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ETH Zurich - SEU Nanjing Exchange Resource page

This page is intended to be a resource for ETH employees and students taking up the SEU Nanjing exchange scholarship. If you have any corrections, tips or other feedback just send me an email.

SEU Nanjing

Southeast University Nanjing (SEU) is also known as Dongnan University or Dongnan Daxue. It was formerly known as the Nanjing Institute of Technology. There are two main campuses: the original one in the city, and a newer one south of the city in Jiangning near Lukou airport.

Visa

Nationals of most countries need a visa to enter China. Check with the Chinese embassy in Switzerland for details. There is a consular office in Zurich (Bellariastr. 20).

Travel

All flights leave from Lukou Airport (code NKG) about 40km south of the city. Internal airlines are safe and have in-flight service better than what is generally available in the USA. One way to book internal flights is using the online eLong booking service. E-tickets were not yet common as of 2007; most flights proceed via the use of blue paper slips about the same size as the IATA magnetic stripe cards. It is common for credit card payments to be authorized via fax and then the tickets are brought to your address by courier.

Language

Very few locals are fluent in English. If you are staying for a few weeks or more you need to learn at least a little bit of Mandarin before you go. Tangren offers courses and invididual tuition from native Mandarin speakers. The extra cost of private tuition (about CHF 70 per 90-minute session) is worth it.

Accommodation

The university owns the Liu Yuan Hotel, which it uses for conferences and visitors. The hotel is at the west gate of the city campus (38 Jin Xiang He Road).

Around the City Campus

Where to get some everyday items, in order of increasing walking distance from the campus:

  • Kiosk: west campus gate next to Liu Yuan hotel. It sells snacks and drinks, and is open long hours every day.
  • Student staff/cafeteria: south campus gate. By far the cheapest way to eat (about 5 yuan per meal), but you must use a smart card to pay. It is only open for lunch and dinner each day from about 11am and 5pm, and it is always crowded.
  • Stationery shop: 100m south of East campus gate. There are also two small supermarkets, plus a few small restaurants, hairdresser, etc. In one of the supermarkets you can also buy everyday items such as lamps, cups, etc.
  • Open-air painting market: road outside north side of campus (Beijing Donglu). Traditional Chinese paintings for a fraction of what you would pay in a normal shop.
  • Outdoor gear and bicycles: south-west corner outside campus.
  • "Howdy" small supermarket chain (similar to 7/Eleven): south-east corner outside campus, then head 100m east.
  • RT-Mart department store and supermarket: south-east corner outside campus, then head about 500m west. It is on the corner of a large north-south shopping street.
  • Nearest metro station: Zhujiang Road. Head west past the RT-Mart, then continue to Zhongshan Road (the largest road in the city). Turn left, i.e. head south along Zhongshan Road; the metro station entrance is about 400m from the corner. The metro system is very new, modern and efficient. In 2007 there was only one metro line, but new lines were being added which will provide much better coverage of the city.
  • Enormous computer shopping mall: head east past the Howdy supermarket, to Taiping Beilu, then turn right and head south. The mall is at the next large intersection about 1km away.
  • Nanjing 1912 - an new trendy area with upmarket restaurants, clubs, KFC, Starbuck's and Costa Coffee: continue going south down Taiping Beilu past the computer shopping mall for a further 500m.

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