Guizhou University

[roddy]

This topic is for discussion and reviews of Guizhou University. Accommodation, courses, on-campus facilities and activities - anything to do with Guizhou University goes in here. If there's a lot of discussion about any one particular topic we might split it into a new thread and leave a link here.

[Chris Two Times]

Not a review about Guida, but just a lengthy comment:

 

I am thinking that studying for a year in Guiyang, Guizhou at Guida is either a really fantastic idea or an incredibly terrible idea. I haven't come to a firm conclusion yet.

 

Possible pros (possibly, perhaps, maybe): fewer foreigners in Guizhou/easier to avoid foreigner bubble, easier to get off the beaten path (whatever that really means), much cheaper there for study and living costs, less English, closer to SW China for travel during Spring Festival, single dorm room is cheaper than at most Chinese universities, opportunity to learn about a new (to me at least) province in China, have some contacts in Guiyang, returning to the Southwest, possible adventure feel to living in underdeveloped Guizhou...

 

Possible cons (possibly, perhaps, maybe): lots of people staring and not used to foreigners (not sure I want to really deal with that again), the hello! factor (ALSO not sure I really want to deal with that again), speaking "sloppy" Guiyanghua/unintelligible dialects, possible low quality of instruction at Guida, less adequate health service when get sick or injured, not as developed leading to boredom (forcing me to study?), have already been to Guiyang and the Southwest--better to check out a new area of China...

 

Just thinking out loud. That possible pro list (for whatever it's worth) seems to outweigh the con list (also, for whatever it's worth).

 

For 2015-2016 I plan to take a year off and study full time in a Chinese program for foreigners at a Mainland university. I intend to apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship, the Beijing Municipal Government Scholarship, and the Chongqing Municipal Government Scholarship. I am thinking that I want to study in either Beijing, the Northeast, or Chongqing (having lived in Chengdu for five years, I am familiar with Sichuanhua and the Southwest in general).

 

If none of those options comes through for me, I am able to and willing to pay for the year of study out of pocket; nonetheless, when I look at possible total costs for a year in Beijing as compared to a year in the Southwest, it appears that I would fork over twice as much dough for a year in Beijing as compared to a year in the Southwest.

 

I am just wondering if the Guida program would be all right or if it would be "miles behind" a program at a Beijing university and would end up being a wasted endeavor.

 

I do realize that most of one's learning is done outside of the classroom and I plan to pound the pavement on a daily basis to use Chinese with the locals.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[abcdefg]

Other pro's: Guiyang has better air quality than Beijing. http://aqicn.org/city/guiyang/

Other con's: Lots of rain. http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Guiyang-weather-averages/Guizhou/CN.aspx

[Chris Two Times]

Ah yes! Guiyang = precious sun.

 

Precious, because...well, it doesn't shine so often over Guiyang I'm told.

 

But here in Beijing...blue skies and sunny this week!

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[DimitrisGR]

Hey there! 

 

I was also thinking to go to Guiyang University for the same reasons as the ones you named above so I could really use some help.

 

Did you finally go there? Did you get any further information about the courses?

 

I need to make up my mind really soon so please let me know

 

Best regards,

 

Dimitris

[Chris Two Times]

DimitrisGR,

 

In the end I opted to remain in Beijing: I am currently being supported by a full Chinese Government Scholarship to study Chinese at Tsinghua University. This whole experience has been great!

 

Good luck in your Chinese studies!

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[anonymoose]

I recently went traveling in Guizhou. I cannot say anything about the universities there, but I have a few observations which I thought I'd share.

Guizhou, like much of China, is developing very quickly. I have been a few times, and even within about ten years, have noticed that much modernization has taken place, in Guiyang obviously, but also in the smaller cities. This is good for those that live there, but does threaten the character of the place, when modernization inevitably means homogenization with other cities across China. This is not unique to Guizhou, though. There are still many areas that do retain a charm, and make Guizhou an interesting region.

Guizhou is a multi-ethnic province, and many people, especially the elderly will be speaking ethnic languages. If you are interested in that, that could be an attraction. Mandarin, or Guizhouhua rather, is what most people speak. However, the accent, tonality and vocabulary differ enough from standard mandarin to make it practically incomprehensible. I don't think that would be an absolute contraindication to going to Guizhou to learn mandarin, as I'm sure teachers would speak standard mandarin in the classroom, but it does mean you will have scant opportunity to eavesdrop standard mandarin.

Being a multi-ethnic area gives Guizhou a bit more variation in appearances of people and architecture. For the uninitiated to China, it will probably just look like China, but for those familiar with the place, one can see ethnic features permeating through. One such example is the new Kaili Airport which has been built with Dong and Miao style architecture.

[somethingfunny]

They built an airport in Kaili!?

