BLCU, Beijing Language and Culture University, Housing Info, and more

[Altea]

Hi,

After all these posts I now have further 3 questions to which I have not found any answers, yet

1) XiaoBin: you spoke about a trip to Inner Mongolia. Do you have dates for this, how much something like this would cost and what the procedure is for somebody not doing a degree-programme but accepted for a year-long non-degree course starting March 2010?

And now a few questions to all on this thread:

2) I would appreciate knowing what needs to be brought over when doing the final registration on campus. The schooling certificates were sent and accepted by e-mail? Do these need to be taken again? Obviously passport and copy of Application and payment receipt if the yearly fee was wired?

By the way, is this to be recommended (wiring payment in advance) ? There was quite a problem when they needed to locate the registration fee deposit, so am a bit worried...

3) I want to come to the Conference Centre on campus (directly off the plane), acclimatise and orient myself for two days, intend to leave my luggage and then go to another region to spend the new Year with a Chinese family, friends of mine and then return.

Is it possible to leave a suitcase on campus till my return a few days before the registration date? Where? I read somewhere on a post that they charge quite a bit for this? How much? Any advise?

Look forward to your suggestions and advise! This thread is better than the Lonely Planet

Altea

Edited January 14, 2010 at 01:44 AM by Altea

[Edgar]

Altea, great job, I read all your summary posts!

[Altea]

Edgar, you're most welcome. Thanks has to go to all to took the time to answer the many queries! Doing this was actually very useful for myself and it was then that I thought "why not share this" ? emitindo lhe cumprimentos (hope it's correct)

[yueni]

Thanks for your summary posts, Altea, and for all the hard work you've put into making them.

Here's a link to a campus map: http://www.blcu.edu.cn/blcuweb/english/img/campus-map.jpg

The pink numbered buildings are the dormitories. The blue ones are the classroom buildings. Dorms 1-4 are closest to the classrooms, but also among the oldest dorms on campus. The next group of dorms, 5-9 are also pretty old. 7 & 8 are under renovation right now. 9 is still being used. This group of dorms are mostly used by foreign students. The next cluster of dorms, 10-15 are almost exclusively used by Chinese students. These are relatively new.

Blue building one is where most of the long term classes are held. Classroom building 3 is where the short term classes are held. Hope this helps!

I also had a gym membership last year, which we negotiated for 990rmb for a full year with no restrictions. We accomplished this by getting a group of 25-30 people together and basically asking for a lower price than the 1200rmb offered. Most of us were ready to walk away, and we ended up getting the deal in the end. I've been seeing 500rmb deals for a full year, but you are restricted to using the gym during certain times.

The classes are decent and really depend on what instructor you get. I hear the yoga instructor was not bad. I took a hip hop class that was okay. There are also dance classes and so on. The equipment is decent, not top-of-the-line, but not unusable.

The pool, tennis courts, volley ball courts and badminton courts are unrelated to the gym and under different management. For the pool, you can get a 200rmb card for 20 trips otherwise it's 30rmb a trip. I'm not sure about the others. I've used the track for free.

[Altea]

Hi Yueni, lovely to link up. Have enjoyed your posts enormously and they were indeed very helpful. Thanks for including the map, I had seen it, searched for it and could not find it again, especially as you seem to have been the only one preparing and uploading one. Your recap of all the dorms was also a superb feat! So thanks so so much!

[pennylane]

This is hugely informative, so thank you very much, Altea! I will be commencing study in March as a scholarship student, but may upgrade dorms. I have lived in Chinese uni dorms for long periods of time in the past, so the idea of the basic scholarship rooms don't really bother me. I was wondering about kitchen facilities and which dorms have access to communal kitchens. If anyone could help out, that would be wonderful. thanks

[Ariane]

Updates on housing: Dorm 7 is now in use, but it's for the phd students. Dorm 8 is closed for renos. If you are trying to move rooms, be aware that only dorm 6 and 4 have openings right now, although the lady at the office has said that once we are back in march, there will be more openings-- they seem to be moving a bunch of people around for whatever reason, so once they get that sorted out, then the rest of us can resume fiddling around with our dorm reservations.

[XiaoBin]

1) XiaoBin: you spoke about a trip to Inner Mongolia. Do you have dates for this, how much something like this would cost and what the procedure is for somebody not doing a degree-programme but accepted for a year-long non-degree course starting March 2010?

This is what I remember from my semester in 2007:

The inner mongolia trip is only for the fall semester. The golden week (China's national hollidays) will allow you enough time to travel. This year it has been canceled due to H1N1. It will be made available for the short term students. Some of my long term friend when with me in 2007, but it might conflict with some of your classes.

