Beijing Normal University

[roddy]

This topic is for discussion and reviews of Beijing Normal University. Any questions on accommodation - dorms and apartments - can go here. Academic, application or general campus queries can go in here.

For archived posts, see here and maybe do a search or two. All new questions or info should go in here, or in the accommodation topic, thanks.

[lorenz]

Hi everybody.

Is there anyone who is studying in the new M.A. in Contemporary Development of China?

[Ludens]

I've recently asked a few questions concerning the registration process of Beijing Normal University without any reactions, but as there seem to be quite some former and current students following this thread, I'm going to try my luck here. I'm planning to register for a Chinese language course at 师大, starting February 2012.

- I'll be arriving in Beijing early December (on a 3 months tourist visa), while the deadline for registration at the university is 31 December. How much time is needed to register? Can I just walk in and pay, or would it be best to apply online as soon as possible from Europe, in the hope that I get all the paperwork done before moving to China?

- Does anyone have good experiences with the online payment (by credit card) system? The online application website seems so amateurish.

- Every foreigner with a bachelor degree and enough money gets accepted for Chinese language courses at universities, as long as they register before the deadline, right?

- If I first register for one semester (to 'try out' the university), and after that semester decide to stay at this university (or switch to another one), can my residence permit be extended by the university, or do I first have to leave the country, get a tourist visa, re-enter, etc.? Also, would I need to pay the registration fee (or any other fees) again (when staying at the same university)?

Answers or thoughts on any of these questions would be very much appreciated!

[ng.glish]

Hi all,

Could someone please tell me what the surrounding area of Beishida is like? ie. transport system, eateries, places of interest, parks, hutongs, local hangouts, galleries, bars etc? I have heard it is quite secluded and isolate in comparison to some of the other universities like Beida and BLCU in the Wudaokou area, which I am wanting to distance myself from in order to limit the amount of English I use there!

Thanks

[roddy]

It's great. I lived there for five-odd years, and while I haven't lived there for a few years I know people who do and they still speak highly of it. You're close to the subway, have a ton of transport links, easy access to the lake at Xihai and the Beishida campus (the nearest the area has to a park), a ridiculous number of eating options, decent cafes and rents which aren't quite as inflated as Wudaokou / Chaoyang. BNU is the only university in the area with any real number of foreign students - you will see foreigners around, but they don't define the area as much as they do elsewhere.

[boyajuexian]

Hello, I'm planning on attending BNU this Fall for 1 semester to take the Chinese language program. I sent off my application 3 weeks ago and still haven't heard anything.

Has anyone had any response from BNU? And if so how long did it take for the application to process? And should I be expecting an email notification or someone by post?

Thanks

[LearningKid]

Hi all!

New to the forum and wanted to ask if anyone is doing the BNU summer course this June? I've signed up through CUCAS and everything has come through (apparently i just got to turn up with the docs, pay my fees and they will give me a room. Almost too simple?). Anyway just wanted to ask those who are going/has been before, is a visa nessesary for admission (i'm Chinese so i can get in and out of the country without one)? It's probably a question i should have asked before applying... but i guess thats a bit late for that now.

Thanks,

LK

[金妙漪]

Here are a lot of things I learned about Beijing Normal University from the one unfortunately short semester I spent there.

Application Process

I go to a school in the State University of New York (SUNY) and all the SUNY schools share study abroad programs. I applied through SUNY Albany's program; first I had to be accepted by Albany, then they sent my information over to BNU. I don't know when I was actually accepted by BNU because I was in China for 3 months prior to starting my semester and they just held the information and acceptance materials for me until I got there. I am almost certain Albany snail-mailed my information and that is how I would have received my acceptance materials had I been at home. Because of the way SUNY study abroad works I paid my regular tuition and various "program fees" which are like administrative charges and insurance costs (but I was forced to buy student insurance at BNU so??) etc; fees are lame. I did not have any communication with the university until the day I arrived on campus which was decently inconvenient but mostly due to the fact that I had already been in Beijing for a month doing my own thing and hadn't contacted them at all to let them know when I was coming. Mostly my fault but I thought it was weird no one tried to see, like, where I was. I was at BNU on a work visa (???) which was issued to me by the Beijing Public Security Bureau after I was illegally in the country for 3 weeks. I blame BLCU.

