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I think it's at the southwest corner of campus near the domestic dorms and most of the food options. I believe there's also a coffee shop on the 1st floor, I used to go there to study, it's not bad. All the dorms are old unless you're on the newer campus in changping. But trust me, you'll want to take the old dorm over the newer dorms because you'll hate living way out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe they renovated over the summer? Probably not, but all the dorms are old, but at least you don't have to have five roommates like the domestic students 😂

@@NihaoAlex true hahaha thanks a lot !

I don’t even remember the name! It was across the street from the Novotel hotel where I was staying. Zhonghua nan Lu

I stayed in xinsong, but I think it is quite difficult to get. Many students have to take a bus to the changping campus, which is newer but it’s a district very far north. I’ve never been, but classmates I’ve spoken to haven’t said anything positive because it’s so far from everything and it’s difficult to make friends and explore. If you do get xinsong just keep expectations low. It’s old, cramped, and can be quite noisy, but at least you’re not six to a room like the domestic students! I’m an old guy and probably shouldn’t have even been in the dorms hahaha! I just did it for the experience and it was during Covid so I could pay a little extra to live by myself.

@@NihaoAlex thank you so much for your response. I plan to continue my PhD and apply a csc scholarship to BNU because I think it’s good school for someone like me who want to become a teacher. But I care about using bathroom and toilet as public. Anyway thank you for your kindness.

@@LoveLoveLove The bathrooms are private in the international dorms. Domestic dorms are definitely not as private.

I agree with both points, but I think it comes down to poor management as well. This mall seems to have already been open for a couple years because it still had ads with tigers, which was last year's animal. It probably opened right before or during COVID and hasn't been able to recover. Many of the new malls I've seen also start with extremely low rent just to increase occupancy. This usually means low-end shops enter, but they are forced out when rent goes up after a couple years. I'm not sure what this mall is trying to do because there was nothing. My assumption is that it could be state-owned, which means less pressure for ROI and allows more time to develop. If it were private, the investors would have opted for the low end shops to enter to at least increase occupancy if they couldn't get anything better.

@@NihaoAlex 我刚查了一下，这个商场是证大喜马拉雅 他的北面是南京南站火车站，南边秦淮新河，东边是市主干道双龙大道，西边是新的小区 难怪生意会不好，人流都被公路铁路河流切断了，更何况他不是地铁直通，他在南京南站和双龙大道中间 真正附近成熟的小区都在更南部 地方，而且那里有地铁，地铁口就是大型商场 不过几年疫情确实。。。他开的不是时候，现在南部又有新商场开业了，他完蛋了🥲这就是市场竞争 以后倒闭的商场会更多，胜者为王😁赢者通吃😁

@@NihaoAlex 对于你说，你可以说你对中国商业也很了解 补充一些：这个商场定位比较文艺中高端的，你说的开业时候比较低端的商铺其实不符合商场定位，并且这些商家往往不能配合商场做出符合目标客户的产品和活动，甚至日常经营卫生服务态度都不一定能令人满意。所以开业之后，招商部门就没有开业前那么急迫，他们会慢慢观察，想办法替换一些不合适是商家，招一些优质商家进来。当然租金肯定也是他们考虑的因素 但是喜马拉雅这个商场，主要还是位置问题，人流量不行导致他这样 这是我的观察

It was strong and very warm😂 in the video I asked for a cold one and he wanted to give ice cubes.

Not sure how authentic, but wasn't bad. Nice décor, I heard it's a chain and there are a few in Harbin. Fried eggplant was my fav

I was there last week, gorgeous weather, walked everywhere. The beer gardens were starting to get set up, lots of good energy in the outdoor public spaces.

Our goal is to show real China, no editing, just daily life.

