Living off-campus Tsing Hua University 2014-2015

[Chennie]

Hello everyone! 
 
I am from the Netherlands and I am going to follow the Chinese language programme for a year at Tsing Hua University in september 2014. 
A few days ago I tried to book an accommodation at the Tsing Hua campus but it was booked up within 10 minutes! 
So I am trying to find a room off-campus near the university (thinking of bedroom (+private bathroom) in shared flat in wudaokou). I have Chinese parents but I am born and raised here in the Netherlands. So my Chinese is extremely poor.. (aka I cannot speak Chinese at all) and I have no any acquaintances in Peking. Therefore I am getting a bit nervous about the accommodation.

 

I will arrive in Peking at 9 September 2014 and the classes will start at 15 September. Would it be hard to find a room around that time as I arrive quite late (for my feeling). And how long would it take to find a room approx? Thinking of a max of 4000 rmd per month . I also consider to look and reserve a room on the Internet? Does anybody know any reliable rent websites?

 

Anyway, I am also open  to meet people and get around. So who will be there around that time? Maybe we can do some prepartions together but also relax and go out for dinner together?

 

[andyw10]

I'm going to Beijing Normal University to do a year for the Chinese programme! I was born in UK and working in London at the moment, get in touch at some point! I'm heading over end of this month, and literally the same as you, terrified lol.

 

A

[Chennie]

Yeah, great! Let's get in touch. Have you found any rooms yet??

[andyw10]

I've found a few, e-mail me instead! 

yu.andy9@gmail.com

[wsl235]

Hello Chennie & andyw10,
I'm also enrolled in the Tsinghua language program for this Fall, and under similar

predicament; the receptionist at Ziji apartment kept repeating "no room", and the international

students officers seem to be on holiday and, I was told, will be back next Monday, conveniently. 
Please let me know if yous come across anything along the lines of a single room close to Tsinghua

max 3000RMB?;

 

wsl235@gmail.com

 

Cheers, 

H

 

P.S. also it'd be nice to meet up in Beijing!

[Chennie]

Hi H! 
I also called the receptionist at Ziji apartment after "failing" the booking. I was on time, I got into the system and I was ready to book the room. However within 10 minutes it was booked up!!
I could not really believe it and I phoned the receptionist at 08.45 (or so), just 15 minutes after the booking :').

During the "conversation" she repeated "no room" and she couldn't say anything more than just "no room, no room". 
I have no idea, but as the receptionist of an international exchange apartment - you would assume that he/she can speak better English than this?? 

Hmm... maybe they hired a temporary employee because of the holidays?? No idea:P. Anyway, I know that there are 100 other Chinese language applicants left with no room, so we are not the only one for sure ;)... When do you arrive in Beijing btw? 

[ChTTay]

Hello All, welcome to Wudaokou :-)

@Chennie and all...

There are many apartments available for rent in Wudaokou and the surrounding area. For 4000 a month you could find an excellent room in a shared apartment. It would likely be less than this unless you are looking for something special. My friend recently found and rented a room for 3300 - double bed, own bathroom. One problem you may encounter is finding a place where you can have your own private bathroom. Are you really that opposed to sharing? With 4000rmb budget you could easily find a 2 bedroom place and share with one other person. There are two bedroom places starting at around 5000rmb in Wudaokou. There are shared rooms available for a little as 1500.

In terms of time, if you devote a large part of your day to apartment hunting, you can probably find somewhere in one to three days. Letting agents will no doubt show you a lot of terrible apartments (I find that they show you bad ones first in the hope you'll take them) before you get to good ones. The one problem you and others may have is that you will arrive at the same time as many, many other students will also arrive.

If you really speak no Chinese, it may be hard for you to communicate with the some of the major letting agents (Home Link, 我爱我家）. I have found they are pretty patient though as they would like to rent you an apartment and make some money! You may get lucky and one or two agents speak limited English.

There are a few agents in Wudaokou who can speak English and are used to dealing with Foreign, non-speaking students. You can often find adverts on "thebeijinger" website (classified section) from these type of agents. Also on thebeijinger you can find other foreign students or workers looking to find room mates. This method is quite easy as you usually just talk to the foreigners already living in the apartment about rent etc

I would really not bother looking at apartments online but just wait until you arrive in Beijing. You could potentially contact foreigners looking for room mates a day or two before you arrive to schedule to view the apartment. However, for agencies I would just wait until you arrive as many pictures posted by agencies online are not real. They are just "examples" of what the apartment "might look like". Yeah, real helpful!