Course and Funding

I was a student in the Chinese Language Program which is 11600 yuan for one semester and 22400 for two. I studied there for one semester from August 2012 to January 2013.

Arrival and Registration

I arrived on campus a couple days before registration. I didn't really know what I should do because I hadn't been in contact with the university but I wound up getting a phone number of a lady who apparently was in charge of some groups of foreign students, Miss Zhen Zheng, but I never saw or heard from her again after the first day. I had been living in Wudaokou previously so I hopped in a cab, landed on campus, called her up and she came and found me. We went together to her office and looked at some papers and then walked together to the dorm I had signed up for previously, International Student Dorm No. 2, which is down and across the street from BNU's East Gate. I am trying to remember when I signed up for living in the dorms and I want to say it was in May, but I'm not entirely sure. On-campus accomodation goes really really quickly so if you're planning on living in the dorms, fill out the online form right away!

Checking into the dorm was really easy, just a matter of handing over paperwork to be copied, and when I decided to switch dorms (as will be discussed in the next section) all I had to do was go sign my name on a "I would like to switch" piece of paper and wait for a phone call, which came the next day. As far as Chinese universities go, BNU is decently buttoned up in my experience and the lovely woman who worked the desk at 第二公寓 was very understanding of my expired-visa situation and helped me how she could, mainly by not kicking me out of the building while I lived there illegally.

As for registering for class: lots of waiting in line, lots of standing around, lots of waiting in line (yes, we queue!); if you have everything in order you'll have no problems. I went to the office right when it opened the morning of registration and didn't have to wait more than an hour, I think. There is the usual futzing about trying to make the best sense out of ambigously worded flyers but all in all a very doable and relatively painless experience. I had already paid my tuition fees when I paid tuition to SUNY so I didn't have to do that part but I am pretty sure they let you use credit cards. I'm not entirely sure how the residence permit process works for someone who has everything in order. Judging from how all other kinds of registering went and a lack of complaints from my classmates I would assume it's not too strenuous. I think you are given it by your dorm's desk person after checking in.

Accomodation

BNU has three dorms and two apartment buildings for international students. 1 and 3 are inside the actual campus right next to East Gate and 2 is just short walk down and across the street from them (directly next to Bank of China!). If I remember correctly XinSong Apartment is located right near the dorms and Lan Hui is just down the street. I never visited LanHui or Dorm 1 and only the common areas of XinSong so I cannot attest to their various qualities but here is a cool link that might mean something to you: http://school.cucas....ntent_455.shtml I don't know why dorm 1 doesn't appear on the first table but maybe that's where only scholarship students who couldn't escape were forced to live as they are not "self-financing". I think that might be it but I knew other (Western) students who were on scholarship and didn't live there while my Korean scholarship friends did (they didn't like it). A conundrum indeed. Moving on.

As the handy link shows, there are a variety of room/roommate/suite thing options available in all the different dorms. I lived in Dorm 2 for about 2 weeks and then due to various events documented in the Crazy Roommate Chronicles I decided I would rather live in Dorm 3 so I went over there and asked at the desk and signed my name on a list and they called me the next day and I dragged my stuff back across the street. While the Crazy Roommate was a strong factor in my decision to move, there were other reasons. Dorm 2 (and Dorm 1) are not very well taken care of and water and electricity often went out. This isn't really an issue for me as I had dealt with these things while living in Chengdu and at BLCU, but the fact that across the street there existed a dorm that didn't have these problems encouraged me to make the move. Aldditionally, the air conditioner in our room in Dorm 2 was really strange and was making me sick. I got my own room in Dorm 3 and got to share a bathroom and fridge with a nice Indonesian woman. I had no problems getting my money back from the front desk at Dorm 2; in fact, everyone I know who moved out of the dorms during any part of the semester was always given their money back (except 2 weeks worth). The desk ladies at Dorm 3 are LOVELY PEOPLE and you should be kind to them and talk to them and smile always; they are angels. Also, one of them secretly speaks really good English but she will hide it from you.

