This blog has changed quite a bit since I first started it back in January 2010 shortly before I left to study Mandarin at the Beijing Language and Culture University in China for a year-long course. The experience was great and I wanted to document and share my experiences at BLCU with everyone. This blog became the platform for doing so.
What will you find on this blog?
I hope that you will find a broad range of information here from my own experiences at BLCU during 2010. I do not have any pretences that this blog is the best source of information on BLCU to be found on the internet, but I do believe it offers a lot of helpful content. Ultimately that is for you, the reader, to determine for yourself. I hope you will agree.
Updates and improvements
As of June 2011, I have begun a new initiative to make The BLCU Blog as user-friendly as possible. I have taken down a lot of old content that I no longer believe comes up to the new standard of quality I am attempting to maintain on this blog. I am also in the process of rewriting a lot of old articles in a more accessible style so please bear with me. After doing a bit of research I am beginning to get a better idea of what makes blogs rank well in search engines such as Google and am starting to apply some of those basic principles here as well. I hope this effort culminates in an increase in traffic and online awareness of this blog in the coming months and years.
How can you help?
To help raise awareness of The BLCU Blog you can spread word of it to others who are also interested in or looking for information on BLCU. If you found an article helpful or just enjoyed reading it, you can click the Facebook "Like" and 'Tweet' buttons that I have placed at the bottom of articles to help generate attention in the online community. You can also share them on any other social media and networking sites you use. But the most important thing is to come back every now and again and see what's new!
So thanks for your support and good luck with your future endeavours at BLCU!
Contact me
Please feel free to send any questions you may have regarding BLCU or any other topics concerning life in China to my email address at theblcublog@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can leave a question in the comments section anywhere on this blog and I will answer it as soon as I can.
Please feel free to send any questions you may have regarding BLCU or any other topics concerning life in China to my email address at theblcublog@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can leave a question in the comments section anywhere on this blog and I will answer it as soon as I can.
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Hi! I am thinking about undertaking the winter program in december this year till january after I finish high school. Ive lived in beijing for 3 years (before high school) but have stuck with my studies and already completed ( one year advanced)chinese studies in high school. i wanted to find my own place for the 5 weeks and stuff. what do you think? btw ill be 18 by then
ReplyDeleteOH and i love your blog, really helpful!
Thanks for the comment and I'm sure you would have a great time at BLCU! Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteHi! I''m deciding the Semester and the year long Chinese course in BLCU. Which would you suggest? I don't know if a semester is too short or the year long program might be too long. I want to start in Feb of 2013 though so I know it's still a long way off, but I want to be as well informed as possible. Been to Beijing just this January, and I loved it so much. BTW are you still using your Mandarin? Thanks for any info you might have... love this blog, it's the most current and informative I could find right not. although hard to find pics of Dorm 17 bathroom :)
ReplyDeletesorry for all the typos.. I just noticed it right now. Additional question though... Is it possible to choose the afternoon class schedule or is it strictly the school who schedules it?
DeleteThanks for the comments. Firstly, you can see a Dorm 17 bathroom in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcRXxYRtbk8
DeleteChoosing between one semester or a year is just a personal decision. Obviously a year is better for your Chinese, but there are other factors that are just as important such as talking Chinese outside class and putting in your own study time. You may find you managed to get enough out of one semester, or you may feel that you need more. However, booking for just one semester allows you more flexibility because you can always decide later to book for a second, whereas it's more difficult to get your money back from the year course if you want to leave halfway through. I will say that the semester courses go at a faster rate of learning than the year course, but that is not always good because it can be overwhelming. Don't let that stop you though as both courses are really very similar.
The afternoon classes are only for people who have paid for 6 hours a day instead of 4. Most people found it to be too much and wish they'd just stuck to 4 hours. However, once you advance to intermediate level you will have some choice about optional classes. We got this in out second semester of the year long course. I don't know how it works with the single semester students.
Finally, yes I'm still using my Mandarin and am currently taking it as an elective at university. Hope this information has helped and get back to me if you have any further questions.
Mike
Ni hao Mike!
ReplyDeleteI am currently a High School Chinese teacher and college grad thinking of studying at BCLU for a year, but I am having trouble finding out if I can take my family with me. I have a husband and a little boy who is almost 2, and I would really hate to be away from him for a whole year, or even a semester, but we really want to spend some time in China as a family. Did you have any classmates that had a similar situation, and do you think they were able to have as good an experience?
Any thoughts would help! Duo xie!
Anna
Anna, you could all rent an apartment near BLCU. There are many options in terms of complexes in the surrounding area. I don't think there would be a way to stay together as a family on campus, but then a lot of people choose to live off-campus anyway. I knew one guy who was staying with his dad, but can't remember a family of three. I'm sure you would have a good experience, just make sure you're well planned out, especially accommodation-wise. Let me know if you have any more specific questions. Thanks and good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for replying so quickly! I really enjoyed your posts, and the youtube "podcast" style posts, especially the one about your daily life. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteAnna
Thanks Anna, glad the content here has helped you. :)
DeleteHi Mike! Your blog is very helpful. Thanks for sharing all of this information with us. I have a question about the accommodations. If I were to reserve a single room at the Conference Center / Dorm 17 for one semester (Feb 2013), but then midway I decided to enroll for another semester immediately after (September 2013), is there an option to keep the same room? What about the summer (July to August 2013) when there is no class, can I still keep the room and continue to pay the same rate (120 RMB / day)?
