Zheda in Hangzhou this fall. I'm from the States and heading that way in August. I read in another post CSC scholars have pre-arranged rooms, and am wondering if anyone has prior experience with this, or if I need to contact Zheda's international dorm (or dorm 31?) to pre-register?

Or thinking about being daring and living off-campus... if anyone is interested in exploring this idea with me (does not necessarily have to be another student - I am pretty open). Meeting up is also welcome

Thanks for all the information posted here!

[Etwood]

Hey chubijia,

I'm currently in the year-long language program at Zheda (on the CSC scholarship). I'm assuming you're coming on the CSC scholarship too. If that's the case, then you're room will have already been arranged (assuming you've been accepted by Zheda etc).

Your language classes will be at the Yuquan campus. The scholarship students (for the most part) stay at the old foreign student dorm, which is NOT on campus, but just outside of it on Zheda Lu. It's not far at all from the campus, so don't worry. It usually takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to my class, which is on the other end of the campus. I usually ride my bike though, which cuts it down to about 7-10 mins.

The majority of us scholarship students are put into double rooms, so expect to have a roommate. The rooms do not have their own bathrooms, so our floor shares a bathroom/showers. It's actually very comfortable here and I don't find the communal facilities to be a problem at all. There is a washing machine for each floor too, and it's free (no coins needed!). There's also a communal kitchen with a microwave and a fridge, which we can all use. The cleaning ladies are very friendly, and the guys who man the desk range from curt to very friendly and talkative.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Everyone here seems to really enjoy Hangzhou and Zheda, including myself.

[feng_zhou]

Hey Chubijia and Etwood,

I'll be starting in Zheda from September under the CI Scholarship, which is remarkably similar to the CSC Scholarship so I assume a lot of what you said is relevant to me as well.

Just wondering, Etwood, do you know if there's an option to pay extra for a single room in your building? Last year I got the CI scholarship to Renmin and I could live in a double room for free or pay half price for a single room. Not sure yet if I would take it if it was available, but nice to have a choice.

Also Chubijia, I'm up for meeting at some point, I'm from Ireland and looking to study pretty intensively this year. From my experience in Renda, it's good to take the scholarship accomodation. I really wanted to live off-campus last year, but it seemed like a waste of money when I could get a free room depends on the person though!

[chubijia]

Hi Etwood,

Why, yes I am on the CSC scholarship - pre-arranged rooms is great news. I've been accepted by Zheda, but my trust in the Chinese administrative ability to coordinate is limited... ;)

I haven't lived in a dorm in a very long time, but I remember it had some bright sides! I'm very excited to hear about a free washing machine!

Can I ask you what you do about a phone? I read about possibly obtaining a China Unicom 3G SIM card with an unlocked iPhone (based on a comparison with China Mobile) but would like to know your personal experience. I'm interested in data and voice, but from my understanding obtaining both on a pre-paid plan is hit or miss...

I also read somewhere I have to register in a limited amount of time at the beginning of semester if I want to request an airport pickup. If not, is attempting to take a taxi by myself just asking to end up in a dark alley somewhere ;) ?

Thank you for being open to questions~~!

[chubijia]

Hi feng_zhou,

I am in favor of a free room, as well - I just haven't lived with anyone in the *same room* for so long! But thinking about negotiating with a landlord in Chinese over home repairs is headache enough.

It sounds like you may be taking intermediate classes? I did not know you could receive the CI scholarship multiple times - I see your game!

I'm definitely happy to meet up. I'm also looking to study pretty intensively since I want to make the most of the classes, but I will look forward to downtime to confuse locals with my broken speech. You can e-mail me to keep in contact, as well.

This may be a question for you and Etwood, but is this forum accessible from Hangzhou without a VPN?

[Etwood]

Hey feng_zhou and chubija,

Yes the CI scholarship students are with us here in the same dorm. We also get the same bank cards (with 农业银行) and there's an ATM just down the road, as well as there being 农业银行 ATMs all over. If you want to draw from another bank's ATM, it'll cost you 3 kuai.

