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

[camilla]

Guys is it possible to take a room in the dormitory al blcu only for a couple of weeks? I booked it months ago for the whole 6 months period, but now i'd prefer looking for an apartment

[Anna Su]

Hi everyone!

I just arrived at BLCU and I'm looking for a place to stay,I have a temporary place where I can stay right now,but I need to find a place for 1semester.

So I would like to rent a room in an apartment,but I can seem to find one yet,maybe there is someone with the same problem?Maybe someone want's to rent together?

[bnjmn]

I'll be in Beijing on 3 September. I hope they dont tell me they dont have any room. What about the prices of houses around the school? Anyone has got any idea about it? Is there any website (except thebeijinger) where i can check the prices? Like for 3 people?

was looking at apartments last semester through agents around wudaokou. a 3-bedroom apartments costs from like 4500-8000/month, the cheaper ones at 4500 are quite old located around north of campus, whereas the better ones like Furonjiayuan or huaqingjiayuan which are more modern/western style is around 6000-8000, split between 3 people, the costs are decent compared to Conference Centre/dorm 17.

[Pascal Ma]

Now that most of us have been settled in BLCU for 2-3 weeks, I'd be curious to hear everyone's impressions of their dorms.

I live in dorm 7. Pretty cool, pay 90¥ a day, paid for 6 months. We have a cleaning lady who makes my bed every morning (!!!) and changes the sheets every monday, which from what I hear from my friends in other dorms is pretty unique.

Also my fuyuans seem to be prety relaxed. Only once when I came back in the middle of the night, there was a bike lock (chain) on the front door so I had to wake her up to get in, but that happened only once, and I have come back drunk in the middle of the night quite a number of times. Also my friends have managed to come up to my room (during daytime) without problems. I have also managed to sneak people in late at night with no problem (they didn't see me though). The only other kind of problem I had was one evening, having a "pre-going-out" get together, the fuyuan started asking questions but didn't block anyone.. (I should get them a gift at some point!)

I have a friend in dorm 8, one of the fuyuan there wants to see a photo id (now she only takes the BLCU ID or nothing) and the room number before letting you in, and I think my friend need to come get me. I have also been unable to enter dorm 1 after 11pm. Dorm 4 seems pretty relaxed as well...

[jmhcali]

I'm in dorm 6 and so far they're pretty relaxed here too. Half the time the fuwuyuan doesn't even look up from her computer solitaire game when we come in. And based on the loud drunken conversation someone had in front of my door the other night around 3am, I don't think there's any problem coming in late, though I haven't tested it past around 11:30. They don't make our beds here though. That would be nice.

[eduardomencricavi]

Hey, I'm Brazillian and going to BLCU at February of 2011 for a long-term course. Already looking for accommodation, anyone interested in share or just meet, contact me: eduardomencricavi@gmail.com

[CUCAS_Scholarship]

For CUCAS member, the dorms can be booked easily, including Dorm 17.

[Katmae Joson]

I'll be studying at BLCU this February up to July, I'll be taking the Intensive Course in Mandarin. I'm also looking for a place to stay. I've already called the BLCU Dorm, particularly Dorm 17, as the one being suggested by the university itself but, after three phone calls up to now they can't give a me a good answer. They always tell me that there's "NO ROOM" " NO ROOM", and I'm really disappointed on the way they responded. I have a friend who is still studying in BLCU but will be back on February 1st. She said that dorm reservations are really hard, it's a first come first serve basis. So I'm planning to arrive in Beijing much earlier to secure my accommodation. But while reading your rants about the places to stay at Beijing, I am having second thoughts on staying in a dormitory since I believed at first that it is the most convenient place to stay since it will be my first time to stay in Beijing for that long.

Please help me on what to choose and if there are any information you could share with me. Thank You!

Katmae (Philippines)

[jmhcali]

Dorms are the most convenient place to stay at first I think, but soon you will want an apartment. Not to worry because there are a lot of ads around BLCU as people look for new roommates. Or you could look at apartment ads online, thebeijinger.com has some, as does pekinglettings.com. Or just walk into the agent's office (easy to find in Wudaokou) and ask for exactly what you want.

I arrived in Beijing in September with a reservation for a room in the Conference Center, but when I saw it I decided not to take it. It was too small and dark, especially for the money. The regular dorms are nicer in my opinion. However, if you arrive early you should not have any problems finding a dorm room. Just go to the housing office in Dorm 2 and ask. I got a single room on the first day of registration. Just don't wait until late afternoon, they may be all full by then.

[greenarcher]

Book through Philippine Cultural High School in Manila. Pay the fee, they can book you a room at Dorm 17.

[Sirina]

Hey everyone!

