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

Great post.

I was wondering, I know this might seem high-mantince of me, but I was wondering if you know what the most decent place is. I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places, especially by myself and I have a feeling Beijing will be a big jump for me so in your opinion what's the most comfortable and attractive option without COMPLETELY wiping my wallet clean?. (i.e. 350+ kuai a night). Even something relatively expensive (250-300 kuai/night) would be okay for temporary stay until I do some research on my own when I'm over there.

I plan to attend BLCU for Chinese study and I'm also interested in taking an International Business course either my first term or second, if that helps for where a convenient area would be as well. Thanks for your help!

谢谢, 麦特

I've already read about accomodation at the campus... I found a lot of useful infos.

I was wondering if anybody has made a sort of "rating list" of all the dorms at the BLCU

great stuff Amanda!

i have another question. how is the housing/on campus dorms compared too renting an apartment near the university. i'm talking in terms of costs (prices and other things you have to pay for), convenience and actually everything you can think about.

and also - are there some strickt rules in the dorms or housing (like "no entrance/girls in the room after 10:00)(sh)

thanks for your time...

yaya.

"my friend and i tried the telegraphic transfer. I dont know how it worked out with others... but after the telegraphic transfer, you have to fax over the receipt to BLCU. in our case, we've faxed the thing twice, and the guy we spoke to at housing still never got it. apparently the whole school uses the one fax machine and he told us that perhaps one of the other teachers picked up his fax, or perhaps "we sent it wrong". so we have since given up, and the guy we spoke to at housing told us that we should just come and with proof of the receipt and he will give us a room from there. however, he cannot reserve a room without our fax ... and in my view, this whole thing was just a big hassle for nothing. maybe we were just having bad luck and it worked for other people, but almost everyone i spoke to at the school (including admissions) tells us to either just come in on the day of registration with the money, or come in with the receipt."

I asked Citibank, Bank of America and Western Union if they did telegraphic transfer.

None of them did - only wire transfer.

What bank are you all using for the T/T and can we not use wire transfer or other means?

Has anyone started to make their dorm bookings for fall 2007? (sh)

Dear Amanda,

Good information and I am glad i found your blog.

I want to know about housing in BLCU as we will going to be there for 2 months sesesion.

My name is Hardi and this is to start. can you send me your email address as i want to quite few about how to select housing.

Thanks.

Hardi.

Has anybody made a reservation at the Xijiao hotel?

I filled in the reservation form on their webpage, but I received no e-mail message for confirmation

so I was wondering if everything is ok

I sent them an e-mail this morning (now I'm waiting for answer)

"Has anyone started to make their dorm bookings for fall 2007?"

Uh, can you even book the dorms? I thought you can only get them in person at registration day...not in advance? True or not? Although it seems that it's not hard to get a dorm on registration...

And where is the Xijiao hotel? I need a place to stay for a few days before registration starts..

Just a follow-up...T/T = wire transfer. So, just wire transfer the money over... It's the same thing as "T/T" (except they don't even recognize "T/T" over here in the US).

Just received my BLCU papers for a semester study, yay!

I do have a questio, I hope some of you could help me out with

If you make a reservation for a room on the campus, do you pay per day/month?

Or, in other words, is it easy to give up your campus room, when you might find something else (better/cheaper)

Thanks in advance!

I was wondering if anybody has made a sort of "rating list" of all the dorms at the BLCU

Is this correct?

If you make a reservation for a room on the campus, do you pay per day/month?

Or, in other words, is it easy to give up your campus room, when you might find something else (better/cheaper)

You pay per day, so you can pay for 5-6 days and try to find an accomodation off campus...

They won't refund your money if you check out earlier.

You pay per day, so you can pay for 5-6 days and try to find an accomodation off campus...

They won't refund your money if you check out earlier.

Ah, thanx!!

I was trying to make a reservation through the telephone today, but they told me they could only reserve a room if I would transfer a month's rent beforehand...seems that I'll be stuck there for at least a month then...

I came back from BLCU at the end of august (4-weeks course) and I wanted just to add some info about accomodation on campus

I stayed at building #4

In my application I had asked for a single room, but once got there (just a few days before course beginning) it turned to be only double rooms left. I was quite lucky, though, since my roommate was really nice and I didn't have any problem with privacy etc.

I could see the room before paying.

