Yunnan Normal University

[roddy]

This topic is for discussion and reviews of Yunnan Normal University. Accommodation, courses, on-campus facilities and activities - anything to do with Yunnan Normal 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.

[Pandaboy]

Hi everyone !!! I'm going to study Chinese language at YNNU this Sep . I would like to know about facilities in the college like canteens library etc. And YNNU has sport complex or Sport field for student or which sport that most students play ? . Finally I would like to know about Drama and Film Studies Master degree course here . Does it has this course here or not ? Thanks !!!

PS. If anybody has picture in the college , please show some . Thanks again !!!

[abcdefg]

This is not a very active thread (last post 5 years ago.) You will probably need to contact the university directly for answers to your questions.

[roddy]

not quite - although I may have made a tactical error in doing this, at least without clearer explanation.

[MJS]

Hi Pandaboy, I will also be going to Yunnan Normal this September. Do you know anyone else that's going? : )

Also I think posting in the Kunming part of the forum will get you more answers, there are loads of people who've studied in Yunnan unis reading that forum rather than this one.

[spiff]

Going to 云南师范大学 this September on a Confucius Institute scholarship. Anyone else?

[BYL]

re:spiff

me, congrats on the confucius scholarship, i forgot to apply until it was too late.

[spiff]

I've been at YNNU for a few months now, so it's time I gave it a quick write-up. 

 

I got a Confucius Institute Scholarship in the summer of 2013 and was accepted for YNNU for 2 semesters, September-July. 

YNNU has 2 campuses: Yi Er YI Da Jie and Chenggong. Most foreign students (including myself) are at the former campus: all my information here pertains to it rather than Chenggong.

 

Arrival

Some students are assigned to meet foreign students at the airport and see that they get on the right bus to the university. When I got there, it was straight into a confusing whirlwind of filling out forms, queuing in lines, getting things stamped and taking your placement test. The university is basically trying to process as many people as possible in as short as time as possible, and has little consideration for the fact that you might not have slept for 48 hours. If that's the case, stand your ground and take the placement test after you've had a decent sleep. It'll save you having to move up a class in a week.

 

Accommodation

On-campus accommodation is in a dormitory with 2-4 people per room (2 for scholarship students). There is a photo on the university website of a room which is definitely not where you will be staying (it looks far nicer!) The beds are bunk-beds above desks; they have plywood planks on them and no bedding: you'll have to buy your own from a local shop. Where? Well, you'll have to find one of the student volunteers to show you. If you arrive too late to shop, the uni can put you up in a on-campus guesthouse (the purpose of which I'm not entirely clear on).

 

Buy a mosquito net while you're at it (Kunming doesn't have many mozzies, but you only need a couple to ruin your sleep). And bring the best earplugs from home that you can get - snoring roommates are no fun. The rooms won't have been cleaned since the last students moved out, so you'll have to buy some roach-killer and cleaning supplies as well. On the plus side, the dorms are a great place to make friends and hang out with the other foreign students. Many people stay there for a few weeks or longer, then find a room or apartment for anything between 600-1500RMB a month. Unfortunately for your language learning, all the foreign students are together in one building, with very few Chinese living there. There's a curfew at 23:00 - if you come back later than that, you'll have to wake up the staff member on duty and your name will be put on a sort of 'list of shame'. However there seems to be no punishment for repeatedly coming in late. The university kept telling us that internet access would be arranged, but after waiting most people just went ahead and bought a wifi router for their room by themselves. There is a laundry room in the dorm. You're not allowed to cook or bring in electrical appliances such as heaters. Drinking is supposedly not allowed but this is laxly enforced to say the least.

 

Visas

Getting visas/residence permits arranged was a bit of a nightmare. The university only assigned one staff member to deal with the entire intake of foreign students, and then relied on student volunteers (who were busy themselves) to take up the slack. Instructions are written on sheets of paper tacked to an office wall and are less than clear, but persevere! You have to embark on a treasure hunt across various rooms and police stations in order to get the various stamps and documents, and then hand over your passport...and wait. I waited for over a month to get mine back. If you want to travel abroad with your passport during National Holiday week in October, you may well not get your passport back in time. Some students arranged their own visas, without involving the university, and they were able to start the process earlier, and got their passports back quicker.