As to the paying a bit extra for a single room, I'm not too sure but I don't think it will be a problem...don't quote me on that though! I haven't met anyone who's done that. I have met someone who moved from our dorm to the international building dorms inside the campus (which are single person rooms) due to medical reasons.

As to the phone question, I'm probably not the best person to ask as I just have a crappy old Nokia (not even colour screen). I'm on 中国移动 and it suits me fine for calls and texts. Sorry I can't be of more help!

As to the airport pick-up, I don't think this is possible. I asked about this before I arrived in Hangzhou and was told this only applies to big groups arriving in Hangzhou. So you'll have to arrange your own way to the campus. Taking a taxi is perfectly fine as long as it's a registered Hangzhou city taxi (normally a green colour to reflect our beautiful 西湖.) Just make sure they turn the meter on! A friend of mine was grossly overcharged because the taxi driver gave him an engorged price which my friend just agreed on, being fresh in the country and all. My guess is that the price from the airport to Yuquan campus will be between 50 and 70 kuai. I arrived in Shanghai and took a bus from Shanghai to Hangzhou, so I'm just guessing at the price.

Yes this forum is accessible without a VPN. I'm currently using it sans Freegate. By the way, I'll still be here next semester studying, so I'll probably end up meeting you guys at some point.

When you register here you'll have to sit a placement test to ascertain which level you'll be studying at. The levels go from 1 through to 7, where 7 being advanced. I'm currently level 4. Level 4 and 5 are considered intermediate level, while 6 and 7 are considered advanced. I'm planning to study hard in the summer break so I can skip level 5 and go straight to level 6.

From level 4 upwards, your classes will include:

-Intensive Reading (精读) which is just basically grammar class. This is probably the most important class and the teachers for these classes are normally excellent.

-Speaking (口语). Not much to say about this, it is what it is. My teacher this semester is OK. He has a good personality but teaching style is a bit haphazard.

-Reading (阅读). For me, this class is superfluous to my needs. The teacher is OK, but she basically followed the textbook and didn't really teach.

-Writing (写作). Useless teacher. He didn't teach, just read what was in the textbook. Only useful thing was him correcting our writing.

If you're put in a level below 4, you won't have 写作 but will have 听力 instead.

There are also optional classes, which are free. Some include Chinese Characters and Chinese Culture, Chinese Film, Geography etc. I took the character and film classes, but stopped attending after a while. The character class was actually extremely interesting but I preferred to spend my time on studying the content from 精读.

We have exams twice a semester, mid-terms and finals. The teachers give you a clear indication of what to study and what will be included in the exam, so it's really no problem to get good grades.

[Pendragon]

Some quick tips on housing:

I've done a summer course at Zhejiang University and stayed in Hangzhou for half a year after that, living off campus. I found a room quite easily through the Hangzhou Expat forum, it was advertised in English by the Chinese landlord. The room was cheap enough (1300 RMB per month, a private room sharing the kitchen and bathroom with a flatmate), but the quality was extremely low.. No heating in my room (really zero heating, during the winter it got below 15 degrees in my room during the day), sometimes I couldn't use any water in the house because the water pipes were broken again etc. And my flatmate basically didn't clean the house, so I had to keep the common rooms livable by myself.

Quite an experience, and it makes you feel much more like you're really living in China. But not for the faint-hearted, unless you're more lucky with the room you find.

Another thing: the traffic in Hangzhou can be horrible so you really can't live too far from the campus. My room was in the city center, not in some far away suburb or so, but on a bad day it could take 1,5 hours to get to the campus. That means getting out of bed really early..

[feng_zhou]

Hey Etwood, thanks for the amazingly detailed post. That's a lot of help for understanding the general scheme of things in Zheda. Really, great stuff! Glad to hear you'll be spending another semester there, will buy you a drink at some stage!

Now that you mentioned the different levels there, you have me thinking about it. Would you have any guides as to the level you need for 5, 6, and 7? If you don't mind me prying, what level are you aiming for to skip 5 and get 6? I passed HSK4, the new one, so i would hope to make it into at least the lowest intermediate level.