The major letting agencies have offices on the main street in Wudaokou. However, Most of the major apartment complexes dotted around Wudaokou have independent letting agents in them or very, very near to them as well. If an agency is within an apartment complex, they often have many apartments for rent from within that apartment complex.

As for Tsinghua, the international student office workers speak English. Anyone else probably doesn't - including the people who manage the foreign student apartments.

Hope that helps :-)

[ChTTay]

I thought you mighht benefit from knowing a few apartment complexes that are popular and in the area...

西王庄 - XiwangZhuang - On 荷清路 HeQing road, right near Wudaokou subway station. Sort of behind KFC and Tous le jous.

东王庄 - DongWangZhuang - behind BLCU. A large apartment complex. Many older apartments but some good ones too.

华清嘉园 HuaQingJiaYuan - This apartment complex is right in the middle of Wudaokou and has many rooms for rent. Due to it's conveniance many foreigners rent apartments here so the prices are high. There is a real variation in quality as the complex is quite old. You can find 2, 3 and even 4 bedroom places here sometimes.

Also note that you must pay for your own gas here. Many apartments in Beijing are covered by a Government heating scheme (a flat rate fee I think) that the landlord pays directly.

东升元 DongShengYuan - next to HuaQingJiaYuan (above) and near the bar street (Helens, Steps)

富润家园 FuRunJiaYuan - On 学院路 xueyuan road, opposite BLCU / Uni of Mining. Slightly further away than the above apartments but close to BLCU still. Really if you are riding a bike to campus (almost certain) then it would only add 5-7 minutes to the trip.

翰澜庭 HanTing / Wisdom court. Very new apartment buildings quite far back from the centre of Wudaokou (around 10 minute bike) but not so far from Tsinghua (probably 10 minutes as well). These are technically in 六道口 LiuDaoKou but it doesn't make too much difference. There is a letting office in the apartment complex and you will usually find adverts on the Beijinger. They are single studio apartments and also multiple room apartments. Relatively expensive usually as its all quite new.

You find all these on google maps. All of these places are convenient to cycle or ride a scooter to Tsinghua campus and also to get to the centre of Wudaokou. There is one bus from the centre of Wudaokou to Tsinghua East gate.

[wsl235]

@ChTTay,
you've been infinitely helpful, god bless you.

@Chennie, 
yeah, although she did suggest looking into a nearby hotel for the entire

term, which was just about the best advice you could hope from her.

Anyhow, largely depends on how quick I could sort out the living situation,

but I'm aiming to be over at least a week before the program. Have you

made in progress with your hunt?

[ChTTay]

There is a hostel in Wudaokou called the "Peking University Hostel". I have heard mixed reports but it could be okay for a few days. A friend had a single room there and said it was fine... Just no windows!

Otherwise you could stay in a hotel in Wudaokou. There are two that are central that I know of and i've put links below. The first one, He Jia in, is essentially in Hua Qing Jia Yuan apartment complex. I am sure you will end up looking at places here. The second one is near the main mall in Wudaokou and cinema. Also very central.

http://www.tripadvis...ad-Beijing.html

http://www.tripadvis...el-Beijing.html

This is a similar post to this going on here: www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/45752-living-in-beijing-for-5-months/

[andyw10]

Hi guys, anyone feeling to meet up feel free to get in touch on wechat! Also I think it's best to find a place once you arrive...as I called up five apartments I found online and through pictures they sent me on wechat they look completely different!

 

My Wechat ID is - andreas111

[sbock3]

Hey, guys!

 

I'm going to be studying at Tsinghua too! Doing the full-year Chinese Language Program

 

For anyone still looking for a flat/apartment, I have reserved a nice one really close to the school and to the Wudaokou subway station. If anybody is still in need of a place to stay for the year, please give me a shout on WeChat at sbocknek.

 

Either way, it's going to be awesome to see all when classes get underway. Looking forward meeting you guys!

 

Seth 

[B-dub]

Hello everybody!

 

I am from Canada and I have just decided on doing a semester of the Chinese Language program at Tsinghua. I will be arriving in Spring 2015 but will be coming from Taipei as I have plans to do a semester there first before coming to Beijing. After reading some of your stories about how difficult it is to book a dorm, I think I'm going to go ahead and opt to live off-campus to embrace a little more culture other than just university life...probably a better daily selection of food than just on campus, but I would like to hear your opinions. 

 

I must thank ChTTay for all his advice and input on this, and other threads as it has helped in my decision on choosing Tsinghua over BLCU.