Dorm 2 has pretty big double rooms and is furnished with mattress, bed things, desk, nightstand, big dresser/shelf/hanger combo, desk lamps, and desk shelves. Before moving out, my roommate and I had rearranged the furniture so there was two separate sections of the room (heheh) and it was awesome but I think they made her change it back after I left. There are single rooms as well and I would assume it was much the same way but with one of everything. There is a kitchen on one of the floors at least, I never saw one on my floor but I wasn't looking. There is a laundry room on each floor which you need a little key to operate which you pay for at the front desk and comes with like 10 washes and you can refill it. For drying you just have to hang everything all around everywhere on people's heads, this is the only way. No curfew. Security consists of a super cute middle-age Chinese man who occupies various posts around the lobby throughout the day. He has (had?!?) a cactus on his desk and was very friendly and funny. Cleaning was everyday; a nice 服务员 came in and swept the floor and took out the garbage. (fyi bathroom is gross no amount of cleaning can save) (also it is the home of creatures). Internet access was A HARROWING EXPERIENCE; I would advise don't buy it until you're SURE that you'll be staying in that dorm. Basically, you call up the guy whose number will somehow come to you on the wind or on a flyer and tell him you want internet and then he'll set you all up and give you a blue post-it. DO NOT LOSE THE POST-IT OR THINK IT IS SOMEHOW UNIMPORTANT BECAUSE IN REALITY THIS POST-IT IS EQUAL TO THE FIVE MONTHS OF INTERNET YOU JUST PAID FOR. ALSO, SAVE THIS MAN'S PHONE NUMBER AND IF YOU DECIDE TO MOVE AND ARE FEMALE I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE ALL YOUR WILES TO GET THIS MAN TO MEET WITH YOU AND GIVE YOU BACK YOUR MONEY. It turns out that the different dorms of the same university have different "offices" for providing internet, go figure. If you switch, you will have to first get your money back from the one group of internet people and then go do it all over again at your new dorm, although this in no way guarantess that your internet will always work when you would like it to. Just save yourself the trouble and wait until you're sure where you'll be living and for god's sake keep track of the post-it. This is just my experience though and I DO have a friend who merely plugged her ethernet into the wall when she arrived and was blessed with free internet for a year. I'm not bitter though. I got my money back when I moved out because I was there for two weeks/less. If you stay in a dorm longer than two weeks and decide to move, you'll still get most of your money back but they will charge you for two extra weeks for the late notice/extra cleaning/whatever. I booked accomodation online beforehand.

Dorm 3 is a really nice dorm, like maybe the nicest dorm of all time in China. Well, maybe not that nice but it's definitely the nicest dorm out of the 7 that I visited/lived in while there.There are single rooms, which are really nice. There are two different types of suite rooms, which are also really nice. On that website it describes them the same way but there is a decent amount of difference between the two. The one that I lived in when you open the door from the hallway you walked into a little 10 foot by 10 foot (I think? I am bad with measurements) room with three doors off of it, two bedrooms and a bathroom. The other kind of suite when you walk in you are in a little living room with comfy-ish chairs and a little table and such. There are also three doors off of this room which are two bedrooms and a bathroom but the bedrooms are bigger and the bathroom has a tub as well for those days when you need a good soak. The bedrooms each have a bed/mattress/all that, closet with some hangers, shelf, desk with lamp, TV, phone, and water heater!! So useful, the water heater is! There is a kitchen and laundry room on every floor. Laundry works the same way as Dorm 2 and also there's a dryer? but I would advise against using it unless you are in a jam because it's expensive and weird. No curfew, thank God. Similar security situation, random guards lying about. 服务员 visited every morning and swept, took out the garbages, changed sheets, fixed my broken things, etc. Internet access, once sorted out, was generally fine. The one time I had a sustained problem connecting I called down to the internet people office and they had a guy over the next day to help me. I think I have some pictures somewhere and if anyone really wants to see them, contact me on here somehow and I can send them to you. I don't know how to upload pictures into this reply.

