What’s the accommodation like in China?
Your accommodation in China will be clean and simple.
As all accommodations are different, it’s difficult to generalise about what yours will look like until during the application process when a school as made you an offer.
One thing is for sure – you will live in an apartment. Almost everyone in China's urban areas live in an apartment due to the country's enormous population.
Your apartment will have everything you need: a bed, table and chairs, TV, fridge, toasting oven or microwave, shower and washing machine. Larger apartments may have a sofa.
Most accommodations don’t have a full oven, so don’t expect to cook a Sunday roast! Food in China is cheap, so you’ll mostly eat out anyway. Similarly, you won’t have a dishwasher.
Apartments are usually one bedroom, but sometimes two bedrooms. In most cases you’ll live on your own.
When you arrive in China, one of the first things you should do is check that your apartment has everything you need. Our arrival checklist will help with this.
If you have any particular preferences about your living arrangements in China, let us know when you apply.
Things you may need to buy when you get to China
While your accommodation should have all the essential pieces of furniture you need, there are a few things you might need to get.
Consider buying:
- Clothes hangers
- An additional pillow
- Towels
- Cleaning products
- Garbage bags
- Western cutlery.
These items are very cheap to buy in China, except the pillow which you may need to pick up at a nearby Walmart.
You could also invest in a clothes drying rack, though most Chinese people hang their clothes on the balcony. There is often a rod built into the balcony for this purpose.