next »

[El Macho]

I'll be studying at Beijing Foreign Studies University (北京外国语大学) from Sept-January.
Previously I lived/worked in Changchun for 13 months, so I do have a bit of China experience, though it can't hold a candle to your collective wisdom.
 I've not been to Beijing other than a short layover in the airport. Can anyone give advice as to what to expect at BFSU and in Beijing in general?

[Ruth]

Surely there's a Beijing thread in the city specific room of the Saloon?

Yup, I just checked.  ElMacho, maybe you need directions.  This place can be a little confusing.  On your way there you have to be careful not to trip over Stil's leg sticking out from under the table over there, and steer clear of George's stool - don't step in that mess under it...

Ok - on the main board of the Saloon find "Le Laowai Liberation League Labor & Lifestyle Lending Library".  (We call it the library for short.)  That sub-board has a childboard called "Location-specific Info"  If you click on that you will see many threads on different cities.  There's one on Beijing and another on Beijing restaurants.  Should have lots of info for you. 

If I were really clever, I'd put the link in for you, but I skipped class the day they taught how to do that.

BTW Beijing ren - now might be a good time for you to update those boards.  Just a thought.

[Nolefan]

yours truly has writes about certain aspects of life in Beijing at www.beijingdaze.com but it's all very chaoyang-centric. your location will be within Decurso's hunting grounds and he might be able to offer more details/information.

that said, Beijing is quite a nice place to be and has just about everything you might need want in terms of cultural events, lifestyle, shopping, going out, etc... a gigantic number of expats roam the streets (day and night).

Chaoyang district is the business/tourist side of things with hotspots like sanlitun, workers stadium the new Solana entertainment center etc.. high rises and fast falls.
Haidian is dual purpose: university district as well as China's silicon valley. Expect more local flavor and lots of students with a highly transient population

Doncheng district: that's where the "old" Beijing lies. hutongs, courtyars, lakes, pajamas and bicycles. extremely pleasant area of the city

check out www.localnoodles.com for more info as well as www.cityweekend.com/beijing and www.thebeijinger.com

[Raoul F. Duke]

Beijing can be a cool place to live. It's got an unbelievable concentration of ancient treasures, a vibrant expat community, just about every creature comfort you'd ever want, and no end of places to go and things to do. If I hadn't had such a gawdawful job there (a place called "Modern English", thank you so much ) I might have never left to discover the delights of Suzhou.

It's huge and sprawls on forever. I think the Olympics finally improved the transit situation there, but it's just so big that getting around can be expensive and troublesome.

Housing can be quite expensive there. Certainly in a league with Shanghai, and sometimes maybe even higher.

But my biggest downside on Beijing is that because it's the center of the government and the Party, and THE hub for foreign tourists, and generally a showpiece for the entire nation, it tends to be a bit more uptight in some ways than other Chinese cities. Rules are tighter and more strictly enforced. There are more restrictions on foreigners. They actually still take that Communism shit serious  in Beijing.
At least, that's what I found when I was there. Maybe it's better now.

[decurso]

I did do a city specific thread about Beijing that covers Haidian (where you'll be living) and the transportation system, as well as a brief overview of the some of the good and bad points about living here.

 I like Beijing and I like Haidian, but it's not for everyone. I've lately been noticing a profound sense of disconnection amongst the residents of our fair city. Many of them have been transpalnted from their hometowns/home countries and have difficulty developing relationships in a city the size of Belgium. Most official population stats on Beijing only include 7 of Beijing's 13 Districts. The actual number is more like 24 million. This place is huge, and there are a lot of lonely people here.

 Most of what I have to say about Beijing I already said in the "Beijing" thread, but a good place to get better aquainted with the city is here http://www.weliveinbeijing.com/home/home.rails



 

[The Local Dialect]

Beijing grows on you I guess. I hated it when I first moved here about a year or so ago, but I'm getting used to it slowly.

The main thing, as others have mentioned, is the size. It ridiculously sprawling. If you're used to smaller 2nd tier cities, you'll be in for a treat the first time you take a taxi from one district to another. I live in Haidian but go out to Chaoyang maybe once a month to hit up the foreign bookstore out there that I like, and if I'm lazy and decide not to take the subway (and not every neighborhood is subway convenient either. Busses are abundant but they take AGES to get from one place to another) a cab ride can easily run 50RMB or more. Coming from Kunming, where fares started at 8RMB and it was a rare day when a ride would cost more than 20RMB at the most (going from one end of the city to the other), that takes some getting used to. Also just the sheer amount of time you spend getting from place to place can be annoying. I can rarely accomplish multiple errands in one day in Beijing, particularly if I need to be in different districts. Plan on spending a lot of time in transit.

Rents are high and cost of living is pretty high in general. As a student you'll probably be on a different sort of budget than I am with a family to support, but be aware that it is an expensive city. Food costs more -- a meal for our family of 3 at an average Chinese, non-hole-in-the-wall place can get close to 100RMB. You can save money on rent by getting a roomate and there are loads and loads of foreigners at BLCU (including a ton of Koreans), so around the university it shouldn't be hard to get a roomate if you want one. If you don't get a roomate, rents can be steep, anywhere from 2000ish right up to 5000 or more a month in the university area.

I agree with decurso about the disconnect thing. It is hard to meet people and form lasting relationships in such a huge place. I think at the university you'll have an advantage in that area though.

Raoul is right though, there is so much history in Beijing, it can actually be kind of overwhelming. You'll have to of course spend some time seeing the sights and taking in the Beijing experience. I think I would have enjoyed Beijing a lot more about 5 years ago before I got married and had a kid, as it seems like there's a lot of fun to be had too if you're up for seeking it.

[El Macho]

Thanks for the replies, lots of useful information. I'm getting more excited by the day!

[James the Brit]

I lived in Beijing for almost a year.

One thing that shocked me (and the people who came to visit me) was the weather. The weather is very rarely "nice" in Beijing. Maybe for two weeks in Autumn and two weeks in Spring. Winters are very cold and Summers are very hot.

But apart from that Beijing is a city I love.

Nolefan mentioned SanLiTun in Chaoyang for bars and clubs... I personally prefer NanLuoGoXiang (An alleyway in DongCheng). It's a bit more expensive but it has more character.

[El Macho]

I'm in Beijing and enjoying it.

One thing I've especially enjoyed is the man selling "Chinese Editions" of western novels in the underground linking BFSU's east and west campuses. His selection is unfortunately limited to mostly business books, but every so often something interesting comes through and the price is certainly right and the quality is good. Can anyone suggest places in Beijing where I might find a wider selection of knock-off books in English?

[The Local Dialect]

Try the wudaokou area near the subway station, at that corner where the outdoors clothing market sometimes sets up. There are guys there with carts of pirated Western books that they sell for 10RMB each. They have a pretty decent selection of novels, mostly recently bestsellers.

[El Macho]

Cheers, LD, I'll check it out!

[Nolefan]

best selection of books in Beijing right now is at our monthly bookswap and boardgames meeting!!



read more here:

http://beijingdaze.com/general/2009/06/03/bookswap-n-boardgames/

[El Macho]

Thanks for the tip! Sorry I'll not be able to make it this month...or will y'all reschedule because of National Day?

[Nolefan]

Thanks for the tip! Sorry I'll not be able to make it this month...or will y'all reschedule because of National Day?

sure will!!! don't wanna be anywhere near that side of beijing early october.. next bookswap is Oct 10

[The Local Dialect]

Thanks for the heads up, I might show up myself! I have literally hundreds of of English language books that need a good home.