Housing and Meals

The Alliance programs emphasize cultural immersion and experiential learning opportunities for students to interact with Chinese people. Your housing arrangements in Beijing or Shanghai are an important component of your experience abroad. Students in Shanghai live with Chinese roommates and students in Beijing are paired with Chinese language partners.

Please refer to detailed housing information below.

BLCU

In Beijing at BLCU, students are housed in the International Student Dorm #17 in double rooms with other Alliance students. Rooms include: two single beds, two desks, two chairs, small book shelves, cabinets, desk lamps, TV, and air-conditioning, and a private bathroom. Bed linens, including blankets and pillows, are provided by the dorm, and will be cleaned once a week. Towels are not provided. There are washing machines on each floor. Students can go to the front desk to buy tokens to for the machines. Tokens costs 4 RMB ($0.50) for the washing machine, and 8 RMB ($1.00) for the dryer. There is also a kitchen with a stove and microwave on each floor. The Alliance has some basic cooking equipment for students to borrow. The Chinese cooking class is also taught in the kitchen.

A limited number of students will also have the option of staying with a host family in Beijing.  Please contact Julia Levy at jlevy@allianceglobaled.org for detailed information.

Fudan

In Shanghai at Fudan, students are housed in Tonghe International Apartments across the street from the back (or north) gate of the University and a 10-15 minute walk from your classrooms. Your apartment will have either two or three bedrooms.  The two bedroom apartments will be shared by one Alliance student and one Fudan University student, while three bedroom apartments will be shared by two Alliance students and one Fudan student. The apartments include a bathroom, kitchen, and a furnished bedroom, with desk, desk lamp, closet space, and a remote control heating/air-conditioning unit. The bedrooms also include sheets, pillows, and a comforter. The furnished common areas include a TV, filtered water dispenser, refrigerator, and stove-top gas burners or a hotplate in the kitchen. Some apartments also have a small washing machine. Towels are not provided. Filtered water is replenished at student expense (12 RMB/$1.80 per tank), with the help of the Tonghe front desk staff.  Please note that no kitchen utensils or other supplies are provided.  During Alliance Shanghai orientation all students are required to pay a 500 RMB (approximately $74 US dollars) housing deposit.  If there is no damage to your room at the end of the program, this deposit will be refunded to you in full.

SUFE

In Shanghai at SUFE, students are housed in the student dormitory located near the center of campus and very close to Alliance classrooms. This building houses international students as well as a small number of local undergraduate and professional degree students.  Each Alliance student will share a double room with a SUFE university student. Rooms include: two single beds, two desks, desk lamps, two thermoses for boiled water (available on first floor of dormitory), closet space with a lockbox for each student, remote control heater/air-conditioner, bathroom with shower, and a balcony. Hot water is available 45 minutes after turning on the hot water heater located in the bathroom. The water heater holds approximately 15 minutes worth of hot water. Sheets, pillows and a comforter are provided; towels are not. Filtered water is replenished at student expense (10 RMB/$1.45 per tank), with the help of the dormitory’s front desk staff.  During Alliance Shanghai orientation all students are required to pay a 200 RMB (approximately $30 US dollars) housing deposit.  If there is no damage to your room at the end of the program, this deposit will be refunded to you in full.

SNU

In Xi’an, students are housed on campus in newly renovated campus hotel / dormitory building.  The SNU Dormitory building is located on the residential side of campus and is surrounded by restaurants, a convenient store, and the campus medical clinic.  The dormitory building is a 5 minute walk from the campus athletic fields (soccer, basketball, tennis courts, ping pong tables, and badminton), and an 8 to 10 minute walk from the Alliance office and classroom building.  Each dorm room will house one Alliance student and one Chinese roommate.  Dorm room is equipped with a private bathroom and shower, an enclosed balcony, television, beds, desks, cabinetry and small refrigerator.  Pillows, blankets and bed sheets are provided by the dorm. Laundry facilities are located in the dorm building on the second floor.
 

Meals

Meals are not included in the Alliance program fee. You may eat at any of the university cafeterias or at the small restaurants near campus. You may also cook in the kitchens in your dorm or apartment. Expect to spend about $5-10 per day on meals, or more if you eat in nicer restaurants or eat western-style food. Some students may spend $10 per day if they eat all meals off campus. Meal prices can range from cheap ($1 for a bowl of noodles on the street) to very expensive ($50 and higher in a nicer restaurant hotel, particularly ones serving Western food). Fresh fruit is available at local markets near campus. Vegetarians will find that good food is available in China. Most restaurants serve lots of vegetables, tofu dishes, and staples such as rice, noodles, or dumplings. Note that some restaurants may use animal fat in preparing dishes.

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