 

Scholarship Money

Be prepared to survive for at least a month after classes start without scholarship money. The university will issue you with a bank card, and every month your money will be deposited in it. (For some students, the university couldn't set up an account for some reason; they had to do it themselves, which takes a few hours but isn't difficult). What the uni will not tell you is that this bank account will not accept international transfers. Attempting to transfer overseas money to this account may result in your money being lost in bank limbo for a long time. I recommend finding a bank in your home country that has a partnership with a Chinese bank, and opening an account with them. This will save money in transfer payments etc.

 

Campus

Yi Er Yi campus is a nice, small campus close to a large number of cafes, restaurants etc and not far from the city centre. While not as big and green as nearby Yunnan University, there are enough trees and benches etc to provide pleasant study/lunch areas in good weather. The only sports facilities are: basketball courts; volleyball court; tennis court; and a running track at a neighbouring school, open before 9am and after 5pm. There's a canteen serving cheap food, about which opinions differ! I don't care for it, but many of my classmates seem happy to eat there every day.

 

Classes

Quality of teaching seems to vary greatly from class to class, depending on which teacher you get. For example, I am around HSK 4 level; I have classes in Oral Chinese, Listening, Reading, and Comprehensive Chinese. 2 of my teachers are great, 1 is awful, and 1 is good but works to a dull, slow syllabus that wastes a lot of time. I have an average of 2 classes a day (sometimes more, sometimes less), each class being 2 periods of 45-50 minutes each. Class sizes vary, and I hesitate to give a general figure. My level (初级, beginner) has about 25 students divided into 2 classes, except for listening, which is done in 1 class. I find the classes overly didactic, and overly focused on reading and writing - good for passing the HSK, but not great for improving one's speaking abilities. You may be able to switch to 1-on-1 classes (you'll get half the hours of group classes). You can also arrange for extra classes, at 55RMB per 45 minute session.

 

There are mid-term and end-of-term exams, which you may or may not care about. There are a mix of nationalities among the students, with large contingents of Thais and Koreans, as well as various Western countries and some other SE Asian countries. Opportunities for mixing with Chinese students on-campus are limited, as most Chinese students are at Chenggong campus, 2 hours away and outside of Kunming city proper. Chenggong is a large campus with lots of facilities but very far away from the rest of Kunming. The whole of YNNU will probably move there in a couple of years - check before going which campus you'll be going to. The best thing to do is to arrange language exchange yourself (e.g. via the website gokunming), rather than just hoping to bump into a friendly Chinese student. There is no 'Chinese corner' or anything organised by the university. The university did arrange a few weekly extra-curricular classes: painting, paper-cutting, tai chi and some lectures on yunnan. I can't comment on their quality. 

 

Other

It's easy to get teaching jobs while studying. Most people seem to pull in 120-220RMB per hour. There are also a variety of jobs available which are basically variations on the theme of 'stand around being foreign' while handing out leaflets, greeting people, playing music, having your photo taken, or acting. These generally take a full day or more, and pay from 400-1500 RMB. The more skilled you are (e.g. playing in a band) the better.

 

Weather in Kunming is generally pretty great, though don't believe anyone who tells you it doesn't get cold. This winter was the coldest for 10 years - nothing compared to northern China, but because cold weather isn't expected here, buildings aren't built for it. No central heating or insulation meant classrooms, restaurants, and apartments were all freezing; so bring a set of cold-weather clothes just in case (or buy them here). 

 

Kunming is not the green 'spring city' it apparently used to be. These days, it's choked with traffic jams and construction work. However, it's still relatively small and unpolluted compared to most Chinese cities, yet big enough to afford employment opportunities and comforts like imported food in the big supermarkets. Bear in mind that the food is particularly oily, so your stomach may have some problems adjusting. Travel opportunities to nearby SE Asian countries are extremely convenient, and there are some remote corners of Yunnan that offer great areas for exploration, though getting there is a bit of a trial - or an adventure!

