Hi everyone.

My name is Catherine and I am a university student, nice to meet you all. :)

I've got a few questions before I leave for Kunming in February. I'll be studying at Yunnan University and staying in their university house for international students. I wanted to ask, has anybody here stayed in the university house before?

I want to know what to expect and what to bring along and I haven't been able to find much information on their international university housing.

Do they have a kitchen in the dorm building? Is it stocked with basic appliances or will I need my own?

...
Well, I can't really think of anything else right now, so please tell me about your overall experience with the dorms.

And even if you haven't stayed in the dorms, I would like to hear about your experience at the university as well. Teachers, classwork, stuff like that.

Thanks for reading. Once I finish my semester there, I am definitely going to put up a blog with lots of information on it. Hope it will help someone in a situation like mine in the future.

I'm very excited be able to study in Kunming! :) Can't wait.

international students housing sucks.

bring along camera, ur cloths, ur laptop.
they got good shampoo's and basic necessities here

no kitchen in dorm building
university is ok.
they relocated closer to green lake which isn't that bad.
teacher's are also ok.
kunming's weather will be nice by the time u come

Geez. Maybe I should have gone for the apartment option.

:|

Whatever, it should be fine, I probably won't spend too much time in my dorm room anyways. Thanks for the heads up though. lol

No kitchen? That's not good. Anybody have a rice cooker they don't need anymore?

Thanks for the info, I'll probably leave my cookbook at home now and invest in a small rice cooker.

eating out is cheap. even if money is tight, you can do it a lot. local food cheap eats can be had for 5-15 kuai a meal.

If possible, I would switch to renting your own apartment instead of using the university housing. The cost is almost the same and, as mentioned, the university housing is somewhat small, not really social, and lacks the amenities you found in an apartment (it may not have internet access, a kitchen, 24 hour hot water, etc.). I haven't checked recently, but I do not think the housing has much for appliances (no rice cooker, no microwave, not sure about a washing machine or refridgerator). It really depends on which housing type you got (I've stayed in two types and both resembled hotel rooms while a friend of mine who was a teacher at Yunnan University had a much larger place with some appliances).

However, if you can't change, then the accomodation is in a nice location, convenient for the Green Lake park and for getting to classes.

I'm not too worried about money, it's just that I wanted to cook some meals at home rather than eat out all the time.

A dollar or two for a meal though, sounds pretty sweet.

I'm not able to switch, but next time I come I will definitely look into the apartments instead. I think that the dorm rooms at least have a refrigerator... hopefully.

The good thing is the location. :) I love the thought of walking past Green Lake park every day.

Thanks for the tips everybody. I'm taking mental notes on each one.

Hey Catherine! I'm Liz. I'm figuring out now where to study in Kunming possibly this summer and next Fall and was wondering how your housing ended up/what your experiences are like studying at Yunnan University since I'm not sure between that or Yunnan Normal.
Thanks :)

Hi Liz,

I haven't actually left for Kunming yet, my flight will depart this Friday and I'll arrive on the 28th. So, at this moment I have no opinion on either university, sorry!

I have heard that apartment housing is the better choice though, not just on this forum but on many others.

Here's a thread on another forum where they might have some info for you:

www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?t=24895

Anyways, I'll be sure to post back on this forum with my thoughts when I've settled in. :)

Good luck!

Catherine, how's your life going? don't forget to tell us your story)

Me and my wife is planning to go there for our PhD in this coming sept. So what are the options for accomodation...will the university has any type of married students hostel? or any apartments or private rooms.......Thank you in advance for your help...!!