Hi everybody.

I'll be studying at Southwest Forestry Uni from September. I was wondering if anyone can give me some info about the campus, accommodation etc. It seems pretty far from the city centre? Am I right? Should I rent a private room instead of staying on campus? Any recommendation would be highly appreciated. Cheers. Alice

If you don't mind you can tell me what your major is. Cause I know some teachers of the Uni.

It's pretty far from the wenlinjie green lake area. The area around the uni has enough student eating and shopping that you could live on campus or rent a nearby apartment and not find life difficult. If you can manage an ebike or regular bike, getting around to the rest of Kunming wouldn't be too hard, though the uni is uphill. Buses do leave from the bottom of the hill quite regulary but no subway access nearby.

@alexKMG Yeah I was already thinking of buying an ebike, now that I know the uni is uphill I'm definitely going to buy one, I'm too lazy

How far would be more or less from uni to the city centre by ebike?

@Bruce SHEN I'm doing the 1 year non-degree programme in Chinese language, I guess I'll be placed in the advanced class if there's one, I have HSK 5

Great. To some extant, shared bicycle is your best option.

Not all that much of a hill.

Congratulations! Sounds interesting. Here in Lijiang we are surrounded by vast mountain ranges covered in forests. Since moving here in January I've seen only 3 squirrels (one of which was in captivity) and no other mammals. Of course, I wasn't expecting pandas or snow leopards, but my gosh, has everything been killed off? Please forgive me for going a bit off topic.

Public bicycle are definitely not an option, unless you are not any taller than 1.55 m. And even then, without gears, you'd go far too slow.
Ebikes are rather cheap (3-5,000 RMB new, 2,000 second hand), but they need recharging and being parked in safe places.
Buying a very good bicycle (for less than 2,000 RMB) has been the best investment I've done in Kunming, probably. It keeps me fit, it's a stress release and it's environmentally friendly.
The Forestry uni is reachable by bike, as long as you are a little sporty.

I think ricsnap exaggerates a bit about the public bikes for people 1.55 or shorter, tho if you're particularly tall you might not find them comfortable. Probably better to buy one here, although bicycle theft is not uncommon.