Classes, Classrooms and Teachers

I took three classes, 听力， 会话，and 读写 which were each three times a week for two hours each. On Fridays we had only one class (woo). They alternated times so some days we would start at 8:00, others at 10:30, and others at 1, last class got out at 5 pm. I had one professor for each class.There were 27 students in my class. We had one from the US, 3 Germans, 1 Australian, 2 Indonesian, 4 Korean, 2 Thai, 1 Vietnamese, and 8 Japanese. I think we were split exactly half and half, boys and girls. Attendance was really high, especially when the weather was nicer, especially not on Friday when we had only 听力 at 8 am, especially among the students from Eastern education backgrounds. That sounds weird, but really, attendance was very good! Classes were generally good! I had one amazing wonderful professor (not exaggerating, one of my favorite men on earth), one decent professor, and one nice but achingly boring professor. The actual classroom was fine, the desks and chairs were pretty small and a little uncomforable for those in the class above 5 foot 4 but nothing to throw a fit about. It was cold in the winter, but then again, everything is cold in the winter. We used BLCU books, surprise surprise. We had weekly-ish quizzes in all the classes, sometimes for an actual grade, sometimes just as a fun competition between boys and girls, westerners and.. easterners, etc. The only two exams for each class were the midterm and final. We had homework most every night but it was usually pretty easy if you had been paying attention during class. Just review of grammar and vocab, normal stuff.

BNU offers a lot of elective courses. I didn't take any because just three classes and running around the city took up most of my time, but they looked really cool. Things like Ancient Chinese texts, extra grammar classes (I love grammar) history, calligraphy, and I don't know, there were a lot. If you poke around online, I'm sure there's a list somewhere. There are a lot of clubs that really try to recruit international students, like "glee" club and wushu club! You should sign up for wushu club just for the humorous text messages! Also there's a huge International Students Night near the end of the semester, it was crazy and really fun. The Koreans have their own Korean club and I was super jealous.The school does cultural outings to the opera and Great Wall and Harbin, things like that. For the local trips you pay 100 yuan deposit which you get back once you get on the bus to the event. The Harbin trip was during the semester break, I don't know how much it was but you definitely had to pay something.

Campus and Environment

BNU is WONDERFULLY situated in my opinion. I was living in Wudaokou previously and that was kind of overwhelming at times so I was really glad to not be around all the crazy all the time while still being close enough to make it over to Wu in 15 minutes (on the last bus anyway). BNU is in Haidian district which is a poppin' district (if you didn't already know) and is between subway lines 2 ( 积水潭) and 10 (牡丹园). THIS IS AWESOME, you can get everywhere. It's like a 15 minute walk to either station (maybe like 20 to 牡丹园) and then the world is your oyster. There are bus stops all along 新街口外, literally right outside East and South gates (I didn't really use the other gates) and they can take you everywhere for the low low price of 40 jiao if you use your 交通卡 which you had better otherwise you should go home and have a deep think about what you're really trying to do here, because it's clearly not take full advantage of the awesome cheap transportation provided by a major world metropolis. It's not too hard to get a taxi and if you are friendly and nice to your drivers they will be your captive language partner for the next 20, 30, 40 minutes or so SO BE NICE. People ride bikes everywhere too which I really wish I had done, but forget regret! I'll get one next time.

Also you can totally walk from jishuitan to houhai, it's so pretty at all times of the year.

Concerning supermarkets: There are two on campus. There is a "student" one and then there is a "faculty" one which are both used by everyone. They sell mostly the same things but the student one is more fun because you pass a delish milk tea stand on the way there. There are also a couple Wu Marts off-campus down the street in either direction. I love Wu Mart. You should go to Wu Mart. The one closer to line 2 is bigger. Also each of the dorms has a little "convenience" store attached to it and there are several on the streets outside campus.

Concerning banks: There is Guangdong Development in the JingShi building. I used Bank of China which was right next to Dorm 2 across the street. There's also Agricultural Bank of China, China Merchant, Bank of Communications, etc. Lots of banks; it's a busy area.

Concerning post office: I heard there was one on campus but there's also one right across from South Gate so I just used that. They are always closed.

Concerning restaurants/canteens: Lots of restaurants and canteens, mostly in the student market area. There's a Chinese and Korean restaurant stacked on top of each other right next to dorms 1 and 3. The Chinese restaurant has amazing chicken mogu soup, it will heal you. There's also a McDonalds connected to Dorm 3 - make good choices. Outside of campus there is also a wide variety of restaurants to choose from, all pretty cheap and accessible on foot. There are, of course, really amazing places to eat all over the city, but there's plenty of stuff right around BNU.

