The Conference Centre At The Beijing Language and Culture University

The Conference Centre on the BLCU campus

In this post I'm going to talk about the Conference Centre on the Beijing Language and Culture University campus. I've spent several hours constructing this post and it's the result of the knowledge of four months spent living there.

I will look at where you can find the Conference Centre, what the costs of staying there are, what happens if you want to leave early but have already paid, the restaurant and breakfast buffet service, the cafe (called Nowhere Cafe), the rooms, kitchen and laundry facilities, the small shop on the ground floor as well as internet availability.

In my opinion, the Conference Centre is definitely one of the best places to stay at BLCU along with Dorm 17. I hope you find the information that follows useful and informative.

You can find contact details for the Conference Centre on my BLCU Contacts page.

Where

The Conference Centre is at the north of the BLCU campus and very central. If you are standing at the south gate (where the taxis will likely drop you off if you have just arrived from the airport) it's a short two minute walk straight ahead.

Continue north past the crossroads which marks the centre of campus. On the left you will notice the library building and on the right you will see the ICBC bank - the only proper bank on the BLCU campus, though there are a few ATM machines scattered about (for more info, see my Ultimate Guide To Banking At BLCU).

Immediately ahead, and at the northern-most part of campus, is the Conference Centre. Just to it's right is an ATM booth. The entrance should be easy to spot. The library building, which I mentioned, sits directly in front of it (note that the library can be conveniently accessed via a discrete back entrance and also one round the eastern side. These enter into a print shop and a snack shop respectively).

To the west of the Conference Centre - or to your left as you are facing it - is the university sports centre and sports ground. It's a huge building and hard to miss.

There is nothing further north of the Conference Centre, only the campus boundary marked by a high wall.

Costs

The amount each student pays the Conference Centre varies. This is because your room rate depends on the amount of time you book for.

If you are going to be staying for a whole semester, you will be entitled to the best single room rate of 120 RMB per night. However, the condition is that you pay up front for the full 120 days. I advise you do it this way.

If you are NOT going to be staying for four months or longer, you will be charged slightly more. When I was there in 2010-11, I believe the rate for students staying short term was about 135 RMB per night. The prices may have since gone up, but I doubt it.

However, even for shorter term students, I think you will still be expected to pay for the full duration of the stay. So, if you are staying for two months, you should pay two months up front at the time of your arrival and check in.

On the wall behind reception, there is a plaque with a price scheme which lists single rooms at around 165 RMB per night. If you are only staying for a few nights, you may be charged this higher rate. This is more for business people who are only passing through BLCU and will not affect most students.

Deposit: The Conference Centre will ask for one month's rent as a deposit. This is returned to you when you leave. If anything in the room is broken during your stay, damage costs will be taken off this deposit.

On the subject of your deposit, I believe that soon after you first arrive you will receive a checklist/inventory of furniture and other items in your room. If anything is already damaged, be sure to note it down so they don't wrongly assume it was your fault. In my case, there were no problems.

It's also worth pointing out that room rates include a daily buffet breakfast which I will talk about in the food section below.

Leaving early

It is possible to leave early and receive a refund for the remaining time you paid for. However, if you paid for four months and decide to leave early, the cheaper room rate will no longer be valid as you have broken the agreement.

In this case, you will be charged the slightly higher room rate that reflects the time you have stayed. In most cases, this will probably end up being in the region of 135 RMB instead of 120 RMB per night.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you should be sure to give them as much notice as possible before you leave. This gives them time to get your refund together and any other admin duties they will need to perform on their side.

I would suggest anything from a couple weeks onwards should be enough time for them. They will probably want to know an exact date, so try to make your mind up as soon as possible. This will also mean having new accommodation arrangements ready for when you leave.

If you say you are going to be leaving and then pull out at last minute, it's not a massive problem and you are still entitled to the room, but I doubt they will appreciate getting messed around and may not be so courteous if the situation arises again in the future.

Anyone who has been to BLCU will know that the staff at receptions can be difficult and rude if they don't like your attitude. This is true of all accommodation on the BLCU campus. They have to deal with hundreds of people and problems every day. The secret is to be very polite, patient and understanding. Getting angry at them won't get you very far - after all, you're the foreigner in THEIR country!

