Short term accomocation options near BLCU

[laojiugui]

Hello!

I need to find some accommodation near BLCU while I study a short course there from 29/7 to 30/8.

I've got a few options:

1. Campus accommodation (Conference Center) - very handy, but I hear the rooms are small - and I'd like to get out and experience Beijing a little. If I have a 30 minute walking commute twice a day, I can make sure that I'm not cocooned on campus the whole time.

2. Rent a furnished studio or room - I'm considering putting an ad up on the Beijinger but this may be a hassle for such a short duration (4-5 weeks). But I'm really not sure which area would give me a pleasant walk into BLCU every day.

3. Hotel - but my budget may not get much in the way of comfort (I'm budgeting 5000CNY = 160CNY per day max).

I'm willing to wing it - ie. book nothing and arrive on the morning of 29/7 as classes don't start until 1/8. I've read that there will be plenty of short term rentals available due to summer holidays. I should also find lots of ads from students pinned up on campus.

Does anyone have a suggestion or recommendation? I'm still OK with booking the conference centre - but I think I'd like to experience living off-campus.

Thanks!

[金妙漪]

From what I remember, living at the conference center is relatively expensive and the room was really small, would not have been fun for five weeks. I stayed there for a night last summer before meeting up with the girl whose apartment I sublet for the month which I found after posting an ad on the Beijinger! I lived in one of the two towers that are right behind the gymnasium/athletic building.

I personally really enjoyed living off campus and having a somewhat lengthier walk to class through the fruit and milk tea stalls (although you may regret it occasionally if you wake up late) and it provided lots of opportunity for me to talk to the Chinese people also living in my building. Having native neighbors was definitely useful when faced with questions like "What is an electricity card?" and "How to get the electricity out of it?" If you can find someone to explain that process to you (and where the office of the electricity people is aka down some alley behind the University of Mining and Technology, and when their hours are aka completely random with enormous breaks for lunch) you'll be golden. It's really not that difficult, it just helps to be prepared so your AC doesn't go out in the middle of the hottest day of the year .

Also, BLCU says that if you're living off-campus you'll also need to register with the police station which means you and your landlord have to take a trip there together to sort out the paperwork. When I went to do this an unknown complication materialized and I never actually registered. BLCU never said anything and I was never hunted down by the police so... Go figure.

I think those are the only things that were "downsides" about living off-campus although I don't really think of them as downsides, more like an introduction to the Random Acts of Bureacracy that will mark your days in China! I really enjoyed having my own space separate from the school and a kitchen and largish bathroom and getting to walk through the small market everyday without making special trips.

Hotel advice: don't do it! Not only is it more expensive but also really impersonal and more difficult to meet the people living near you because they're probably leaving a few days or two hours after they check-in.

If you want to get out and see Beijing though, you'll need more than a walk to class twice a day! Wudaokou is a cool area but it's mostly filled with students and other foreigners, the rest of the city is pretty different. Best of luck! You'll have a wonderful time.

[laojiugui]

Thank you 金妙漪! You've confirmed my initial misgivings regarding living on-campus or in a hotel - so I'm not going to do it. I've placed an ad in the Beijinger for a room or studio, and hopefully I'll get a good result from that. Yes I'll definitely get out of Wudaokou and experience Beijing.

Sounds like you had a really positive experience, which is very encouraging. Thanks again!

[cultureyard]

You could also try looking on aribnb.com or post ad on the Beijing forum of couchsufring.com