Differences in dorms for Chinese and foreign students rattle netizens

me was how one foreign student mentioned that a cleaner comes into their room every day, while Chinese students need to clean up themselves. That’s news to me, to be honest, because none of the universities I’ve studied at provided cleaning services.

The video concluded with a plea to the Chinese government to “improve the living conditions” of Chinese students, banking heavily on this notion that somehow the rules for Chinese are super strict and unfair. Again, that’s not my experience and maybe just reflects the standards at the two universities featured in the video.

At Fudan University, for example, Chinese students are free to come and go as they please. But foreign students need to show identification each time they enter the international dorm area, and friends need to leave identification at the gate. One time two friends from New Zealand came to visit me and were not allowed in to see my room because they refused to leave their passports with the security guard.

I felt quite restricted there, to be honest (that wasn’t helped by the all-encompassing electric fences around our building), which is why after the first semester I found a place outside of campus.

I think the video probably touches on some salient issues, but the makers need to add a sharp dash of reality and think about the situation with more of an analytical mind.

Dorms for Chinese students, like this one in Chongqing, are usually designed for four, six or eight people with bunk beds, while foreign students are often housed in dorms for two (below), which are very similar to hotel rooms, like this one in...