I don't really remember what it costs.

As for the 1 year program, not sure if they have any trips.

2) I would appreciate knowing what needs to be brought over when doing the final registration on campus. The schooling certificates were sent and accepted by e-mail? Do these need to be taken again? Obviously passport and copy of Application and payment receipt if the yearly fee was wired?

Again I only know for the short term but think it's the same for long term students

- Admission notice

- JW202 form (not always needed but bring just in case)

- Pictures for your student card (believe that you need 2)

- Temporary resident papers or proof of where you are staying, you can get them from your dorm (not really sure, heard that some ppl registered without them)

- Receipt that you paid the administration fee

- Money, bring cash if you can. Payment by credit card is possible but there will be a fee, and you might need to go to a different building to pay.

Think that's it.

Is it possible to leave a suitcase on campus till my return a few days before the registration date? Where? I read somewhere on a post that they charge quite a bit for this? How much? Any advise?

Not sure if they will hold your luggage. The people working in dorms are pretty honest and will not likely steal your stuff. But I'm not sure about it.

Blue building one is where most of the long term classes are held. Classroom building 3 is where the short term classes are held. Hope this helps!

- 6 hrs/day, 12/20 weeks. Building 3

- 4hrs/day, 20 weeks. Run run shaw (Yifu building)

- 4hrs/day, 12 weeks. Not sure think it's building 2 and 3

- Long term students. Building 1

[Altea]

Is anybody already in Beijing/China and able to check / test for me if www.blogger.com is accessible in China or has it been blocked by the 'Great Firewall'?

Wanted to start a travel blog and share my experiences at BLCU for my friends and family at home.

Thanks!

Altea

[greenarcher]

It's blocked I just checked it now.

If anyone has any other questions just post them here. My semester just concluded (or is just about to conclude). It's so quiet here in Dorm 17, it's like a ghost town, everybody's gone back home.

[Altea]

"greenarcher' : thanks for that, much appreciated. Could you also check

http://wordpress.com

Another question: wanted to register around February 4 but was told that they are all on holiday. Does this mean that BLCU 'shuts' down? Could not believe this, as it is such a big place. But it seems the dorms stay open?

Trying to understand the situation between two terms...

Great to get such quick feedback

[chrix]

Altea, AFAIK wordpress.com has been widely available in China recently. But these things can change quickly, so it's not much worth knowing what services are available NOW, these things can change, even while you're there.

On another thread about blogs, someone suggested mirroring your blog (it can be done automatically) on both blogspot and wordpress, and also consider using a Chinese blogging platform.

Also if this is mainly for a home audience, set yourself up with a proxy and/or VPN and use whatever platform you like, as it will be accessible back home.

[greenarcher]

Wordpress works. Not sure about holidays in BLCU, you might want to give them a call, they speak english very well.

[bnjmn]

i know chinaunipath.com which handles application has a service to sort your accomodation, but i rather do it myself to save a bit of money.

so how early do you need to be to be confident to get the dorm of your choice if starting spring semester?

i arrive beijing next week and hope to go in person and try to book a single room in dorm 17, whats the chance of getting it?

Edited January 31, 2010 at 04:33 PM by bnjmn

[pokipoki]

hi everyone

i've read all the pages (thanks sooo much for all the efforts) and still cant find an answer to my questions though,

can someone give a rough estimation of the average cost between housing in dorms and off-campus apartments?

1. dorms (there are some numbers on the previous pages but conflicting; the paperwork that BLCU gave me stated that the most someone one pays for a double room is 75RMB and 150RMB kuai for double) but there are ppl who claimed paying more.

Also, what is the minimum amount of days can you stay in the dorms? I'm asking this just in case I cant stand living in dorms and would like to get an apartment instead.

do they always ask for a 30 day deposit?and therefore that means you're stuck at least for a month?

2. off campus apartments

how hard is it to find an apartment off campus (with roomates), considering you dont have a transportation to check out the place and stuff?

for how many days should I book my hotel room/conference room?

A lot of people said that if I'm in beijing for long term, finding an apartment is way cheaper than dorms, however, for people who live in apartments, they claim they paid about the same amount of kuai per day. i'm confused.

I originally applied for a one semester program, and so I've applied for the one semester visa. I might change that to a one year. does anyone know how do I go about doing this? Do I still get summer off? and can I extend my visa in beijing?

Thank you all so much in advance.