[spiff]

Dorm Rooms

 

YNNU Class

 

YNNU Campus

 

Kumming on a clear autumn day

[roddy]

Spiff, you're a star! Many thanks!

[alberto90]

Hello,

thanks for your opinions here. They were really helpful for me too since I'm interested in applying to the YNNU.

A friend of mine recommended me XISU as well (in Xi'An) for the higher lever of the university.

 

I've been to Shanghai (SISU) for three months and it was excellent and, in a sense, Xi'An would recreate that atmosphere.

Actually, what I'd like to do this time is looking for a "more Chinese" destination and thus, I wouldn't be afraid of living in Kunming.

 

MY HUGE CONCERN about Kunming (please help me 'cause I'm kind of terrified): I spoke with two responsibles of the Admissions (a free on-line service on the website) and they told me that it is not possible to make any kind of reservations for the dormitory or the twin room (I'd prefer the latter).

Since I'm going with my girlfriend I know that a couple is not allowed to live together but the idea is to live there only the 1st month (March, 2015) and then renting a small house on our own. Do you think that it's normal that they check their availability only once the student get's there?

 

The last point: the idea is to find a job during or immediately after the term finishes. Do you think that finding a job as a teacher of English for instance could be easy in Kunming? I also like the idea of a regular weather in Kunming rather than the extremely hot in Xi'An.

 

Please help me. I need to fill in the forms this week! KUNMING or XI'AN??

Thank you so much guys!

[abcdefg]

Do you think that finding a job as a teacher of English for instance could be easy in Kunming? I also like the idea of a regular weather in Kunming rather than the extremely hot in Xi'An.

 

From what I've heard, it's easy to find English teaching jobs of some sort here. May not be your dream job, but it can put food on the table.

 

Weather is less extreme here than in Xi'an, although it does get cold in the dead of winter.

[alberto90]

Thank you so much for this reply!

So, I'm a bit less worried about the job. But I'd like to find out more about the university and the accomodation at YNNU.

Can you help me? Or do you know anybody dealin' with the same kind of issue?

[abcdefg]

Sorry, I know nothing about the university scene. However, it's not difficult to rent a small apartment here. I'm confident you can arrange something suitable after arrival.

 

You might try posting on GoKunming. Sometimes they are helpful (and sometimes not.)

 

http://www.gokunming.com/en/

[Gudai]

Hi, guys. Did anyone apply to Yunnan Normal Uni this year and was awarded an scholarship?

[Gudai]

One more question regarding YNY. Does this uni have an international students office or something? I'm trying to find any information about international students on their website and nothing. I will, of course, write them an e-mail, but I hoped someone knew anything about that .

[abcdefg]

I'm trying to find any information about international students on their website and nothing.

 

Which website are you using? This one advertises live chat (lower right corner.)

 

http://www.admissions.cn/ynnu/

 

Here's some more contact information. (I'm not a uni student and have no personal experience with them.)

 

Address of School of International Chinese Studies

Chenggong Campus: No. 2 Building of Tongxi, 768# Juxian Street, Chenggong District, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Zip Code: 650500

Dec.1st Street Campus: 298#, Dec.1st Street, Kunming, China. Zip Code: 650092

Tel: 0086-871-5516251(Dec.1st Street Campus)

　　0086-871-5516228(Dec.1st Street Campus)

　　0086-871-5941260(Chenggong Campus)

　　0086-871-5943123(Chenggong Campus)

Fax: 0086-871-5516804(Dec.1st Street Campus)

E-mail: ynnu@admissions.cn

Website: http://www.ynnu.edu.cn

　　　　 http://sics.ynnu.edu.cn

[Gudai]

Thank you so much! Just what I was looking for .

[haofei]

Gudai , I just got accepted to Yunnan normal university !!

[haofei]

Gudai, any update on how its going for you in YNNU? Are you in Chenggong campus or city center campus? Would be cool to read a feedback about your experience!