going to tsinghua for one year, what do i need to bring?

[orange6186]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to tsinghua in the fall. i was wonder if i can get some advice/input on what i need to be bringing. things like a printer and things that you might bring to the dorms in the states? if some of you have gone through this process already, please give me some input on what i need. thankz so much!

-orange6186

[Rachel_S]

There are probably only a few things you'll need, most of which you can get here (and I would recommend getting here, because it's less bulky - especially if you're coming from to China from abroad, which I assume you are). If you need electronics - like a printer, mouse, keyboard, flashdrive, etc. - or a Chinese capable cell phone (with SIM Card), you can get those things in Zhongguancun (in the neighborhood near Tsinghua) and cheaply, so you don't have to worry about bringing it home and it is easy enough to resell or (if cheap enough) discard at the end of the year.

Most other little things (like toiletries, bedding (if you need any), edibles, etc.) can be bought at local stores, supermarkets, or nearby Carrefour and Wal-Mart.

The only things I would suggest you buy at home - especially if you like your creature comforts - would be a towel (because towels here are generally of low quality and high quality ones will cost you an arm and a leg) and a Chinese-English/English-Chinese Dictionary (if your program doesn't provide you with one...or even if they do). Good (book) dictionaries here can only be found at the English language bookstore and that's far away from Tsinghua and still quite expensive, although if you want an electronic one, the electronics markets in Zhongguancun may be more helpful and cheaper than buying abroad.

Hope this helps!

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[orange6186]

thankz Rachel_S! this really helps a lot.

also anyone know if i bring my apple macbook to tsinghua from america, i would be able to use the internet connection there? or is the network there only for pcs?

-orange6186

[Shadowdh]

Good (book) dictionaries here can only be found at the English language bookstore and that's far away from Tsinghua and still quite expensive,

I dont agree with the expensive part... I bought a really good little pocket dictionary (oxford) and it was only 17.90 kuai... about £1.25... in London the same dictionary is going for £5-8... but the shop is indeed a fair distance from Haidian, although not hard or expensive to get to...

[cdn_in_bj]

but the shop is indeed a fair distance from Haidian, although not hard or expensive to get to...

You can also order books online and they will deliver to you (cheaply).

As for things to bring, I suggest the following (if you use them):

-money (obviously!)

-laptop computer

-if you plan to make a lot of phone calls home, set up a VOIP account before you leave and bring the harder (router/gateway) with you

-commonly-used medication. Though you can get pretty much anything here, you don't want to be without it when you actually need it.

-deodourant/antiperspirant/cologne/perfume

-chewing gum (especially if you like the really strong kind!)

-your most stylish clothes

-good shoes (it's ok to bring several pairs!)

-your favourite hard liquor or beer (but make sure you don't exceed the limits for importing into PRC)

-cigars/cigarettes (again, check about the limits)

Also, if you're a meat-eater, make sure you have a good steak and/or rib dinner before you leave home.

[adrianlondon]

There's a great foreign language bookstore somewhere near BLCU. It's hard to describe where it is so it's best to ask once you've arrived. It's at the end of a street which starts off with bars and then ends in loads of Korean restaurants. They sell everything with 10 or 20% off.

Then there are two big bookstores in the town centre (Wangfujing). Definitely cheaper than buying before you arrive.

if you want something trendy, get a palm pilot and Plecodict dictionary before you arrive. Unless you speak Mandarin and have friends in Beijing, you really want your first experience in Zhongguancun to be buying something cheap and disposable, like computer speakers/mouse/USB memory etc.

Also, I don't get the towel thing. I bought great, cheap, towels from the BNU on-campus shop. No problem at all. Like all new towels, you need to wash them once (with NO conditioner) before you first use them.

You'll get by without printing things out. otherwise, printing them from USB memory to a campus printer is cheap enough.

Bring a laptop. Back everything up before you leave home and, ideally, bring whatever recovery DVD/CD you need to get going again in the event of a disaster.

Bring silly souvenirs from whatever country you're from (flags, models of the statue of liberty, eiffel tower, london bus) and give them to your new Chinese friends as you make them throughout your time here.

Everyone seems to mention deodorant. It must be an issue in China. I don't wear the stuff, so I don't know ;) I shower twice a day instead.

I used http://www.voipstunt.com/en/index.html to call home to London. Paid virtually nothing and I used it to call landline (in my dorm room) to landline (London). I think if you're willing to sit in front of your laptop with earphones, it's free.

if you're American, chances are your mobile won't work. Europeans will be fine. Just make sure it's unlocked if you speak no Mandarin, otherwise get it unlocked in a small shop near campus after you arrive. Price is similar (best place, ironically, toget a phone unlocked is your local chinatown!).

if you have to pay your tuition in cash as soon as you arrive, be prepared for this. Either start drawing your daily limit from ATMs from as soon as the plane touches down, or bring tarvellers cheques (in US$ or UK£).