I quote Pujia (a post written in 2005 but still valid, I deem):

thanks for the info. But I have to correct you, that blcu-dormitories aren't that bad, as I'm currently staying at Building No. 4. It's quite a big room with two beds, desks, a/c, telephone, fridge, tv and own bathroom, although everythings a bit "low-class" and the place looks a bit shabby. There's possibility to get Internet on your room for either 140/month for flatrate or you can get 40 or 100 hours of access for less.

beds are awful (very thin mattresses on a layer of wood), but you can get used. I had some trouble sleeping the very first nights there

There are 2 lifts and 1 kitchen at each floor. Corridors and floors are not so clean, so I'd suggest to clean up the room on your own...

Unlike other dormitories (as I read here), there are not "female-floors"/"male-floors" at bldg #4.

To sum up, the place is not that bad:apart from uncomfortable beds, rooms are quite big. It's obviously a cheap solution (I payed 66 Rmb/night for a double room), but good if you don't manage to find a place at the Conference Center, which seems to be definetely better than usual dormitories. Another little pro is obviously its location: bldg 4 is close to the southern gate and the teaching buildings (you can get the classroom in 3-4 minutes, which is quite comfortable IMHO in comparison with other kinds of accomodation).

how do you request for Student flats, or Apartments at BLCU?

I've read the posts on "My 12 week experience at BLCU" already, but I'm wondering if anyone here can shed some light on the BCLU experience.

I have been living in Yantai, China for the past 2.5 years. My Chinese is still basic; I've been too busy with work to really learn that much. I know about 200 characters and can have simple conversations. Often I know the subject of what people around me are discussing, but not exactly what they are saying. I will be leaving China this summer and I would like to leave with an adaquate level of Mandarin Chinese, which I don't feel I have now.

I have a choice: I live next-door to Yantai University. I know many foreigners studying there... they all complain that it is pure rote learning and that they don't get so much out of it. The upside for me if i choose to study there is that I have many friends here, I don't have to move, and I know the city intimately. To downside is, I think my Chinese will not improve as much as I am hoping it will after an intensive 12 week program at BLCU.

For those of you reading this who have already studied at BLCU, what is your take on the experience? Did you find your Chinese ability to improve significantly during the time you were there? I had heard that BLCU teachers know how to better teach foreigners and stay away from the rote learning methods that plague usual Chinese education... but someone else on this forum said that BLCU is in fact rote learning.

well i did my tour of 1 year in BLCU.

im switching to tsinghua uni for my personal own reasons.

my thoughts on BLCU

1. toooo many foreigners(then again it is beijing)

2. they're all about the cash

3. teacher's are good, but admins are f*ckin ridicolous...refer to #2 and ho everything u do needs a stamp and cash with it

dorms are really not that bad, i stayed in building 13 which was 13 kuai. yeah its not the best but building 6 is much better(i tihnk this is the one near the bball courts, i forgot)

if you want a better experience and decide to study in BLCU for over 6 months, get an apartment. its so much cheaper.

if you look @ it this way from my point of view. 1500RMB(50/day)/month with a roommate in building 13 and thats with a roommate. u can get an apartment with friends(or for the fuller experience and really study with chinese people, this is what im doing and i dont regret it @ all!) the price depends, but youll have a bigger room i gaurantee it, a living room, kitchen in the pad instead of "communal living"

oh theres a friendship store in BLCU...theres nothign friendly about it since everything there is ludicrous in price. outside the west gate there is a nearby fruit shop, it is also expensive. just keep walking as if u were to go towards the junction of xijiao hotel and BLCU and there is a mini market there, some of the cheapest(and fresher!!!) fruits and veggies u will ever buy

oh another note, two things that get stolen in beijing are bicycles and cell phones. if you are buying a bike invest in the extra kuai and get yourself a good luck...i learned the hard lesson of getting my bike stolen since i had a cheapass lock. u can get good bikes that are 2nd hand, i suggest(if u can read and/or bold enough) go ahead and browse the tsinghua uni BBS http://www.newsmth.net/frames.html

int his site is where many post about there 2nd hand bicycles.

u dont need a bicycle to get around BLCU everything is walking distance.

dictionaries...hhhmmm buy in zhonguancun not in BLCU over priced again.

Thanks for the reply... useful information.

Can you comment more on the actual learning experience? The teaching? I'm trying to avoid too much "rote" learning... I'm aiming at the 12 week, 30hr/wk course starting in March. I've already been living in China for 2.5 years so I'm used to all of the living arrangement, shopping, admin stuff.

Cheers,

Otford15

Room pictures, anybody?

for those that use facebook.com or might be interested, here is a link to a facebook group for those going to blcu for 07-08.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2225420973

there are some pictures of dorm rooms and other information that you might find useful.