Lvshunkou DUFL - Any Accom Off-Campus?

[michaelred123]

Hey guys, 

Heading for a university exchange to Dalian University of Foreign Languages next year, end of feb-start of july. A friend of mine is doing the same and we were thinking of renting off-campus together, as dorms cost about $600 per month and probably will randomly allocate us apart. Figure it would be cheaper to put our money together and rent. Unfortunately Lvshunkou doesn't have a lot of information online, and other than trying to book a hotel through a shady 3rd party booking agent I'm not too sure how to go about this.

What's more, a friend from China warned that as soon as potential landlords discover you're foreign, they will try to take advantage, so am a bit worried about that. 

 

Anyone have any online resources that might help with apartments or the like in Lvshunkou, or even an expat resources website for the area? 

Thanks a lot, 

Michael. 

[roddy]

Watch where you're staying - big naval base there, and the local police may well be wary. I wouldn't sign up for anything until you've been down to the police. See also. Those are all from years back, but frankly China's not getting less paranoid.

 

There's not much point doing anything but checking prices until you actually arrive, and for an out-of-the-way place like Lushun, you'd need to look at Chinese sites. 

[michaelS]

Give up on this idea. Sorry to be blunt, but there is no way you will get a landlord to rent to you for six months and register you at the police station. Default nowadays is a year's rent in advance and you have to drag them kicking and screaming to make the registration. Most prefer not to do it to avoid tax.

 

Just put lots of pressure on the university to house the two of you nearby. You probably will be pretty close anyway. If you're only there for six months then just enjoy the campus life. Dawai has the sea nearby and lots of good places to eat, nice atmosphere, fresher air than most parts. No proper bars but then there aren't in Lvshun either. If you were going to live off campus you'd be better off finding somewhere in Dalian (Heishijiao, Gaoxinyuan, Digital Park, Ligong area, Xinghai even) and commuting. No-one who works at Dawai lives in Lvshun. No idea about students. But to be honest, there's no point looking into this. You won't be able to organise reliable private accomodation from outside China, and I don't know if the university would let you live off-campus anyway.

 

On the other hand - $600 a month? That would get you a nice apartment...

[Chris Two Times]

But is it $600 a month? This website lists a price for a double room at 6750 RMB per semester?

 

http://scs.dlufl.edu.cn/CHS/gjzs/cqjxs/2013-10-22/35461.htm

 

I did a short-term summer course at DUFL way back in 2001 (when the school was in the city proper!) and would be interested in studying here again. I like it that DUFL honors two-year scholarships for Chinese language study under the CSC.

 

Just throwing my two jiao into this as I am considering the prospect of studying at DUFL, but wanted to see what the housing situation there could be like.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[roddy]

I remember back in 2007 Dalian was notably strict on landlords paying tax - police wouldn't register you without proof tax was being paid. But a full year in advance - that's pretty extreme. I recall that sometimes being an opening gambit, but you never actually ended up paying like that. 

 

These are listings from the agent I used back then

http://dl.hwj.com/zulin

Doesn't seem to be all that much actual info on the places though. 

[michaelred123]

Hey, 

 

Thanks a lot for the info guys. Lushun seemed like a bit of an internet dark zone, not a lot of information on hotels etc, guess that figures if it's a bit of a dark zone in reality as well due to military etc. Real pity though, an apartment or something would've been nice, especially as the accommodation is actually higher than the tuition fees (not to mention higher than renting in my home university town). I wonder if DUFL moved campus to get the monopoly on students accommodation! Seems very out of line with the other cost of living expenses.

 

Anywho, will give up the hunt and just accept the dormitory, sure it's not too bad. Anyone stayed in the dorm at Dalian, or at another university dorm? I believe the international students at Dalian have a seperate building, and only have the option of single room or double room, while the domestic students have upwards of 8 per room.

 

The 600 per month I quoted above was for a single room (Just realised! I'm using AUD not USD, and there is a difference these days. Might change things) , I guess if you get a double room it's not so bad. 50rmb per night as opposed to 100rmb. So yea, anyone know what to expect with these? 



Also, thought I'd attach the brochure sent by Dalian, as it has useful information I couldn't really find anywhere else. Has the price of dorms etc, might help someone out if they're curious. 

EDIT: Bummer, can't get the pdf to upload, goes all the way then says 'no file was selected' or 'uploaded' or something. Sorry guys!

 

Thanks again! 
Michael. 

Edited November 20, 2015 at 11:38 AM by michaelred123

[Kallaikoi]

I've just finished a year of study at Dawai as a CSC scholarship holder so I can actually give some valuable information for prospective students regarding off-campus accommodation.

 

First of all, if you want to live in a single room on campus accommodation is extortionate - you'll be splashing out 12000 RMB per semester for an ensuite or 6000 RMB in case you have a CSC or Confucius Scholarship - still very pricey by Lvshun or even Dalian standards. The single rooms are pretty fancy (by Chinese uni standards, that is) and well-equipped - you get a nice albeit small toilet, a TV set with a nice array of international TV channels and a balcony to enjoy the views and bask in the sun in spring and summer. There are also shared flats, most CSC and Confucius students get this accommodation by default. Every flat has a spacious living room, 4 rooms (2 students per room) and 2 bathrooms, most of these flats had fell into rack and ruin after a few weeks, hygiene standards were not very high, shall we say. Some of the vacant apartments for foreign teachers get rented as well - but at astronomical prices, I can't remember the price off the top of my head, just take my word for it.

 

I spent the whole year living on campus (single room) for the sake of my own comfort (one could blame my laziness as well) but it is actually not difficult to find accommodation off campus. I had plenty of classmates (mostly Japanese) living on 海鲜街 (Seafood St.) just across 东门, the main gate of the uni. The average price for a single room in a shared flat seemed to be around 600 RMB per month. I also had one classmate renting a flat in a nice gated community off campus for 1500 RMB per month. I also knew a couple of international students renting in central Lvshun - more inconvenient transportationwise as it takes 20 minutes to get to campus if you rely on the public buses. Just ask around any of the senior students once you're on campus, they'll be happy to put you in touch with some of the local landlords.

 

So, renting outside campus is far from impossible, you just need authorisation from the school -I just know one case in which they didn't authorize one student on the grounds that he was "too young", he had just turned 18- and your landlord has to be willing to do all the necessary red tape. In my experience, the local landlords have realised that there's a decent amount of dosh to be made out of student housing so this part won't pose a problem either.

 

This is just regarding accommodation, I'll definitely try to write about my study experience @ 大连外国语大学 asap in case you're interested (haven't seen any detailed testimonials in this forum, I think is about time someone spills the beans!)