Studying Chinese in Beijing for one year - some questions

[jipbouman]

Hi everyone,

As you can see I'm new to the forum. After dwelling around here for some time I decided to make an account so that I can actually discuss and chat with you guys and girls.

So far I have studied two years of Chinese in Leiden, the Netherlands. In between these two years I did a summerschool course in Taiwan (NCCU). I'd say my level of Chinese is low-intermediate, with appr. 5000 words of vocabulary and I'm not shy to use the language (which, I noticed, a lot of my tongxue are). In a week time I'll leave for Beijing, to study one year there at Beida. I've been planning my year for some time, but are still left with some questions. Hopefully you guys can help me out!

The main thing I'm contemplating at the moment, is buying a bicycle. I've looked a lot on this forum and also asked friends who already have studied in Beijing, but opinions seem to differ. I'd really like to buy a nice sporting bicycle, which I could also use to, basically, go fast on. I'm willing to lay down a few extra kuai, but I'm really worried that it will get stolen. My current plan is to buy two basic padlocks in the Netherlands and buy two pieces of basic but thick chain to use as my bike lock. With two locks I'll be able to secure the front and back wheel, as well as the frame, to an object. Do you guys think this is enough or should I just not bother buying and using a nice bike in Bejing?

Another thing I'd like to do in Beijing is play baseball. Although I know that the major sports in China are basketball and football, there must be some Chinese that play baseball too, right? I haven't found any yet, though, and I hope you guys know something more.

The last thing I'd like to ask is this. I'm really eager to improve my Chinese and I've experienced in Taiwan, where I had some friends which I knew through a program organized by the university, that there is no better way to improve your Chinese by hanging out with Chinese friends. Apart from this, I would just really love to make some Chinese friends, just for the sake of making friends. Do you guys have any advice/experience on this?

Thanks in advance everyone!

[T-revor]

As far as bikes are concerned...I've had a couple stolen in Beijing. Not a huge deal bc they were not nice bikes. If you are getting a nice bike buy two of the strongest and most flexible locks you can find. In my experience the U locks are bulletproof but aren't suitable for chaining your bike to whatever is around. Any chain-type lock will not work well since bolt cutters make really easy work of them. I would look at thick cable locks. Look online for the most thief proof locks available. And then get two. : )

[Tako]

I wouldn't count so much on the lock, also location is important. Avoid the streets. It's common practise to store bicycles in the corridoors of appartment buildings (Imagine doing that in Leiden:-) or better yet, inside your flat. Recently I saw the first "warning note" left for a bicycle that is constantly parked infront of half of the post boxes, blocking them so that I get to do some acrobatics every morning. Also newer appartment compounds have their own storage spaces for bicycles. If you can find a good place to store it at school/home and on the street just leave it for short durations, I think it should be fine. You can see some very nice bicycles in the streets of Beijing sometimes so surely they must be coping with them. Take care

[imron]

I'd probably lean towards getting a normal bike. It's not just the bike being stolen, it's also the fact that the erratic nature of Beijing's traffic means that a bike going fast may end up being considerably more dangerous, especially as other people on the road (pedestrians, cyclists, car and truck drivers) don't expect bicycles to be going fast.

[Tako]

That's a good point to be aware of but I do cycle and walk faster than most Chinese. I kinda feel more in control over the situation in that way. Nothing wrong with having a nice bicycle, just use caution and limit that speed a bit=)

[Lu]

Ha, alweer een medesinoloog! Bikes will be stolen (mine had two locks, and still...), so only get a nice one if you have a safe place to store it.

Last time I checked basketball was still very big on Chinese campuses, universities have some basketball courts with a bunch of students on them. I've never joined a game, but I suppose you can just ask.

If you're interested in Chinese-Dutch language exchange, let me know and I can introduce you to some Chinese students. Might work for making friends too, although of course they would want to speak Dutch too.

[liuzhou]

Also newer apartment compounds have their own storage spaces for bicycles.

Bikes can be stolen from them, too. One friend has lost two bikes from a new apartment compound bike storage area with 24 hour guards within the last 6 months.

[liuzhou]

You can see some very nice bicycles in the streets of Beijing sometimes so surely they must be coping with them.

Don't mean they bought them. Maybe just "borrowed".

[jipbouman]

Thanks for all the advice and the sharing of your experiences everyone!

I just bought two cable locks in the Netherlands, about 1.5cm thick, I hope that'll be enough. Location is a good point, I'll try to park it as safe as possible. Hopefully it will be possible to park it in some secure area.

@Lu: nice to see another sinologist on here indeed! Did you already graduate? If so, which year? By the way, I think you misread baseball for basketball:). I'm actually looking to play some baseball, although basketball is also nice to watch, so thanks for the info! I would also love to get in touch with the people you know to do some language exchange. I of course don't mind to speak dutch too. It's called exchange after all, and should end up being useful for both parties:).

Could anyone recommend any particular bike shop?

[Tako]

Bikes can be stolen from them, too. One friend has lost two bikes from a new apartment compound bike storage area with 24 hour guards within the last 6 months.

Ok, good to know! Recently they are trying to encourage tenants in my compound to move their bicycles to the bike storage area with a "limited time free" offer.. However hardly anyone is complying

I just bought two cable locks in the Netherlands, about 1.5cm thick, I hope that'll be enough. Location is a good point, I'll try to park it as safe as possible. Hopefully it will be possible to park it in some secure area.

Getting a good lock from back home is a good idea