Concerning cafes: The one thing that made me sad about leavning Wudaokou is that there are no 24-cafes near BNU. (Wait no there's one but don't go there!) There is a nice cafe connected to Dorm 3, there's one connected to Dorm 1, Sculpting in Time is down the street from South Gate, and there's a couple cute ones scattered around the surrounding streets.

Concerning bars: Lakers! Shamelessly blaring club beats late into the night, every night, Laker's will bake you a weird (but delicious?) pizza and satisfy your going-out needs without actually having to go out. You are literally walking a quarter of a block down from East Gate. One time I ordered a veggie burger here and they gave me vegetables, on a burger bun. It was so fun. If you want to go out out you have to go to Wudaokou which, if you take the last 331 bus, will only take 15 minutes. Or go to Sanlitunr but that's mad far, yo. Or run around in the hutongs, that's fun.

Concerning interacting with Chinese students: Just go talk to them! If you wind up going to BNU at registration someone (maybe Gus!) will ask if you want to be on an 欧美 email list and you will say yes and then people will be on there sending emails asking for language partners and you will say yes! In this area, I am all about being proactive. It's easy to interact with Chinese students if you make the decision to interact with Chinese students, and they are everywhere.

Cost of Living and Budgeting

I didn't live extravagantly, but I wasn't being frugal either. Both are definitely quite doable though. A good way to save on money would be to live off-campus near a less-busy subway stop, like, not Dongzhimen or Wudaokou. Then you have your own kitchen and can cook for yourself and save a lot of money that way. Also, learn to bargain. If the shopkeeper is not slightly irritated with you when the transaction is complete, you are paying too much! I don't mean make them angry, I mean be friendly but firm and only pay for what the item is actually worth not the exorbitantly inflated tourist price they will present you with. That doesn't have a lot to do with BNU but I made a lot of friends that way and it will probably work for whoever is reading this as well.

If anyone has any questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask and I will do my best to get back to you in a timely manner!

[adrianlondon]

Brilliant write-up. You've made me miss the time I was there (2006). As I've forgotten almost everything I learnt, maybe I'll just go and do it all over again. I was in level 101 and stayed Dorm 3 (like you, sharing a bathroom with one other).

[roddy]

Wow. I didn't even know the forum could handle posts that long. Thanks!

[ducksauce888]

Hi everyone!

I've just been accepted into BNU for a langauge program starting next semester (on China gov scholarship). Im in the process of trying to secure a dorm room..

from what I understand, i need to log onto a site:

http://www.bnulxsh.com/english/index.htm

this is the international students portal site in English but it does seem to be frequently down..or am I doing something wrong? Having read that dorm rooms go quickly, i am keen to secure a room asap.

is anyone able to shed light on this situation? Thanks!

[金妙漪]

You need to log onto here www.bnulxsh.com/applynew/include/login1.php?version=en. Just now I didn't have any trouble with the website but it may just have to do with what time you try to get on because there are a lot of people trying to secure housing. Maybe try accessing the website at different times of the day.

Your Admission Number should have been included with your other admission materials. If not, I would get in contact with someone at the university.

I hope this answered your question, but if not, please write back and we'll try to figure it out.

[ducksauce888]

i have tried that link that you gave me but the site doesn't load. rather strange how it works for you! it must be the case that too many people are trying to log on...this is quite unsettling and im hoping that there is something left for me when i finally log in.. im really anxious to get campus accomodation (this being my first time studying in China...)

thanks for your reply and also for your earlier massive post. i found the information very useful and practical !

[金妙漪]

You could also try using a different browser and see if that helps! I use Firefox and I've never had a problem with any of the BNU site pages. If that doesn't work, you could try a computer that's on a different network, like at a friend's house or something. Let me know how it goes!

You will probably be fine getting housing but in the case that it doesn't work out you should talk to the people at the International Students Office (where you will register) when you arrive, tell them your situation and they will help you. Even in the small possibility that you're not able to register for housing online beforehand, I am 100% positive that you will still be able to live in the dorms. There is a LOT of shuffling around the first few weeks as people switch dorms and decide to live off campus. If you go to the front desk of any of the dorms and tell them you want to live there they'll have you put your name on a waiting list.The waiting list I signed to switch into Dorm 3 was 4 pages long and I still got a call the next day.