Chubijia, yeah I spent one year in Renda as part of my undergrad and we were all applied for the CI scholarship before we went. Unfortunately, I didnt make the most of my time in China (learning Mandarin-wise only ) so this time round I'd very much like to make up for that. I still plan on going out and having a laugh, just probably not half as much. That was actually my biggest fear in applying for the scholarship this time round, that they wouldn't give it to me again. But I think most of the decision lies with the Kongyuan where you apply! What's your level of Chinese like?

[chubijia]

Etwood, Double the thanks, and ditto on the drinks - more reason to be excited!

I currently use a gmail account - I know there's a love hate relationship going on with CN and Google, though...

We will even have bank cards set up for us? Waaah, my expectations are so low haha.

I was wondering what the course set up was actually like - thank you for the breakdown. I know with the language you get out what you put in, but is there typically much assigned homework? What textbooks are you using? Someone told me the Contemporary Chinese books were popular among the schools.

Also, was internet use something you had to set up or is there an IT person?

Pendragon, thanks for your input! You've solidified my decision to not get an apartment. :o

Feng_zhou, you should learn to be a more productive alcoholic And... my level of Chinese is questionable... I know Mandarin and Cantonese really poorly... :blink:

[Etwood]

Hey, no problem guys. When I got here I had no clue about anything, so I definitely don't mind sharing info.

As far as the levels are concerned, I reckon if you've done HSK level 4, probably level 3.5/4 class here at Zheda would be fine. Possibly even level 5. I'll attach a text that we learnt in level 4 精读 class so you can have a look.

I'll tell you the exact textbooks we use:

精读: 桥梁：实用汉语中级教程（上）英法文注释本

(Level 5 textbook is the 下 version of this)

口语: 北大版新一代对外汉语教材•口语教程系列•中级汉语口语:提高篇

(As far as I know, all levels except level 6 use this series for 口语 class)

阅读: 阶梯汉语:中级阅读3 & 4

（Level 5 starts using the 发展汉语 series for 阅读)

写作：发展汉语中级汉语写作(上)

（This series is used from level 4-6)

All these are available on amazon.cn so you can have a look if you want. As scholarship students you get your textbooks free after you have been assigned to your class.

Internet: this needs to be set up by yourself. There are a couple of options here. You can choose to get set up with the university's internet scheme, which is pretty cheap I think (not entirely sure of the details because my roomie and I decided not to go for this option). I've heard the university's internet is not fantastic. If you do want to go this option, I think all you need to do is ask the 师傅s at the desk. My roomie and I decided to get out internet provided by China Telecom (中国电信). There is a branch right across the road. They have various different broadband plans available. We got a 3mb/second speed plan and we pay 140 kuai a month, which we split between us. The speed is certainly doable and we don't seem to encounter too many problems with the connection. You also need to pay a set up fee because they come and install the necessary modem/bits in your room (I'm afraid I'm not very techy :S). I was lucky that my roommate brought a wireless transmitter with him, so we have a wireless connection in our room. A couple of friends of mine got this organised as well through China Telecom, so I'm sure it's possible to get that set up too. Oh and paying the internet bill is a real hassle. We have to go into the branch every month and pay it in cash. Talk about analogue. And usually there's a bit of a queue...There are plenty of internet cafes around campus too for when you first get here and need to contact the outside world.

Yeah a drink would be good! There's a nice little bar/cafe/restaurant called Ellen's just across the road, their western food is really good and not crazily expensive (from a western standard anyway). Their pizza's are good and are 38 kuai, which I don't think is too bad.

When are you guys arriving exactly? I'll be holidaying in South East Asia during the summer but will be back in HZ on August 30th.

xiyanzhe_de_fannao.doc

[chubijia]

So much good information - *bow*!

A few short ones:

1. Are winters tolerable (i.e. is the heating ok)? I know this will change depending on where you're coming from...

2. Does Trust-Mart (or anywhere else) sell disposable razors?

3. Have you had or know anyone who has had interaction with a Chinese doctor?

4. Do you drink the tap water?

5. Do you feel mostly safe in the city (and of course using common sense at night but overall...?)? What if you were a girl?

Thanks!

