One of the most commonly discussed topics about BLCU is how to reserve a room. This may be one of the most crucial steps in enrolling yourself to BLCU simply because if you ran out of rooms, you will have to look for other places to stay, and you can only do this, once you get there. It's a lot better to know beforehand that you have a room to stay in Beijing once you arrive. It can also help you calculate the total cost of your dorm ahead of time.

The steps you are about to read are for Dorms under the Housing center. This does not include Dorm 17 and Conference center.

Dorm Reservation Fee
This is the initial amount you need to pay in order for a dorm room to be reserved to you. Here is a word file that the school sent me about the dorm reservation fees. It can serve as a guide for you.

Dorm 4 room rates for the September semester of 2011 are 4800 RMB for a large single room, 3600 RMB for SMALL single room and 2400 RMB for a double room.

There are 2 possible ways to reserve a dorm room in BLCU:

# 1 – Call a Friend
If you have a friend who is studying in BLCU a semester earlier than you, then I would definitely suggest that you ask the favor of dorm reservation. This does not only lower the hassle on your part, but it also reduces cost (from expensive long distance phone calls to the dormitory office). You just have to email your passport and acceptance letter to your friend and then coordinate the best way to send the money. You can send your payment through his / her bank account or atm. When he / she gets home, ask a copy of the receipt and bring it with you on the date of your travel.

# 2 – Reserve the room yourself

This was the only option my friend and I had. Although we had another friend in BLCU who was willing to reserve a room for us, we were unable to send our documents to her on time because of our visa interview.

Okay, so the first step here is to call the dormitory and ask if there are still available single / double rooms in your dorm of choice. Contact the Housing center at this number: + 86-10-8230-3300. Just for your information, most of them do not know how to speak English. So try to ask for someone who can at least understand English. Use the simplest words possible so you can understand each other. Do not forget to get the name of the person who answered. You're gonna need that name again when you confirm your payment.

You may encounter someone who will tell you that there are no more rooms left, do not panic! Try to call again after a few hours, someone else might answer and tell you that there are still a lot of rooms available. (Trust me, been through this!): D

Once you've confirmed that there are still rooms available, send your payment via telegraphic transfer. Ask your bank for telegraphic transfer charges. BLCU bank details that we used are as follows:

Intermediary Bank –
INTERMEDIARY BANK: CITIBANK, NA NEW YORK
SWIFT / BIC: CITIUS33
A / C NO. 36082562

Account with Institution –
HUA XIA BANKïŒHOHO SWIFT / BIC: HXBKCNBJ030

Beneficiary –
HUA XIA BANK, BANK DEPT
ROOM 311, BEIJING INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTER
NO.11 FINANCIAL ST., XICHENG, DIST., BEIJING
100034, CHINA SWIFT BIC: HXBKCNBJ030

Details of Payment –
A / C NO .: 0301123-8194127
BEIJING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE UNIVERSITY
15 XUEYUAN ROAD, HAIDIAN DISTRICT
BEIJING, CHINA

Details of Charges –
Dormitory Reservation Fee of -your name here-.

I find the telegraphic transfer really confusing. But that's how we sent our payment. Send your payment in US dollars too. Our first transaction bounced back because we sent our payment in RMB. You can send an email to zhusu@blcu.edu.cn just to confirm if it is correct.

So after sending your payment through telegraphic transfer, fax the receipt, your preference (single / double room, what floor you prefer), your passport and admission notice to BLCU Housing center: + 86-10-8230-3589. Then you can call them again to confirm if they have received the payment.

If you have any trouble understanding their English and vice versa, I suggest you look for someone who can speak to them in Mandarin. Try looking for a Chinese-owned travel agency near and ask for help. This was what I did when I could not comprehend what the person from the dorm was saying.

Finally, after several phone calls to the housing center, we were able to reserve a dorm! I hope I posted enough details and instructions to help you through your dorm reservation.