[Chris Two Times]

I have been to Bijie in western Guizhou. They do have an airport there--I flew from Guiyang to Bijie.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[shedravat]

Hi everybody! This forum has been a priceless source of information, so finally I've got around writing my own review of Guizhou University (贵州大学）。 I studied there during the first semester 2016 and consider it a very good place to study Chinese and have an overall Chinese experience. I stayed in the Huaxi North Campus （花溪北校区）I believe now most students will be sent to the new campus so conditions might be different.  I'll follow Roddy's outline.

Application Process

I didn't have time to get the paperwork sent to me in advance, so I entered China on a tourist visa I got in Hong Kong, and changed it to Student Visa（ X2) after reaching Guiyang. The guy in charge of foreign students admissions, Brian, speaks very good English, as well as many other staff, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you do want to do everything according to the manual, you need to transfer part of the money in advance for them to be admitted and then they send you the forms. However, be advised that the office takes both semester breaks, so don't wait until the last minute to do it.

Course and Funding

I paid about RMB6000 for the tuition fee, plus RMB300 a month for a bed in a double room, quite decent. I paid in cash a couple of weeks into the semester. There are some other related expenses, but they don't add up to much, and take into account that Guiyang is dirt cheap compared to many other places in China.

Which level do you go to is decided in a very funny way, I was put into Advanced level just because I could read most characters in a random textbook page I was shown. But it was really tough. Anyway, you can attend classes from different levels during the first week or two, and then decide which one suits you best.

Regarding scholarships, I would say 90% of students receive one scholarship or the other. By the way, 80% of the students are Southeast Asian, mostly from Laos. There are always a few Westerners too.

Arrival and registration

If you let the University know in advance your arrival time, they'll get some veteran students to go pick you up at the airport or train station. I didn't, and it was not all that easy to find, but it added to the adventure  Organization is not the strong point of this university (or any in China), so always check the information twice, ask thrice, you get it. Fees need to be paid by cash, but not right away.

Accommodation

Accomodation is either in single or double rooms. Students on scholarship are put by default in double rooms unless they pony up the difference. Again, by now many students have probably been moved to the New Campus. The conditions are bearable, except that water and energy supply are not very reliable. No heating during the winter, even though it gets fairly cold. At least there is hot water most of the time. High building, no elevator... great for fitness.

Classes, Classrooms and Teachers

I took the standard course, 18 hours of class a week (REading, Writing, Listening, Oral Chinese, Comprehensive). Classes are never bigger than 15 students, 10 being the average. In the beginners levels even less than that. As the semester rolls on, less and less students bother to turn up, which means you get almost private lessons! Again， most students were SouthEast Asian, and there were quite a few Europeans (French, Russian, Italian, Czech) and also some American. Teachers were mostly ok, some were excellent. There is not much pressure: if you want to make progress, you can do all the homework, etc. If not, nobody will tell you off. Some classrooms are ok, some are damp, cold, and have iron roof so in rainy days you can't hear what's the teacher or other classmates saying two meters away from you.
Exams are quite easy. Sometimes there are some extra classes, like Chinese culture,or Calligraphy, but not every semester.

Campus and Environment

The campus is in a good location in that there are some amazing parks nearby, as well as small, picturesque villages, but getting to town can be a pain in the ass if you don't have your own scooter. Traffic in Guiyang is horrible, hopefully things'll be better once there's the subway. Taking the bus can take 1 to 1:30 hours to get to downtown, however on peak hour, weekends, etc, it can take easy 2 hours. Hopefully you won't need to go so often because most of what you may need can be found near the campus.

Chinese students live in nearby dorms so interaction is fairly convenient (but most of the time you still need to be the one to talk first!)

Cost of Living and Budgeting

 School cafeteria food is cheap and fairly diverse, however try to go when it's still hot. As time passes and the food is left at room temperature, the likeliness for stomach problems rises sharply (true story). You are very likely to lose weight because of the food and hygiene conditions, but you'll make it.

Going to bars and nightclubs as long as you're sociable and don't look Chinese, you won't need to spend a cent, people will treat you to drink with them, 你给他们面子！ 

So that's pretty much all I can think of, any questions please leave a comment. Enjoy your time in Guiyang! ：）

[Chris Two Times]

shedravat,

 

Excellent! This is what we have long been waiting for, a first-hand account from someone who has been there and done that, very nice!

 

I spent some time in Guiyang during the Spring Festival and I still contend that it would be a good place to spend a semester or a year to study. It seems I concur with you.

 

Chris Two Times

[somethingfunny]

4 hours ago, shedravat said:

Traffic in Guiyang is horrible, hopefully things'll be better once there's the subway.

 

That's what you think...

 

Also, I'd say its probably best to book yourself into a nearby hotel if you're planning a night out in the town.

[abcdefg]

Shedravat -- Do you plan to go back there for more advanced study?