I don't know when classes start... so... I haven't purchased my flight yet. Mid-august to give me a couple weeks adjustment time? Roll in a couple days before courses begin? I'll see how I feel - haha... If you like, e-mail me your phone no. and I can reach you after Aug. 30.? Otherwise I don't know when I'll be accessing this forum once I arrive. I am aiming to have a phone though!

[Lantos]

Hi!

1) No chance to get upgraded to a single room, unless you pay the full amount of money of the room(long term students single room 40 in the old dorm, where Etwood probably lives, and 50 in the "normal" liuxueshenglou.)

2) The old dorm has quite strict rules (registration of all the guests, 11pm all the guest should leave, after 11pm you need to wake up the shifu if you want to enter the building etc.) and some weird resident from exotic countries (details from Etwood, maybe this changed). But it's more peaceful, that's for sure.

The other dorm (the liuxueshenglou) is much more flexible with rules - no registration, no wake up shifu in the night, but a lot of "social activities" during weekdays and weekends which can be after a while annoying - especially if you have other plans then party, and be drunk all night.

The rooms are very small in the liuxueshenglou, but at least you are on your own. In the old dorm the single rooms are ok, the double rooms are also ok, nothing special. The 'common' shower place is more or less ok in the old dorm, but the restrooms are disgusting (not just because the facility - it's old, and overused, but because there are some, well, not so clean people, who don't know what 'proper flushing' means).

Etwood mentioned the washing, this in the liuxueshenglou a bit more complicated, you need to buy coupons (3RMB for washing, 4 RMB for drying), it last long (2-3 hours), and there is always queuing. But at least they use 'normal' washing machines. The old dorm, washing is free, but a bit, well, the machine is very very basic and simple (a bit better then washing on a stone, but don't expect to much).

3) from the Hangzhou airport take the shuttle bus to Wulinmen it cost 20 RMB, and then taxi to yuquan campus (+15-16 RMB). If you take the taxi from airport to university it will cost 100-120 RMB.

4) At this time, the single rooms are full in the liuxueshenglou, so only double rooms left(they are at the Building 31). So if you are not scholarship student or you don't want to share a bathroom, i recommend call the office for housing affairs.

Or start searching for off-campus living opportunities, which can be also handy (for 4500/month, you can get a really nice flat, with 3 different sleeping rooms, 2 bathroom, common living room and kitchen.

5) School internet: 50 RMB/month... around 1MB/sec, morning better, evening worse. Cheap, but not so good. There are a lot of 3G options, special packages at China Mobile and at the Unicom, it's much cheaper everything then in western countries (eg. SMS - depending on your contract but generally around 0,1 RMB)

About the question:

- Safety: Hangzhou is much safer the most parts of Europe or America, so you can be relieved. If you are girl, blonde, with white skin and red lips, you will be extremely popular among the Chinese guys. So if you like taking walks in the night alone, avoid wearing to short and tight clothes. General safety measures enough.

- Tap water: no, no, and no. But there are in both dorms (and a lot of public places) 'boilers' with hot drinkable water. And in the supermarket you can buy cheap mineral water.

- Trust mart: yes you can buy the thing, if not there then in the Watson's or order from chinese ebay (taobao) if you are really picky.

- Last winter was terrible (snowing two times, long lasting humid cold) really bad. No central heating, just the airconditoner heating function, which is not enough. During winter lot if people sit in the classroom in their coats, and the exams... that was a shame, i could not write, because my hand were almost frozen. But locals say, this winter was not usual. I hope they are right!

- Chinese doctors: there is an international hospital, made for foreigners and rich Chinese, very posh place (but far from the university). It's pricey, but good. Some people say, that they don't speak English... well, Hangzhou is not Shanghai, so not so many English speaking doctors.

University hospital: no English at all, but they like to 'cut' or at least 'act' at once. So better to avoid them. But it's very very cheap eg. general bloodtest less then 20 RMB. First maybe a bit scary, but i was there twice, and if your Chinese is good, or you have translator then no problem. A cold, or a little pain they can heal without problems. Your eye surgery or liver transplantation better do in you homecountry.

The semester will start in the first or second week of September. A teacher of mine told classes start from 12-13th, but I suppose better to be here earlier, to get familiar with the area. The exam period will start around 6th January, and the holidays, well around the 14th.