Restaurant and Breakfast

The Conference Centre has a restaurant on the ground floor which serves traditional Chinese cuisine. Prices are very decent and a group of people can often enjoy a big meal for a mere 30 RMB per head. The selection is very good.

The restaurant floor is spread over quite a big area though it quickly fills up at peak times. If you're not early, you'll most likely have to queue for seats. I recommend either going before it gets busy (around 11:30am) or otherwise towards the end of service (just after 2pm).

Tea is complimentary with meals or alternatively you can order soft drinks or beers from the menu.

I personally recommend trying the lamb dish with cumin and spices (very much in the vein of Xingjiang cuisine that you can experience at the Muslim restaurant on campus), the Peking duck which is very good value here, the sweet and sour eggplant which is exceptional on a good day, and of course the sweet and sour pork and fish.

Perhaps these recommendations says more about my personal taste than yours! Of course, there's also many other great dishes which you can try from the menu and I certainly recommend you be a bit experimental. If it looks good, give it a try!

I mentioned in the costs section that room rates include a daily buffet breakfast. This starts early (before 7am) but also finishes relatively early (around 8am). If you want to enjoy this inclusive breakfast, I suggest getting there as early as possible. Doing it this way will ensure you get the freshest food and also enough time to enjoy it before it starts getting too busy.

The breakfast buffet includes a variety of baozi (filled steamed buns), steamed bread, vegetables, boiled eggs, congee (Chinese porridge), some Chinese-style sweets, tea, coffee and hot milk. It's a fairly simple and limited selection but for most mornings it's more than welcomed - especially considering that it's worked into the room rate.

No other accommodation on campus offers this inclusive breakfast (or any breakfast service, for that matter) so in many ways students staying at the Conference Centre as spoiled! It's definitely an attractive perk.

Nowhere Cafe

This is a small western style cafe on the second floor of the Conference Centre that overlooks the main restaurant. It's a popular place for students that stay here to meet up with private Chinese tutors or language partners, and there's a bulletin board that is usually plastered with ads for such.

On the whole though, I wouldn't recommend Nowhere Cafe. Convenience aside, it's slightly more expensive (still cheap by western standards) than places like LaVita Cafe and frankly isn't as good.

One good thing is that it does offer wireless internet, but that can be connected to from the lobby downstairs. Unfortunately it doesn't reach the rooms.

The cafe is made up of three separate areas: a small inside section with a few tables and the service counter itself, then an area just outside the entrance that overlooks the Conference Centre restaurant below on the ground floor, and finally a completely separate seating area in a room of its own with some soft couches and tables.

You can find this separate seating area just in front of the 2nd floor lifts.

All the food you would expect on a western menu in China is available: pastas, salads, fries, sandwiches, sweets, etc. (no pizzas!). But as I already mentioned, I would definitely recommend LaVita Cafe over this place any day.

Rooms

There are only single rooms available at the Conference Centre. On the very top floor there are some sort of business suits, but these will be of no concern to you if you're a student. They are also a lot more expensive.

The Conference Centre, by it's very name, has facilities for conferences and as such there are sometimes events held there which mean guests and speakers. I assume it's with respect to these functions that the suits on the top floor have relevance.

Unfortunately I have no pictures, so I will do my best to describe the single rooms.

They are small rooms, no more than a few meters long by a few wide: enough to fit a single bed, desk, wardrobe, television, small fridge (under the TV) and telephone (on which you can receive international calls without charge).

All rooms have an en-suit bathroom consisting of a large mirror, sink, toilet and shower. I would say it comes up to a western standard (unlike the squat toilet facilities in teaching buildings) and is very acceptable for the price.

Showers are not built into separate cubicles but are instead open-plan with a shower curtain that can be pulled across to stop water splashing everywhere. That doesn't, however, stop the floor getting wet.

Toilet paper is provided but not on an unlimited basis. You will probably receive one roll per week. If you need more than that, you can buy them from the small shop downstairs or else from the local supermarkets and other campus shops.

Towels are not provided, but your bed sheets will be changed each week by the maids. Your room will also be cleaned on a weekly basis. All accommodation on campus have this service.

Beware: The maids will knock once and walk right in when on their cleaning rounds. They have keycards and so can access the room when you are out. If you don't want them to come in, shout through the door to alert them, preferably in Chinese, but they will probably get the idea in English as well. If in doubt, just say "no" or "bu yao" (don't want).