ReplyDeleteXie xie ni.
David
David, thanks for the comments. You should have no problem keeping your room but give them as much advanced notice as possible. Keeping it over summer should be fine too, though remember that the rate of 120 RMB per day is based on an upfront payment for 3 months at a time. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike. I'm planning to ask a friend who is based in Beijing to call BLCU Conference Center around December 2012 or January 2013 to reserve a single room for me for the February 2013 semester. Aside from providing my basic information such as name, date of arrival, and duration of stay, would my friend need to give any deposit during reservation? Or can I just pay the full amount in cash when I arrive at the Conference Center about a week before the start of the Feb semester?
DeleteThen I'll just keep renewing the contract if I decide to keep the room over the summer and continue the Mandarin lessons the following semester.
I read in one of your posts that the kitchen is on the 7th floor, while the laundry is located on the 4th and 6th floors. Is it advisable to stay near or away from these floors, and will I/my friend have the option of requesting which floor to stay in during reservation?
Thanks in advance. You're very helpful.
You would just pay everything once you arrive. The floors are very big so it would only be the few rooms nearby the laundry that might be affected by noise. I don't think the kitchen would be very noisy. Whether or not you can ask for floor preference I'm not sure. Let me know if you have any other problems. Cheers.
DeleteHello! I'm going to short-term courses in July in BLCU. I'm very glad that I found your blog. It's really useful and interesting. Thank you for sharing all the information.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple questions for you: Can you please tell me where is the nearest subway station?
Does the university offer any trips to the sights of Beijing, or not?
Thanks in advance.
Mario, I have addressed both your points in some details in a new Q&A post: http://www.blcublog.com/2012/06/blcu-q-3-maria.html
DeleteMaria*
DeleteHi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who wants to book a room in the Conference Center starting July 10th, but when I talked to them in person today to reserve the room, the ladies at the desk said that they can't reserve rooms in advance. Do you know why this is? Is there any way to reserve a room early? Do you think my friend will have a problem getting a room for the month of July?
Thanks!
I reserved a room early at the conference centre so I'm not sure what the problem is. Maybe keep trying to call back. She may have a problem if it isn't organized by the time she arrives. Hopefully there will be some accommodation available on campus when they get there, even if not at CC. There is also the Xi Jiao hotel just off campus as a last resort!
DeleteHello Mike!
ReplyDeleteFrom July 26 to Aug 22 I"ll take short language program at BLCU. Unfortunately I've some
problems: 1. I alredy paid for the tuition fee, but I hardly pick upt hte connection to the
Dormitory Service. In this case whom should I turn? 2.I read that only limited currency be brought into the county and I need to have a certificate. 3.Could I live my values (mobile, laptop..) in the room. And the last one: does the University organize trips?
Please forgive my English. I hope I was clear.
Thanks
Alex
Budapest
I'm not sure who to call, I guess you can try any of the official BLCU numbers you have and explain the problem. Regarding currency and certificates, I had no certificate when I entered China other than my visitor visa (which I later changed to a student visa at BLCU), and I can't remember exactly how much money I was travelling with; I think it was around 5,000 RMB or so. Better to just have your bank card and take money out from ATM machines in China for minimal charge. That's what most people did, including myself. Just have some initial cash to get you by. Certainly don't carry around tens or hundreds of thousands of RMB. Yes, it's safe to leave valuables in the dorm rooms. Yes, the university organises school trips and I talk about it in more detail here: http://www.blcublog.com/2012/06/blcu-q-3-maria.html
DeleteThanks for the comments and I hope this helps a bit! ;)
Mike
Hey, first of all, thanks Mike for the great blog!! Very useful!
DeleteAlex, I will be taking the short term training at BLCU at the same time as you, and I basically have the same issues as you regarding the accomodation. I reserved a room at the XiJiao hotel for the first night and hopefully there won't be any issue with getting the room on-campus.
Mike, I was told that at dorm 17 there are no more single rooms, and I booked a double, but I would prefere a single, could you give me any tips on negotiating with them? Should I call and try and get a CC room, or should I wait until I am trere in person? Thanks in advance!!
Diana
Hi Diana!
DeleteI hope to see you. :D
Alex
Diana, if they said there were no rooms at Dorm 17 then there's nothing you can do. I would probably put your name down for CC and you can always decide what to do once you get there.
DeleteHi Michael
ReplyDeleteHaving used your blog to help me with my BLCU preparation I thought it would be a good idea to start my own blog just to get more info on different experiences with the whole process. I think you have done a great job here and it will be useful to many others who are thinking of going to study there. I am really looking forward to going to BLCU and meeting new people.
Well done!
HN
Great, let me know when you have set up your blog! :)
DeleteHi Michael should i just post my blog link here or would you rather i sent in an email??
DeleteFeel free to post it here.
DeleteThanks a lot Michael. here is a link to my blog that i have started. can't wait to fill it up with more info http://blcubeijingchina.blogspot.co.uk
ReplyDeletethanks again for your help and any feedback would be welcome.
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