[roddy]

Apartments aren't necessarily cheaper, but I'd wager they're almost always better value for money. Getting to and from places you're viewing isn't too much trouble - taxis are cheap, and some agents will whizz you around on the back of their scooter.

[greenarcher]

APARTMENT INFORMATION

hi everyone

i've read all the pages (thanks sooo much for all the efforts) and still cant find an answer to my questions though,

can someone give a rough estimation of the average cost between housing in dorms and off-campus apartments?

1. dorms (there are some numbers on the previous pages but conflicting; the paperwork that BLCU gave me stated that the most someone one pays for a double room is 75RMB and 150RMB kuai for double) but there are ppl who claimed paying more.

Also, what is the minimum amount of days can you stay in the dorms? I'm asking this just in case I cant stand living in dorms and would like to get an apartment instead.

do they always ask for a 30 day deposit?and therefore that means you're stuck at least for a month?

2. off campus apartments

how hard is it to find an apartment off campus (with roomates), considering you dont have a transportation to check out the place and stuff?

for how many days should I book my hotel room/conference room?

A lot of people said that if I'm in beijing for long term, finding an apartment is way cheaper than dorms, however, for people who live in apartments, they claim they paid about the same amount of kuai per day. i'm confused.

I originally applied for a one semester program, and so I've applied for the one semester visa. I might change that to a one year. does anyone know how do I go about doing this? Do I still get summer off? and can I extend my visa in beijing?

Thank you all so much in advance.

For Dorm 17 it's 60RMB/day if you are staying for the entire semester - double room. 600RMB deposit.

Apartments -> You can find rooms (and not entire apartments) for rent in TheBeijinger or through agents near the BLCU hospital. The agents inside BLCU charge a commission of 50% of a month's rent.

I spent a week looking for an apartment, I had 3-4 agents searching on my behalf and saw roughly 10 apartments all in all, good ones, crappy ones, I've seen it all. Single bedroom or studio apartments are around 2000-3000/month. 2 bedroom are 3500-5000/month.

Here's a summary:

Dorm 17 - generally OK if you know your roommate. Biggest complaint is the very thin walls and doors, you can easily hear your neighbors and people in the corridor. If you have rowdy floormates, then that will definitely suck.

Hua Qing Jia Yuan - the most expensive of all condominiums because it has the best location, beside the subway, among tons of restaurants and commercial establishments. 1 bus ride away from BLCU but also walkable. The cheap units are crappy and have a small CR. The good (and very expensive) units are in block A.

Di Zhi Da Xue (in front of BLCU) - old buildings are crappy, new buildings are very nice but expensive, same price as Hua Qing Jia Yuan.

Fu Ron Jia Yuan - near BLCU's east gate. Location not as nice as Hua Qing (kinda far from the subway station on foot) but units are of the same quality for a lower price.

Dong Wang Zhuang - beside/behind Xijiao Hotel. Mostly old/unrenovated units which are cheap but units are mostly not appealing.

Hai Fong Yuan / Yi Cheng Dong Yuan / Fei Chang Su She - 20-30mins by foot to BLCU, much cheaper than the choices above and units are generally pretty good. Distance/location is the main disadvantage. 2 or 3 bus stops away from BLCU.

BLCU/Mining University Apartments - mostly old apartments which need renovations but fairly cheap. You have to pay a commission though.

DISCLAIMER: Most apartments do not agree to tenants renting for 5months, they require 6months. This is why apartments are most of the time, more expensive than dorms where you pay per day. Then you also have to pay for water/electricity.

This is the number of a very helpful agent who I promised to recommend for his good service: 13811256599. We didn't get 1 from him since we found a cheaper place through another agent.

[pokipoki]

^wow thanks much !!!

[sal114]

Hi guys, i'm going to be in blcu in september for one semester. i read the thread but i still have a couple of questions:

1. Some people say you CAN'T reserve dorm 17 and some say it has changed and you can do it now. so if you can, whats the best way to do it and when can i start doing it?

If not, do you think I have good chances to get a room in dorm 17 if i'm there a week before the courses start? because if i don't get into dorm 17 i would want to stay at the cc but you have to book the cc before. so if i reserve a room at the cc can i cancel it if i do get a room in dorm 17?

2. I read on the website you can also live in "international student center", what's that?

Thanks a lot, the thread has been very helpful so far :-)

[sal114]

oh and another question i forgot to ask: i read that if you live in the dorms there is a curfew, you have to be back at 11 pm. does that mean you can't go clubbing at all? cause i would like to see what chinese clubs and nightlife are like!