It would be great if some of you guys couldalso provide some details about daily life of living off campus, commuting and cool places/things we should know about.

 

Is there another source for finding apartments/roommates other than the Beijinger?

Other than that please let me know if anyone you know is seeking a flatmate. 

My budget is around 3000-5000 CNY/month depending primarily on location and quality/conditions. I would like a private room, but I do not mind sharing the bathroom. 

 

If you anyone is up for coffee or adventure around town then feel free to add me on WeChat ID: bdub89 - I have already sent messages to everyone above!

 

Bryan

[Chennie]

Hello guys! 

 

It's been a year already and it's time to leave I am going back! After visiting 20 apartments I succeeded to find a nice modern studio with my own bathroom (haha). Although, I woud like to thank ChTTay for the advices and help!! 

Anyway, I understand how difficult it can be -for a foreigner- to find a suitable room in BJ, so therefore this little message: I am leaving on the 20th of July and if you guys are interested, the studio will be available on 21 July 2015. It's 30 minutes by bus to Tsing Hua university。 

 

Studio in 上地 

-30m2 

-4514 RMB a month, electricity excluded (self charge (varies approx 100/200 a month))

-Airconditioning

-Central heating

-FULL FURNISHED (for example washing machine, microwave, fridge with ice box etc)

-24/7 security / reception 

-Internet 

-A common lobby for chats, playing games and films 

-A common gym to get you in shape! 

 

So.. if you are planning to come and do not want to search for a long time - just send me a personal message . 

 

Chennie 

[viclaw]

Hi Cheenie!

 

Thank you very much for your post!

 

I literally just had the same situation as you last year - logged in the system at 8:30am and without a minute, all rooms are booked up. So I am wondering if you mind sharing a few tips in securing an apartment near school? I am enrolled in the SEM for 1 academic year by the way.

 

And how can I do private message here? Sorry I am new to this forum!

 

Have a good day!

[ChTTay]

Hi there,

 

you need a certain number of posts before you can PM (think it's 5?). Also, nice to have good information public rather than PM'd :-)

 

Have you read the history of this thread? Quite a lot of tips about finding an apartment around Tsinghua/Wudaokou.

[viclaw]

@ChTTay,

 

Thanks for your reply! Yes I have read up the history of this thread and found it very useful. I have a complicated situation - basically I will be arriving Beijing a week after the school begins, so I am pretty worried about my situation at the moment.

 

Would it be possible to rent a flat/studio for 4 months only? Or the tenancy contract would require minimum of 1 year? Thank you!

 

@Cheenie

 

It would be wonderful if you could let me know the details of the studio where you stayed! Really appreciate your help cuz time is running out for me :L

[Robbey117]

Hello Chennie,

 

On the 7th of September I am leaving the Netherlands to study at Tsinghua University in Beijing. This forum and all the posts about the off campus accommodations were very useful. I have two questions though.

How did you find a International Agent who helped you with finding an accommodation to live in off campus and were there houses available with multiple students living in it. I am looking for an accommodation where lots of students live so that I get in touch easier with new people and international students. I would appreciate it if you could reply or send me an email at robvherwaarden@hotmail.com. 

 

Looking forward hearing from you!

 

Rob van Herwaarden

[ChTTay]

Hi Rob,

 

If you go to an agency in Wudaokou, most will know / have apartments with other foreigners in them that let on a 'per room' basis rather than for the whole apartment. The fact that you are a student, a foreigner and you are in Wudaokou will suggest you want to share... with other foreigners ... unless you express otherwise.

 

As for finding an agent that speaks English, thebeijinger.com has a lot of adverts on it from agents in English. Their actual level of English will vary but they usually at least know the relevant words for their occupation - kitchen, bathroom, electricity, etc. A lot of these adverts are for 'rooms in an apartment' rather than the apartment. Otherwise, there are a few independent agencies that are located in and around the most popular housing complexes - these are the ones that usually speak some English, rather than the bigger chains (e.g. Homelink)

 

Of course, I'd advise you to meet the people you might be moving in with if you want to become friends.

 

What aboutt the dorms at Tsinghua?

[Robbey117]

@ChTTay,

 

I really want to share everything, but I don't know how to image this student apartments. I'm looking for a sort of building where every floor has multiple double rooms, where other (international) students live as well.

 

The dorms at Tsinghua are full I believe. It only took 10 minutes, then there was no more room available on-campuss.

 

I found 2 or 3 agents and I have contact with them, so thanks for your help. When you can give me advise about the apartments I am looking for I would like to hear it from you.

 

Thanks

 

Rob