You're very welcome! I'm happy to help and glad to hear from other people going to BNU! You'll have a wonderful time; keep us posted!

[ducksauce888]

I've finally managed to get through to the website! now ive encountered another problem: after enterring my admission number and birthday into the dormitory reservation site, I keep getting a message telling me that my password is wrong! I've triple-checked my admission number and password etc but its all correct..my name doesn't appear to be in their system!

so i think its best for me to get in contact with someone at BNU ! do you reckon it'd be best to call the international student office? could I speak to them in English? (my chinese isn't so great yet...)

thanks again!

[金妙漪]

Hmm, that's interesting. Definitely get in touch with their office and remember there is a time difference! And usually Chinese people leave work for a couple hours for lunch. There are some people who speak English that work there and sometimes there are other foreign students. When I was having visa issues Du Laoshi helped me out a lot so if you're having trouble communicating, ask for him!

I just went through some of my old emails and found this contact information, in case you don't already have it somewhere. Email: isp@bnu.edu.cn or Tel: +86-10-58807986, +86-10-58808364, +86-10-58800325. Probably just different lines for people in the same office. Let me know how it goes!

[hamada]

Hi everyone!

I received my admission notice last week (BNU - MA Educational Management and Leadership - CSC scholarship) . It's an English-Taught Program

According to the instructions, CSC Students don't have to resevre the dorm and i must check in Lanhui Apartment after september 1st. Any ideas about This Dorm ? I guess there is no single rooms there.

Also , is 1700 Yuan per month enough for food and transportaion ?

Thanks!

[金妙漪]

Hi hamada!

Congrats on getting the scholarship!

Although I never personally visited Lanhui Apartments, I knew some people who lived there and they liked it okay. Here's a link with some pictures: http://www.bnulxsh.c...nhuipicture.htm . I think you're right that there are no single rooms.

It is definitely possible to live on 1700 a month, which is about 55 kuai a day, but you may not want to. You would need to have a pretty strict budget and stick to it. A lot will depend on your meal choices because transportation is cheap if you walk or take the bus or subway a lot. Cab fare changed like right after I left and I think it's a minimum of 13 kuai now and one at the end as a fuel charge, so that's 14 kuai right off the bat. In addition you're paying for every km after the first three, so taking a cab can get (relatively) pretty expensive. Sorry if that didn't make any sense. Basically get a transportation card (at any subway station) and just take the bus (but if you're out really late you'll have to take a cab because there are only a few buses that run through the night). You can get a good meal for 5 kuai or 40 kuai depending on where you decide to eat, even just on and around campus. In addition to just food and transportation if you want to go to the markets you'll want more but how much depends on what market you go to, what you're buying, and how you bargain - and if you decide to just go to the mall you'll be paying a lot more because it's retail.

You will almost definitely be spending more than 1700 a month unless you are usually a really frugal person, but if you are mindful of where your money is going, don't make dumb purchases, and TAKE THE BUS you will at least have the peace of mind that you're being a reasonable spender and still able to do most everything you want to do, even if it takes a little longer to get there. You just have to decide what's more important to you personally: saving money or saying HECK IT and running off to the Great Wall Music Festival and other such fun things. I would not have felt comfortable living on 55 kuai a day, I would have been too worried about staying on a budget to really enjoy the things I spent my money on. When you are living in a different culture and country than the one you are used to it's nice to be able to splurge a little on some granola when you miss it.

If you have a smartphone or iPod Touch you should download the Baidu map app (百度地图），it will help you immensely with navigating bus routes and finding fun places to go.

Sorry this post is a mess. Hope it helped and have a wonderful time! Let me know if you have any more questions!

[hamada]

@ 金妙漪 : Thank you so much for your reply, which i find very useful

Thanks again!

[ducksauce888]

Hi 金妙漪 !

I rang BNU international office regarding my issues and they told me that, since I am a under the government scholarship, I don't have to pre-book my dormitory. She just told me to arrive on enrolment day and it will all be arranged for me.

So this probably/definitely means that scholarship holders will be put in a shared room (like your korean friends you mentioned in your post) and is beyond my control (as it states on my my admission letter, but i was kind of hoping to get into the booking system early so I could decide which type of room i would be staying in). I'm hoping that I can get along well with my new roomie !

thanks for the advice ;)