This is a little post for any vegetarians that are going to study at the Beijing Language and Culture University. Perhaps you're wondering if there's any vegetarian eateries in the area? Well, prateeksha in the comments section kindly pointed me to a thread over on Chinese-Forums. In it I read that there are in fact two vegetarian restaurants behind the Microsoft building in Wudaokou. However, having never been to either of them, I am not in a position to further comment. Be sure to check them out for yourself though if you're interested!
We Recommend CUCAS For BLCU Students --- Free Applications For 2014-15
How To Book Accommodation At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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I’ve noticed that there is still a lot of confusion with regards to booking accommodation at the Beijing Language and Culture University and exactly how one ought to go about it. In this short post I'm going to look at some of the reasons for this confusion and exactly what your options are. Be warned though, you may not like what you're about to read!
7 Chinese Study Tips For Success At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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In this post I’m going to share with you seven study tips that helped me get scores of around 90% in the exams at the Beijing Language and Culture University. These are the methods that I found to be most effective in improving my Mandarin and I’d like to pass them onto you.
If you have already studied Chinese in the past you may be familiar with the ideas found below. Otherwise, I hope it opens your eyes a bit to what I believe is going to result in you getting the most of your time at BLCU with regards to studying Mandarin. I’ve been working on this post all morning so I hope it’s been worth it. Enjoy.
5 Advantages Of Living Off-Campus At The Beijing Language and Culture University
During the one-year that I studied at the Beijing Language and Culture University, I lived both on and off-campus. In this post I'm going to look at some of the upsides of living off-campus to give you a better idea of why you might want to do it during your time at BLCU. I hope you find the information useful.
Living off-campus can be cheaper than on-campus accommodation depending on where you decide to stay. For example, if you're living at the Conference Centre or in a single dorm room such as at Dorm 17, you're going to be paying at least 120 RMB per night. This adds up to roughly 3,600 RMB per month. However, if you're in a double room at one of the dorms then you're likely only paying 60 RMB per night or 1,800 RMB per month.
The Ultimate Guide to Bicycles At The Beijing Language and Culture University
If you're planning on coming to study Chinese at The Beijing Language and Culture University for a semester or more, investing in a new or second-hand bicycle would be an excellent idea. I waited until I moved off-campus at the end of my first semester before sorting myself out with one, but even if you're living on campus at BLCU it can be a convenient way to get to and from classes and explore the surrounding area as well.
In this post I've tried my best to share some of my own experiences on buying, selling and protecting your bike during your time at BLCU. I also mention a few bike accessories which I found very useful and would recommend to others. I hope it helps.
The BLCU Blog Weekly Roundup: 20 June - 03 July, 2011
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I'm going to start doing a "weekly roundup" of all the posts that appear here on The BLCU Blog through the week, allowing anyone who has missed anything to quickly see what I've been writing about over the past seven days or so. Admittedly, this first one covers a bit more than a week.
Earn Money Teaching English While At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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In my post 10 Reasons To Study Chinese At BLCU I mentioned the opportunities for teaching English during your time at the Beijing Language and Culture University. I also mentioned that although it's not strictly aloud without a valid work visa, a lot of foreigners still choose to do it to earn a bit of extra money and it's very much turned a blind eye to. The Wudaokou area, where BLCU is located, is full of work opportunities for foreigners and not only in English teaching jobs.
I will point out that this is something I have never personally done and am purely offering my own insights and observations from my time at BLCU. Many people I knew, on the other hand, did do some work while there and so I did pick up one or two things that I'm going to share with you in this post. This is by no means a definitive guide, but I have attempted to at least scratch the surface and leave the way open for anyone that's interested to look into it more for themselves.
5 Restaurants Near The Beijing Language and Culture University You Might Not Know About
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I thought it would be an interesting idea to do a post about some of the less-known but great restaurants around the Beijing Language and Culture University. So here are five of my favourites that you probably don't know about, especially if you're a new student studying Chinese at BLCU.
Some of them may be a bit awkward to find if you're unfamiliar with the area, but I'd say they're all worth the making the extra effort for and will probably be places you find yourself going back to again and again throughout your time at BLCU and Beijing. Enjoy.
1. Teppanyaki (Wudaokou)
A lot of poeple don't realise there's a Teppanyaki (and a damn decent one too) in Wudaokou. Most think you need to go through to Sanlitun and I thought the same until halfway through my year-long stay at BLCU. It's not true at all though - there's one right beside the big Microsoft and Cernet buildings that are easy to spot, even from campus.