If you have denied the maids access to your room for whatever reason, sometimes they will try coming back later or else you may have to wait until the following week.

There is built-in air conditioning in all rooms. These can be controlled by a dial on the wall. However, they don't start pumping out cold air until the summer months. As such, you can sometimes be very hot and uncomfortable if the heat comes early in the year.

I don't know whether it's up to the building's management to control when the air conditioning system is turned on or if it's beyond their control. It seems to come on at the same time all across campus, if I remember correctly. This could point to it being controlled by the university rather than individual accommodation buildings.

Whatever the case, I remember the summer I was there it took a whole month of sweating in my room before it was finally turned on for everyone. I hope you don't have to go through the same discomfort!

The television has a range of channels but they are all in Chinese, except CCTV 9 which is an English state-run news channel. Sometimes it also includes educational documentaries, but only ones that the Chinese government want you to see! I think there may also be an international music channel.

The beds are comfortable and definitely the best mattresses on campus. At other accommodation you will find they supply the hard Chinese-style ones instead of the soft ones we have got used to in the west. For Asian students, this is probably not a problem.

Rooms are supplied with a kettle and cup, as well as an ashtray. I don't know of any rules against smoking in the rooms and certainly when I was there many people did it.

The desk is spacious enough to study comfortably on and the wardrobe big enough to keep most clothes you will bring with you or buy once there. Of course, there is shelf space as well as hanging space, though I can't remember if hangers are supplied or not. It may be that there are a few already there but you might need to pick some extra ones up from a local supermarket.

Well, I think that covers the room situation. If there's anything else you would like to know, leave a comment at the end and I will get back to you.

Kitchen

You can find a kitchen on the 7th floor. There should be one or two hotplates on which you can cook though there is no microwave. I would assume there is a sink, but I honestly can't remember.

Cooking equipment is not provided, but pots and pans can be picked up fairly cheaply at local supermarkets, as can all other kitchen utensils and crockery.

I don't believe students really use the kitchen at the Conference Centre that much as eating out is just so cheap for most people. However, for anyone that really likes to do their own cooking, the option is there.

Laundry

There are washing machines (upright) and tumble dryers on floors 4 and 6.

In order to use the machines you will need to ask reception for a laundry card. There may be a small deposit for this but it is very convenient and you will get it back once the card has been returned. Then it's just a case of topping up the card whenever you need to.

Note that any unused money on the laundry card will NOT be refunded!

I honestly can't remember exactly how much it costs to do a wash, but it's very cheap - probably in the region of 3-6 RMB. Washing powder is not supplied and the Conference Centre do not sell it so be sure to buy some at the supermarket.

I would guess that dryers are about the same cost. If I find out, I will update this section. Alternatively, if anyone reading this knows, please leave a comment and I will be very grateful!

Shop

There is a very basic stall on the ground floor opposite reception and by the elevators. It is run by a friendly Chinese man who stands there all day, every day. Only occasionally will you find him absent, usually because he's gone to get lunch or dinner.

Here you can buy snacks, drinks, ice creams, cigarettes, toilet roll, beer and alcohol, etc. If there's something very basic you need, chances are he might have it, though it's mainly for food. If not, I suggest going to the Friendship store near LaVita Cafe on campus.

The prices are very reasonable and it's certainly convenient for anyone who stays at the Conference Centre.

I would be very surprised if he's no longer there, but I suppose it's possible. Certainly in January 2011 he still was. If he's not, please let me know in the comments and I will remove this section.

Internet

The only wireless internet available at the Conference Centre is the one provided by Nowhere Cafe on the 2nd floor. It's not always the best or most reliable connection, but if you're patient it will usually work in the end.

If you want internet in your room, that's a whole other problem. To do this you have to go to the Cernet office on campus which is just next to the post office, opposite the basketball courts and by the west gate. There is a range of packages you can buy depending on your personal usage.

Cernet's unlimited internet package is about 120-150 RMB per month. Alternatively you can get cheaper packages with limited bandwidth, but it's still not THAT cheap, like you might expect in China.

In any case, that's for another post and not something I'm going to get into here!

So, I hope you've found this information useful. What has your experience been of staying at the Conference Centre on the BLCU campus? If you have any comments or further questions, please leave them in the comments section below.

One last thing...

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