I am a Greek girl and I am looking for a flatmate. The apartment is located at the Huaqingjiayuan complex of Wudaokou (1' from the subway and 15' from BLCU). It is a big, modern apartment (100sqm), with 2 bedrooms, 1 big living room, 1 bathroom (with shower and a Jacuzzi bathtub), 1 kitchen, 3 A/C, 2 TV and DVD player. If you are interested, call me at 15101160150 or send me a message at irini_fem@yahoo.gr .

Thanks! ;)

[Varaus]

Delete please.

[at_bkk]

Hi, I'm Thai. I'm going to be in BLCU at the end of Feb 2011. Tried to make several call to make a reservation for dormitory, but seems like the communication just didn't get through. I asked one of my Chinese colleague to help me call up to them and ask for dormitory booking. Seems like the only way to make a reservation is to transfer the money to them. They asked for 4,800 RMB (that's more than the whole month), and it seems like they could only booked for Dorm 6. I'm upset but a bit worry about the place to stay.

I'd love to stay in bld.17 (based on reviews on many sites), no idea about bld 6. But already transferred the money to them, now regretted. Anyway I could get dorm 17? and/or get my money back?

[jmhcali]

at_bkk, I stayed in Dorm 6 and it was fine. The room was clean, size of the room, closet, and bathroom were adequate, all furniture was in acceptable condition, and the fuwuyuan were very nice. If you come on the first day of registration, have a look at your room in Dorm 6 first. Then if you want to change to 17 go check if they have rooms. It seems easier to get a room on the first day than doing it over the phone, since many of the rooms are booked in advance by agencies. Getting your money back shouldn't be any problem, but you must do that in person, they won't do it over the phone.

[patyeo]

Hey guys,

I am arriving in about 3 weeks march 25, 2011. I've called several times for dorm 17 and housing svc center and typically they would say no room. so what i did was i asked a friend who travels to China to have someone who speaks well in mandarin to call the number to request for reservation and they did say yes in a very hostile tone i might add. they gave me a reservation for 142rmb/night rm no 92, but my problem here is i have no idea which dorm i am placed in and can i be confident enough that i do have a slot when i arrive. Since the person who talked to the dorm was from china (total stranger) i do not have a clue on what it is they talked about nor do i know if he contacted the housing svc center or dorm 17. i do not want to be homeless on my first day in Beijing. i would call the housing svc center to search my name up but they would tell me to call another number. ive been doing this over and over for several months now and ill be flying there real soon. can somebody inform me on which dorm do you think i would fall under. i could really use your help i do not wish to be placed in the scholarship dorm for 142rmb a night. its ridiculous. please advise. thank you.

- Patrick (Philippines)

[YElektra]

Hi everyone!

I'll be studying at BLCU in the spring semester of 2012. Although it's still a long time until I'm finally there, I'd like to know a few things: I absolutely want to stay at the dorm 17, so how many days/weeks early should I arrive to get a room for sure? In what conditions can a reservation work? Is it safe enough if I make an advanced payment or is there even the chance that I might loose it?

I have another question, slightly off topic, but what is the average age of the students at BLCU? I'm going to turn 18 in october, so I'm afraid that I won't find anyone who feels like hangig out with a just 18-year-old girl.

Thanks for your help!

[jmhcali]

As far as I can tell, advance reservations (over the phone, especially if your Chinese is poor) don't work very well. You could go through one of the programs that reserve rooms in blocks; look through this thread to find at least two or three.

Average age range is pretty wide. I'm 31; in my class we had a couple of teenagers, some people in their 20s, and a few of us in our 30s. No one will know you're 18 unless you behave childishly or tell people your age. You are not the only teenager. The youngest two people in my class last semester were 16 and 17.

...I admit we treat the 16 year old like a little brother. We give him lots of advice about talking to girls and not doing dumb things we did that were not worth it.

[greenarcher]

There's no 100% guarantee that you can get a room in Dorm 17 no matter how early you reserve IF a downpayment / reservation fee hasn't been paid by someone in Beijing on your behalf; may it be a friend or an agency which charges a fee for these reservations.

I have learned to accept the fact that Dorm 17 is always "fully-booked" if you are not ready to pay or have no means of paying them.

The staff is somewhat rude and could care less when it comes to reservations. Even more if you can't speak Mandarin.

Average age is hard to say, sometimes the distribution of students isn't done very well. In our level there was a class with no one above 30, most of them were in their early 20's. While in our class, 1/4 was above 30. Generally speaking, I'd say 20-30 years old would be an average.

[Becca]

Hi YElektra! I'm 18, and I'm going to spend my gap year learning chinese. (long term program from september 2011 to july 2012. )

Think about all the people coming to Beijing to learn Chinese, they are all new in town and are eager to get to know the culture& language and make new friends! So don't worry that nobody will hang with you:) (but if you really dont have anyone to hang with.. I will be your friend!)

[Rabin]

Why is dorm 17 so popular anyway? and which dorms should i avoid perhaps?

I'l be going there for 1 year, starting september.

I just turned 23, so im probably stil gona be one of the youngsters there ^^