How To Get A Beijing Transport Card
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Beijing subway map 2010-2011
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It won't be long after arriving at the Beijing Language and Culture University that you're going to want to start doing a bit of exploring around the city. Most of the time, this will probably entail taking buses or using the subway system.
For destinations that are in a bit more of an awkward area, you may have to resort to taking a taxi at least some of the way. Wherever you decide to go in Beijing, you're going to be using the transport system a lot during your time at BLCU and that's why I recommend you get a transport card as soon as you can.
The Muslim Restaurant At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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Entrance to the BLCU Muslim restaurant.
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The Muslim restaurant on the Beijing Language and Culture University campus is really one of the great eateries in the area and is in fact famous throughout Beijing for it's traditional Xingjiang style cooking where this type of food originates. I'm pretty sure I even remember it appearing in Time Magazine's Beijing edition towards the end of 2010 and it has been featured on many websites dealing with the food scene in Beijing, as well as by many casual writers and bloggers who have visited.
As I briefly mentioned in my LaVita Cafe, BLCU post, the Muslim restaurant is also the only other place on campus beside the canteens that I know of where you can use your food card to pay for everything.
How To Deal With Smelly Drains At The Beijing Language and Culture University In 2 Easy Steps
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Anyone who has stayed at the Beijing Language and Culture University or anywhere else in China will be able to tell you that toilet drains can seep sewage air. It's quite disgusting and sometimes so bad that you have to hold your nose to even enter the bathroom. My experience has been that extractor fans don't always remedy the situation, so I'm going to share with you a tried and tested method that works as a great solution to the stinky drain problem.
5 Reasons To Start A Blog About The Beijing Language and Culture University Today
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This has ended up being by far my longest post to date on The BLCU Blog and it's mainly because I'm writing about a subject I'm so passionate about: Blogging. I've tried my best to tie it in with the whole subject of the Beijing Language and Culture University and at the same time offer useful advice to anyone who is thinking about starting their own blog on BLCU. As someone who has read quite extensively on blogging, I hope you will get a lot out of this post and the information that it links to which will help you on your way.
And finally, if you haven't yet considered or thought about starting your own blog, perhaps the five reasons listed below will act as inspiration and open your eyes to the potential benefits that blogging can bring into your personal life.
The Ultimate Guide to Banking At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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When most people arrive at the Beijing Language and Culture University one of the first things they want to know is where there's a bank. In this post I'm going to do my best to share all the information I know regarding banking in the BLCU area so that when you arrive you will already be one step ahead.
As I hope you've come to expect from this blog by now, I have put quite a few hours into preparing and writing this post so I hope the information and advice found below will be as useful to as many people as possible. I have also created a BLCU campus map noting points of interest relevant to this post which can be found at the end (click to enlarge).
Building Good Study Habits At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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In this post I want to talk about building good study habits in order to get the most from your time at the Beijing Language and Culture University. It took me nearly all of the first semester before I began to make a shift to studying more efficiently. I was regularly skipping classes and having too much of a good time with my social life to bother that much about serious study. It's an easy thing to do in the first few months and it's also forgiveable at that stage, especially for most young people, but the danger is when you let it go on for too long and don't start to make a shift towards a better work-ethic.
If you're not careful, you can end up leaving BLCU, as I saw in many cases, with hardly any improvements in your Mandarin at all. You may as well have stayed at home as far as learning a new language was concerned. I'm not saying it will have been a wasted experience - that's not true at all - but it WILL have been a wasted language-learning opportunity, and one you might regret in the years to come.
LaVita Cafe At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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The entrance to LaVita Cafe
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In this post I'm going to talk a bit about LaVita Cafe on the Beijing Language and Culture University campus. It's one of the most popular student cafes on campus for a few good reasons. I know I, for one, was a regular visitor there during my year-long stay at BLCU and it's a place I can definitely recommend it as a good "chill out" or even study spot for anyone who is new to the university. It's usually very busy during lunch hours and often stays busy through the afternoon with students on their laptops or chatting with friends, or even catching up on a bit of Mandarin study.
So, let's jump right into some of the reasons that I think make LaVita Cafe such an easy recommendation.
How To Get A 12L Water Tank At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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A water tank from my apartment near BLCU
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This article goes into a lot of detail on everything you will need to know regarding water tanks at the Beijing Language and Culture University, including off-campus arrangements for water tanks (i.e. when renting an apartment). I hope you find it helpful!
Even though bottled water is cheap to buy at BLCU, I would still recommend investing in a 12L water tank as soon as you get there. I made the mistake of not doing this until a few months after I arrived and it ended up costing me a lot more. I kept putting it off at the time because I didn't think it was that important, but once I had one in my room I realised it made life much easier.
