Experience Report
ANR: 994050
Name: J.S. Arts
E-mail: j.s.arts@tilburguniversity.edu
Exchange semester: fall semester
Academic year: 2014-2015
Host University: Sun-yat Sen University, lingnan (university) college
Country: Peoples republic of China
Admission, arrival, Housing
Arriving
Before arriving the Sun-yat Sen uUniversity arranged a buddy for me. He contacted me before the
summer and helped me with getting everything ready. He also picked me and Bram, the other UVT
exchange student, from the airport and brought us to our Hotel. We choose to stay in a hotel for the
first week and search for roommates and an apartment from there. This buddy helps you with every
question or problem you have in china and also gives you a simcard from the university.
The week before the semester starts the registration date begins. In these days you have to register
and do many checks for the university. They also give you a form which enables you to get a
temporary resident permit. Also is it important to have everything in cash or a Unionpay card,
Chinese bankcard, to pay all the fees. Also did they organise a tour and some meetings and parties so
every exchange student could socialise with each other and all the buddies.
Housing
The university does not offer to exchange students housing on the campus. You could think this is to
bad, because the Chinese on the campus live there insanely cheap. However, in these dormitories
they live with many on the same room and a whole floor shares the bathroom. So it is better that you
have to search for your own place. Also the location for an apartment is one of the best locations for
an apartment in Guangzhou and you can expect paying a maximum of just 2500RMB (don't go over
it) per month per person and you can live in an apartment where you would pay the same in euro's in
the Netherlands.
We choose to search for roommates and an apartment when we got to China. The reason for this is
that internet is not always reliable and because you do probably not speak or read chinese they will
rip you off. By doing so we got a beautiful 4 bedroom apartment with a view on the guangzhou
skyline and the pearl river. We found this by going to housing agencies. There are some things you
should take care of:
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get aircondition immediately in every bedroom and try to get a heater. There is standard no
heater in an apartment in Guangzhou. Temperatures do not go below 0 Celsius.
Gas, water, electricity and internet is not included in rent price
You also have to pay a management fee for the security and cleaning of the complex where
you live.
Location of university/city
the university is located in the Haizhu district in Guangzhou. In this district and not to far from the
university is the Canton tower and Canton Fair Halls. In Haizhu are small chinese restaurants and are
some bars. However, for nice western food and clubs you need to take a cab to the otherside of the
river. In the city you can find many clubs, bars, shopingmalls, small shops, cinema's and restaurants.
Everything is reachable by metro, cab or boat, very cheap. It is always crowded in this city since there
are 12.000.000 people living here. Distances on maps look smaller here then they really are, like in
Tilburg. Small roads are not always mentioned on the maps and big roads look small.
Guangzhou is located in the south of China, and lies at the end of the Pearl River delta. Just one hour
from the city you can find Hong Kong and Macau and also Shenzen is therefore close. Travelling to
other places in Asia is easy since Guangzhou Airport is a major hub in the world especially served by
China Southern.
Academics
At Sun-yat sen University many subjects are worth only 4ects and some are 6ECTS. This is because
these 4ECTS courses start later compared to Tilburg but end around the same time. I took one more
course than necessary because that one came available later in the semester due to a shift of the
timeschedule. I took in total 8 courses but I do not feel that I had to work that much more than in
Tilburg. This is because the level of English is poorer than of people attending and teaching at Tilburg
University and they adjusted the speed the course is teached according to it. You do have to attend
almost every class in China.
My course list:
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Human Resource Management, this teaches you about Human resource management and is
easy to take. The teacher explains what he wants and you only have to do a couple of
openbook exams and assignments.
Green Operations: This course introduces you into the field of green operating and shows
different green initiative. For this course you have to present and do some assignments
Creative Thinking: This course focuses on getting you to explore your creative mind and
teaches you how to manage and sparkle creativity with others.
Case studies in Corporate Finance: this course is really tough and expects of you that you
have plenty of knowledge already in Finance. It is an advanced Finance course. You have to
make a couple of assignments based around Chinese firms and in the end there is an exam.
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This course is also really intensive since it only last one month. One good thing is that the
teacher is from England and speaks excellent English.
Marketing in Mainland China: This courses teaches you, how marketing works in China,
which differs sometimes from Europe. It is given by a teacher who speaks excellent English
and to pass it you have to do some team assignments and a test.
China Business Study: This subject teaches you about everything economic or business
related to China. Every lecture is given by another teacher. For this course you have to hand
in 4 notes & comments and a big assignment in the end
Governance and Development in China: This subject teaches about the political field in China.
This subject is given only to Exchange students and discusses and explains some of the
Chinese policies.
Chinese Language: This course just teaches you your first words of Chinese and especially
teaches you how to respond to the situations you will encounter during your exchange. To
pass you need to present and make a test.
Social life
The university does not organise many events especially for exchange students. The Chinese students
are when you get to meet them more closely most of the time very open. However, there are some
students who do not want to talk with you because they do not want to talk English. We had with all
the bachelor exchange students a tight group and also our Chinese friends sometimes joined us in
activities. The activities were the same as in Tilburg and mainly were cinema, partying and eating. We
only used 2 times our kitchen to make dinner. At a Chinese restaurant it is just as cheap.
Travelling is really easy when you have a resident permit, without this you cannot travel outside
China. You can go to Hongkong, Macau and many other places in the world really easy and many visa
you can get at the local consulate of the country within the city.
Living Costs
When I was there I could only get the regular Dutch student grant. Tilburg University does not give
any grand for this university and you have to find them yourself. I do know there was a Chinese
Student grant you can apply to but you have to apply way before you know to which university you
can go.
The costs in China are the same for me as in Tilburg. you should not pay more than €400 for an
apartment per person. You can survive on food for just RMB100 (around €15) a week, however if
you go eating at western restaurants you pay Dutch prices or less. Also getting a taxi is can be cheap
if you drive on the meter and make sure they are not fooling you. The only place where you can
expect to pay more than in the Netherlands is at Clubs, but here the Chinese like to give you drinks
and you can save in this way money since they pay.
Books are extremely cheap, if you even need them, since you can get them at the print shop where
they just print your book and you pay RMB10 (+- €1,50)
Culture
Cultural differences between China are comprehensive. Chinese culture is drastically different with
the Dutch culture. However, in the big cities, like Guangzhou, you can find more western influences
and will it feel more like the Netherlands. However, if you did not grow up in Asia the cultural
differences will be big and you will experience a culture shock. China is a big independent
communistic country and they have sometimes a different view on topics than people in Europe
have.
I think I learned a lot during this exchange, also about china. One of the most valuable lessons is that
you can also look things from a different perspective instead of the common western view.
I would call Guangzhou a more Chinese city than Shanghai and Beijing. From Guangzhou you can
easily travel inside and outside China with your resident permit and foreign passport.
Personal Development
My own development in China is that I opened up my point of view. I learned there are multiple
different ways to look at a problem. I also learned how to survive and adapt in a different culture. I
created many new Chinese friends and also learned what I really do not like.
Tips for future students
I would recommend for students not that much but to be open and just experience. One important
thing where no one could give me any answer on is travelling outside of China. To be able to do so
you need to do the following things. When You arrive in Guangzhou and you registered yourself for
the semester at the university, you go to the visa center and change your X2 single entry visa into a
temporary resident permit. After you get this you can travel to hongkong and every other place.
When you only have a X2 visa you can not leave the country or you have to apply for a new one.
Picture:
Some of the exchange students and our Chinese friends