[spiking]

Hello Friends

I am a foreign student, interested in doing a semester program this fall . I am unable to find the relevant information regarding the deadlines.

Can someone provide the relevant link.

Also how for is this university from

[spiking]

How far is the university from Shnaghai.

Thanks

Abhishek

[chubijia]

Lantos,

Thank you for your post, especially regarding dates, taxi info, and prices. I like the triple 'nos' regarding the water ... I mostly ask b/c my ABC friend visits his family in Hunan every couple of years and says he drinks it... :huh:

I survived one of England's coldest winters on record, so I'm hoping Hangzhou will be mild by comparison.

Have you been studying at ZU long?

spiking - 180km?

[bilingual]

Hey guys,

I applied for the fall semester 2011 and will be studying at the Zhejiang University until January. Still need to get my JW-2 form so I can apply for my visa. And I haven't booked my flights yet, as I'm not sure on which day the fall semester exactly ends. Using their Academic Calendar I assume it's the 21st Jan, but there might be some administration stuff to do afterwards?? - I have no clue. I tried calling them, but they couldn't answer that question either. Or I just had a hard time communicating. Does anyone know first hand when the last day is?

Maybe some of you guys could answer some of my questions:

- Do I need to download any software tools while I'm still in my home country to access sites like nyt.com in China? Or can I download these in China as well if I want to access them?

- Anyone care to share an apartment off campus? The dorms don't sound too good and I was already told that there are no more singles available.

See you in Hangzhou

-bilingual

[Lantos]

@bilingual:

NYT at this time works, without any censorship. The problems are with facebook, twitter and some wikipedia articles, and google archive files (having connection with the sensitive issues of the modern China). Otherwise use the right VPN - antiwall programs, see in the tech-section of this forum. And of course you can download anything here in China...

The language program classes will start on 13th September, the registration will be around the 5th Semester. (today i got some comfirmation from the student affairs office)

And another thing is also sure, 23. January 2012. is Spring Festival, so that time for sure there will be winter holiday (I predict it will start around the 14th January). Administrative stuff? Well, if you need they will go a certificate that you studied here one/two/three etc semesters, and if you pass the exam they will give you another certificate, that shows your marks. It can be get 3-4 days after the last exam, I don't know about other administrative stuff...

@chubijia

I talked with some people, and yes (yes,yes) there are some people who drink tap water. But I don't recommend, especially because some weeks ago, there was a phenol-poisoning issue, which made the people crazy here for some days (the shops were sold out from bottled water etc.)

But finally it came out, that here in Hangzhou the situation was totally not dangerous, it was just a panic (like some month ago the salt issue, because of japanese fukushima).

@spiking:

I recommend you the homepage of ZJU, and the international college section (not to informative, but the most important deadlines are there). But I guess this year you are a bit late...

Hangzhou is theoretically close to Shanghai, but it's far enough not to go there every week... (So there is this mystical G - highspeed train, that makes the 180 km in 45-50 minutes, but going to the train station can take more time. And it's also not the cheapest. At this time one way G train ticket is around 85). There are some not so fast, cheaper trains for 29-55 RMB, but this tickets are limited, and the schedule really suxx.

So going to Shanghai is only worthy when 1) you have a flight from/to Pudong/Hongqiao; 2) you have friends to meet or business to do (like shopping); 3) you really miss the big, fancy clubs and nightlife, because Hangzhou has a nightlife, but it cannot be compared with Shanghai.

[chubijia]

Was just told I'll probably be in the old dorm. Do I need to bring sheets/blankets?

[Etwood]

We get 2 pillow cases, 2 bottom sheets and 2 duvet covers plus the duvet and 1 pillow. Oh and a scratchy woolen blanket for winter ;-) But you can buy extra stuff here pretty cheaply.

[chubijia]

Thanks, Etwood.

Umm.. I just read yesterday someone's encounter with CSC stipends. His stipend/banking arrangement basically wasn't available until his 2nd month. Did you run into this problem? I'm just worried if I need to front any expenses beforehand (especially for lodging -.- ...)