How To Get A Food Card At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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The new BLCU canteen (ground floor)
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The situation with food cards has changed since my time at the Beijing Language and Culture University in 2010 and 2011. With the building of the new canteens and the demolishing of the old ones some things are now different. In this post I will try to give you as much information on food cards at BLCU as I can (though it's all from memory).
Arriving At The Beijing Language and Culture University Without Accommodation
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Have you just found out that you will have nowhere to stay once you get to the Beijing Language and Culture University? Perhaps all the on-campus accommodation is booked out and you don't know where else to turn. This article aims to offer you some temporary solutions while you get things sorted and to give you some much needed peace of mind as well.
An Introduction To Life At The Beijing Language and Culture University
This is a guest post by Ray So, a friend I met at BLCU.
I've been at the Beijing Language and Culture University for two months now. I'm here for a semester (which is four months in total.) I'm a Level D student (students are grouped into level depending on their proficiency in Chinese - "A" being total beginner and "F" being the most advanced.) So you'll find that my thoughts might be slightly different if I were in say, Level A.
Before I try tackling the most difficult question which is whether to go "big" or "small" in terms of cities and schools, I'll just give you a quick overview of a "typical day" for me at BLCU.
How To Access Blocked Websites At The Beijing Language and Culture University [Free]
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As anyone who has been to the Beijing Language and Culture University and China will tell you, getting hold of a good reliable (and preferably free) VPN is very important.
This is because of the internet censorship in China (widely called "The Great Firewall Of China") has blocked many great sites you may use on a regular basis such as Facebook and Twitter (see a full list of websites blocked in the People's Republic of China).
It will also give you a chance to make quick friends by passing on the VPN programme to other newcomers who haven't yet worked out a way of accessing their favourite sites from BLCU (and the rest of China).
See my post on Paid VPN Software For BLCU Students if you have some money to spare.
10 Reasons To Study Chinese At The Beijing Language and Culture University
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This article aims to share some of the reasons why I think coming to study Chinese at the Beijing Language and Culture University will be a great experience for you. Enjoy.
Many of us will live our lives rarely (if ever) venturing out of our own countries. Heck, many of us hardly ever venture out of our own towns or cities! Ask yourself: How is living like that going to help me get a broader view of the world and life in all its abundance? I can watch the news on TV or read it on the Internet, watch documentaries all day and check out blogs like this one, but is that really all I want my experience of the world beyond my front door to be limited to? For most of us, the answer will be a resounding "NO!"
A Guide To Online Gambling in China
Legal alternatives of gambling opportunities in China involve flying out to Macau, where gambling is legal and remotely regulated or engaging in the few existing state lotteries. In Macau, you can gamble in the many luxurious casinos present or legally access an online casino. It is, however, highly cumbersome to hop on a plane and head to Macau whenever you need your gambling fix. This is what has led to the emergence of the underground gambling scene.
Legal alternatives of gambling opportunities in China involve flying out to Macau, where gambling is legal and remotely regulated or engaging in the few existing state lotteries. In Macau, you can gamble in the many luxurious casinos present or legally access an online casino. It is, however, highly cumbersome to hop on a plane and head to Macau whenever you need your gambling fix. This is what has led to the emergence of the underground gambling scene.
3 Reasons To Buy Travel Insurance For Asia
Most people going to study Chinese at the Beijing Language and Culture University are not afraid of leaving their home country and venturing out into the wild. Most BLCU students will likely also do some travelling around Asia during their time in the Chinese capital. There's a lot to see, after all!
Don't put it off!
But perhaps too often those who love to travel consider travel insurance as just another burden or unnecessary expense to pay. They feel like they don’t need it, which is the reason why it is neglected most of the time. However, buying travel insurance before seeing the sights in Asia may end up being one of the best decisions you've ever made. If you get in a sticky situation and need help, you'll be thankful to have it and be covered.
Asia is one of the most beautiful continents, with some truly spectacular scenery to offer -- it's no wonder so many tourists are booking for holidays and vacations in Asia. But that doesn't mean it will always be smooth sailing, especially if you're language skills aren't up to scratch!
6 Tips To Identify Fake RMB Notes
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An RMB note showing points of interest
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Paper quality
Take the bill the long way up and kind of ruffle it in your hands. The sound should be clear and distinct. In the fake ones, the sound is muffled and the paper seems crisp.
Welcome to The BLCU Blog!
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Hello all and welcome! The BLCU 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 or "BLCU" in Beijing, 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.
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