Yunnan Normal University

[Immacolata Di Cunzolo]

Hello, I'm Imma and I'm Italian. I've just read a post on a Chinese forum about Yunnan Normal University and I hope you can help me. I'm studying foreign languages in an Italian university but I want to improve my Chinese during a semester in Kunming. I know that kunming isn't an expensive city so the tuition is quite cheap. How much does it cost for a semester ? I'm on budget and I need an accommodation. The Yunnan Normal University has a dormitory but I can't see the photos. I need a clean bathroom so I'm searching a cheap room on air bnb. What do you think? Is University's dormitory clean or is better to find a room on air bnb?. Thanks.

[spiff]

Hi Imma. 

 

Regarding tuition, you should think about what kind of tuition you want. Standard university classes will take up a lot of time with things like listening and reading that you could equally well do on your own. Especially if you're only there for a semester, you should consider getting one-on-one tuition instead. You can either arrange this through a university (be ready to demand a different tutor if the one you're given isn't working out for you) or find a private one. 

 

Regarding accommodation, I'm afraid my information is a bit behind the times - I was there a couple of years ago, and everything may or may not have already moved down south to the university district at Chenggong, which is a long subway ride away from Kunming proper. When I was at the city-centre campus, the dorm rooms were very basic and reasonably clean - but had not been cleaned at all since the last students had lived there, so be prepared to have to do that yourself. 

 

Renting a room should not be expensive - I'm not sure about the rates on air bnb - I'd recommend you also look at the forums on gokunming.com for renting a room, and also maybe to find current students at YNNU.

 

Good luck,

 

Andrew

 

 

[Immacolata Di Cunzolo]

Thank you. I'm studying foreign languages and literature so I need to improve my Chinese (listening, reading and writing). I've find Yunnan University thanks http://www.chinastudyabroad.org/, because it is cheaper than Beijing University. The staff of this organization could help me with housings and application form, but I want to know if it could be a great experience. 

[wenshidi]

Hi Imma,

I too am a newcomer to this site but I do have some relevant experience to share.

I worked in Yunnan about ten years ago, long before I began studying, and really enjoyed having Kunming as a base to explore the rest of the province. In those days it was great. Much less sprawl and far less traffic. Although I have very fond memories of places like Samoana and Speakeasy, these days Kunming is just another big Chinese city, and I try to pass through as quickly as I can.

 

Back in 2015, I did a semester at a university in Guangzhou and so I had an idea of what to expect at a uni in Kunming. I studied for a while at Hua Nong and the conditions were appalling. The classes were almost worthless (probably to be expected, seeing that China has some of the lowest education standards in the world) and the dorms, especially the bathrooms were a nightmare. The building was so dilapidated that they were demolished just after I left. Even so, I did have a really good time there, as adjacent to us were the dorms for all the trainee flight attendants, and I was the only white guy on the white campus, but that is a different story.

 

I went to check out YNNU in person, and found the staff to be very unhelpful. I also did not want to be subjected to dorm living again and so spent a while looking at apartments. I was surprised to find that prices in Kunming are definitely creeping up to the level of Guangzhou and other coastal cities.

 

If budget is a priority, then my advice would be to consider a private school in another Yunnan city, where prices are much cheaper and the overall living experience is much better. Dali is a decent option but I decided to choose Lijiang, which is definitely one of the most charming locations in all of China. My school has dorms but the staff were very helpful and I was able to find a lovely single bed apartment, for 800 a month which was actually cheaper than the dorms. I am up on the top floor, in a smart part of the New Town and this is the view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from my living room window.

My apartment is about ten minutes walk from the school but there are at least three schools here to choose from. As other posters have stated, a lot depends on the actual teacher. My first semester was with a teacher from Shaanxi who was very good indeed. The second semester we had a local girl that had been previously trained at New Oriental and the classes were a complete waste of time, as you can imagine. Fortunately she is no longer with the school and I am looking forward to a new teacher at the beginning of next month.

I personally find that the practice you get outside is even more useful that the actual class time, and this is one reason why I like Lijiang so much. This is a beautiful tourist city rather than a polluted business metropolis. In Shenzhen and Shanghai, people are all focussed on making enough money to survive, and are mostly too stressed out to patiently engage a foreigner in polite conversation. Here in Lijiang, people are on vacation and in a much better mood for helping me practise. There are visitors from all over the country which means I get to experience a very wide variety of accents, plus there are only a handful of other foreigners here which means I can much more easily avoid the temptation of hanging out with other westerners all the time. Best of all, Lijiang old town is an amazing UNESCO heritage site and I never get tired of the wonderful architecture and car free environment. Here are a couple of pics if you have not heard of it before.

 

I like the fact that I can easily get away into the Himalayan foothills for some spectacular hiking. Tiger Leaping Gorge is less than an hour away and Shangri La is another hour, albeit an extra 1000 metres plus in altitude.

As I said before, you might want to also consider Dali, which is another beautiful old town, north of Kunming. I lived there for a while but it is not up to the standards of Lijiang and there were too many dodgy foreigners around, giving the rest of us bad reputations. Still it was very good as a travel base. Situated between the Cangshan mountains and Erhai lake, it was great for weekend visits to places like Xizhou and Shaxi. Lijiang and Dali may not have all the western luxuries that are now available in Kunming but if you are on a budget this is perhaps not so important.

Anyway, enough waffle, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

By the way, when are you planning to study? You do realise that the new semester starts in just a couple of weeks?

[MastaJiaoshou]

Wondering if anyone has studied at YNU in the past 4 years?  no movement on this forum for a while.  I am interested in a semester or 2 there. any info about experience would be grateful.  I know that covid has screwed up much.  

[abcdefg]

On 7/25/2021 at 8:24 PM, MastaJiaoshou said:

I know that covid has screwed up much. 

 

Yes, true. In fact it is an understatement. Are student visas even being given out currently to foreigners? I'm not positive, but I don't think so. 

 

That being said, the Yunnan Normal University thread here has never been very active. You might try sending a private message to someone who has posted actual information here in the past, for example @Spiff. 

 

You might also try searching the Kunming forum in the general "Living and Studying in China" discussion thread. It is more active, and some relevant university information is posted there instead of here. https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/forum/53-kunming/ 

 

One more suggestion. Perhaps post your question on GoKunming. It's a website dedicated to Yunnan and Kunming. Here's there URL: https://www.gokunming.com/en/

 

(Just to be clear, I lived in Kunming for a long time, but know nothing relevant about YNU. No need to message me.) 

[antony]

The visa situation is one problem, the other is flights. You are safer getting a flight with no transfers at this virus time, regardless of what some tickets  companies sell. Tickets could cost ¥30,000 or more at this time. One way. Some ticket companies sell cheap tickets with transfers, but you'll be turned away at the airport if the transfer is not allowed due to the virus. 

Next year things may be better. 

An air bnb will not be so cheap. And I'm guessing that your visa will require you to live in campus. 

Much simpler living on campus. Much simpler. 

Kunming is a beautiful city, I've lived here 10 years. I can't imagine living anywhere else.

My advice is: Wait until the virus situation has settled. Get the visa, live on campus and enjoy.