[cdn_in_bj]

Bring silly souvenirs from whatever country you're from (flags, models of the statue of liberty, eiffel tower, london bus) and give them to your new Chinese friends as you make them throughout your time here.

This is a great suggestion, and will be really appreciated by your new friends.

Everyone seems to mention deodorant. It must be an issue in China. I don't wear the stuff, so I don't know ;) I shower twice a day instead.

Actually, you can find some brands of antiperspirant here. It's the non-antiperspirant deodourant that I have yet to run across (though I have not tried looking that hard). I myself don't suffer from odour issues but when it hits 38+C in July here a little freshness goes a long way!

I used http://www.voipstunt.com/en/index.html to call home to London. Paid virtually nothing and I used it to call landline (in my dorm room) to landline (London). I think if you're willing to sit in front of your laptop with earphones, it's free.

That's good to know. Are calls originating from PRC using Skype-Out still blocked?

[imron]

Are calls originating from PRC using Skype-Out still blocked?

Were they ever blocked? I've been making regular calls from PRC using SkypeOut for the last couple of years and never had any problems with blocking... dropouts due to slow connections yes, but blocking no.

[cdn_in_bj]

Were they ever blocked? I've been making regular calls from PRC using SkypeOut for the last couple of years and never had any problems with blocking... dropouts due to slow connections yes, but blocking no.

When I tried back in '05 it wasn't working, at the time there was a lot of "news" about it being blocked by the Chinese telcos. But looking back it may just have been that Skype themselves weren't ready to offer the service to mainlanders.

Note: Regular Skype (PC-to-PC) worked fine, it was only SkypeOut that I couldn't get to work.

[gato]

I've been using SkypeOut from the PRC the last couple of years, too, but the voice quality is not nearly as good as it is for PC-to-PC.

[Dani_man]

Might sounds funny but - a box of multi-vitamins.

In China you won't get the food you are used to eat at home (and I mean A LOT of rice), and might be not so nutritious. I know someone who takes multi-vitamins pills cause he started to get tired and stuff (maybe he was just depressed of studying Chinese all the time - prepare for that too!). I donno if that's relevant for everyone but if you are a person that eating habit changes affects you, it might be useful to you.

[heifeng]

reference threads

here

here

and some other useful threads when you search "bring"

[Niklas]

I'm going back the that university in a month:)

As for the internet connection question, I wonder is there any special requirents on the network for Macs? I don't think so...

[imron]

I have no problems accessing Tsinghua's network with my Mac.

[orange6186]

has anyone lived in the dorms? if you have...can you tell me what is provided? for example, bedding materials, desk materials, and bathroom materials.

-orange6186

[adrianlondon]

If it's like BNU dorms, then bed linen is provided but bathroom stuff (towels, soap, toilet paper) aren't.

After a very long flight to Beijing (from London via Singapore, as I wanted to meet a friend in Singapore for dinner and to go clubbing during my stopover! Crazy, I know) I arived at BNU, registered with my very bad mandarin, and was just about to relax when I noticed the lack of toilet paper and towels.

Not knowing the mandarin words for either of those, or for "supermarket", I was very very tired and not too happy!

You'll be pleased to know that armed with plecodict and a campus map, I found the shop and got everything I needed.

[Huang Jialuo]

Reviving this not so old thread... (and I don't mean to undermine your comment adrianlondon; as it is, I think you are great contributor of the forums and I thank you for that... but since I am going to Tsinghua also and going to stay in the dorms, I want to know what to expect first hand (someone who has been there)).

Can someone please tell me how the Tsinghua dorms are inside? I am guessing not many of the forum members have gone to Tsinghua considering that none have posted about this subject, but if any have, please do elaborate on this matter.

Thanks.

[imron]

I was studying at Tsinghua last semester. I didn't stay in the dorms though because the cost of living in the dorms is more expensive than living off campus.

[Dani_man]

Just googling tsinghua dorms gives a surprisingly amount of results, look at this one for example:

http://www.coace.tsinghua.edu.cn/date/hwfw/imagepages/image1.html

distinct between the AB rooms, which have two private rooms but common bathroom and kitchen, and the single room, which have everything inside (the kitchen and the toilet are smaller, though).

[applepie42]

I've seen that in some dorm pictures there is a kitchen, is a microwave or stovetop included? I want to know if cooking in the dorm would be possible.