I'll admit there is more nationalism today than there was even a few years ago, but I don't get the comparison for another cultural revolution. What about the current environment makes you believe history will repeat itself? If it's only because the communist government acts in a communist way, well... 😂

I should preface this with saying there are many international students who enjoy their experience very much and have been published many times, have great relationships with the intl student office and supervisors, and really enjoy the experience. But for me, there are a number of things which did not meet my expectations. I definitely cannot speak for all, but can only provide my opinion and experience. I'm also older, almost all students in Chinese higher ed seem to be young with little to no real life/work experience. As a PhD student I think it would be more interesting if others were at the same level of my experience, for example; principal, director, academic leader, business owner, etc.., but I never met anyone whom I could relate with. BNU has a very good reputation within China, and is part of a group of universities considered to be "world class". So, as a world class university my expectations were high, but in almost every touch point I've been let down or bewildered by the experience. The relationship is reciprocal, I could get a lot more out of the experience if I put more in (which I haven't been motivated to do), but the constant frustrations of trying to navigate the higher ed bureaucracy wasn't something I expected. There's very little support, no one seems to know anything or where to find answers, and you never know what you're supposed to know. I don't feel I've been provided the help or guidance I thought I'd receive so I'm taking a break this semester until I can figure out what to do.

Hi Alex! I'm Dinna. I'm glad landing on your video. I'm going to study in BNU and I'm taking Ph.D in education too! It's gonna my first time studying in non english country so, I've been feeling nervous what to expect. Can I ask some questions about BNU? I think I can understand the frustation about others' level of experience. But, may I know what did you mean by the higher ed bureaucracy? Did you mean like the bureaucracy for international students or things like that? And may I know what scholarship did you get? I gof the BNU New International Student Scholarship but I still have no clue if accommodation is included or how much the amount of the living cost scholarship. Thank you!

@@RhamadinnaFatimah You'll be fine studying in China without knowing the language, but like any country, your experience will be MUCH better if you learn some. Unfortunately, as a PhD student at BNU, there is very little to help students learn Chinese. It was actually a HUGE frustration of mine. I ended up having to pay for classes at another university because BNU's culture and language college is separate from the education college. There is very little collaboration or communication between the two. In my experience, it was quite difficult to integrate with domestic students. I even tried to join some extra-curricular activities, but it was more like a photo shoot than actual relationship building. Things are always quite separate even though we're all on campus together. It probably would have been easier if I were an undergrad. In regards to bureaucracy, China is inherently bureaucratic, but higher education is on another level. It seems everything must go to a superior's superior so decisions are never made quickly. There is an intl student union, and although they have lots of ideas, nothing really happens because they have no power or decision making ability, so people become apathetic over time and nothing changes. Since no one has any decision making ability nothing really gets done, which is frustrating if you have a question. Also, when I requested leave, no one cared why I was leaving, not a single question from anyone. NO ONE, not my supervisor, not the faculty of education office, not the intl student office, no one. They were more concerned with my visa and getting all the signatures from the 5-6 different offices on campus than actually talking to me and finding out why I wanted to take leave.

@@NihaoAlex Hi Alex! Thank you very much for your explanation. I think I can grasp how frustrating it is. I was sending an email to the international office and education office, asking about the amount of scholarship that I will receive (BNU New International Student). But, I haven't got the reply for what I think is quite simple. I still have 2 weeks left until the appointment for my visa which is also a period for me to decide whether to take the admission or not. I need to know the amount to know how far I need to provide side funding to support the accommodation/dorm. Do you have any idea about that scholarship? Anyway, I'm an older student too. Not that old but, I think you're right that it probably would have been easier if we were undergraduates to integrate with domestic students. I even don't have the chance to study basic Mandarin too, ewww... hahaha

@@RhamadinnaFatimah Good luck getting a timely response, especially since it's summer and there's probably no one there 😞 , although they are quite good about picking up the phone so you can try calling. For the scholarship, have you already been told what your scholarship is? If yes, the amount provided should be on the website, it outlines all the scholarships quite clearly. I was on the Chinese Govt Scholarship.

这次去银行还不错，不到三十分钟！

And they could even go out on a school night!

太快了，每天都有新东西

🤣Chinese cities are incredibly safe. Maybe scary walking alone if you're not paying attention to e-bikes and cars. But crime, especially violent crime, is so low that's it's not even a thought when walking alone.

我总是喜欢去哈尔滨 ❤️

@@NihaoAlex 為什麼有機會我帶你去

@@amanda2419 I thought you're from Harbin? Your characters are very hard for me to read 😂