SJTU International Dorms: Tao Li Yuan
Studying at the Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and want to stay in the dorms? Then this is the blog post for you.
Booking
Rooms are gone IMMEDIATELY so be fast on your feet when booking on the website. The first room I wanted was 333 and that room became unavailable within seconds. Thankfully, I was able to get another single room, but a lot of people were not able to. When I say it goes quickly, I mean all rooms are gone within 5 minutes of the site opening.
Make sure to set up your account a few days ahead in case you run into issues the day of. Also, as you’re reserving your room, the site will ask you to agree to the terms and conditions. If you want a room, I’d recommend just accepting without even reading. You’ll find that there’s a lot of things in China that you have to agree to, but have no idea what those terms are.
Building Layout
Taoliyuan has 6 floors. I’d recommend trying to stay on Floors 3-4. I’ve heard of issues with bugs on Floors 1 and 2 and the elevator can take a long time for those that live on Floors 5-6. Everyone’s rooms seem to be slightly different, whether in layout or in amenities.
The first floor has a cafe that you can study in. There are minimal plugs to charge your laptop and there is a curfew at midnight, but it’s a great place to meet with friends and do work. You do have to be quiet though. If you want to play games or do group work, you’ll need to find another spot. Some people will go to the laundry room to play Catan or poker.
There’s a reading room on the 2nd floor where you can study and some general common spaces on each floor.
The first floor also has bathrooms that non-residents can use. Just ask the security guard to bypass the gate to be able to use them.
Single vs Double Rooms
Single rooms are exactly as they sound. You have your own bed and bathroom.
However, double rooms are two beds in the same space with a shared bathroom. Your beds are probably about a 2-3 feet apart depending on your room layout. You will not have any privacy from your roommate, so be prepared to share. It’s because of this that single rooms are high in demand.
Amenities also vary room to room. Some people have a TV, fridge, lamp, drawer lock, closet rack, etc. It really just depends, and there’s no rhyme or reason to which rooms have what.
One of my friends has a cute window reading nook in her single room, but I don’t. But at the same time, her AC doesn’t work and the dorm supposedly won’t let her fix her window that’s cracked open, so it’s very cold in the winter.
Another friend has a single room, but it’s much bigger than mine. However, she’s on central heating, so she technically pays more for her room up front and per month.
Two friends living together in a double room say their fridge has mold in it, so they don’t ever use it.
Really, everyone seems to have different stories about their rooms.
Getting Setup
The condition each room comes in varies greatly. Some people have very clean rooms, while others don’t. My room had soooooo much dust in it when I first arrived. I honestly almost had to go to the hospital because of how bad it was.
There’s an IKEA nearby that’s a short Didi drive away. Make sure to double check your mattress size (100cm*200cm), because you’ll need that for your sheets and comforters.
Some things that I purchased immediately on move-in day:
Pillow, comforter, bed sheets
Towels
Router - This is a must if you want Wi-Fi in your room. There will be a man and woman selling routers in the cafe downstairs the first week of classes. While the router is a little more expensive than if you purchased it on Taobao, they will also set it up for you. I honestly don’t get why the dorm management tosses the room routers every semester, rather than keeping it and resetting the password.
Toilet paper
Items I purchased on Taobao soon after:
Mattress topper
Blanket
Umbrella
Hangers
Vacuum
Trash bags
Air purifier
Sink and shower purifiers
Cleaning supplies
Slippers
Shampoo, conditioner, body wash
Electrical plug outlets - This helped a ton with all of my devices.
Curtains - The room comes with black out curtains, but I hated how dark and closed off the room felt, so I purchased some sheer curtains that I hung up instead. Honestly, kind of expensive for what they were, but worth every penny for me.
This is the address I used to ship things from Taobao:
Rm [xxx] 上海交通大学徐汇校区桃李
It means: Room [xxx] Tao Liyuan, Xuhui Campus, Shanghai Jiaotong University
The Cai Niao pickup location is behind the Starbucks near Gate 2. It’s open from 8:30 to 20:30 every day.
Facial Recognition
You’ll need to set up facial recognition to get through the gates of the dorm. There’s a QR code at the front desk in the lobby that you scan and upload your photo to.
Laundry
The laundry room is at the back of Taoliyuan. Unfortunately, you can’t use the back door of the Taoliyuan building to get there. You have to go through the main front door and then go around the building. Bookmark the Weixin mini-app for future reference because it will tell you when washers and dryers are available. This saves you a trip from going all the way to the laundry room, only to find out that they’re all taken.
You’ll scan the QR code, select your service, pay the money, and then click start on the screen. Make sure to remember to press the button on the machine screen to start your cycle. Otherwise, it will not start. If there’s an issue, you can ask for a refund through the app.
The washers typically say they take more time than they do, so I’d recommend getting to your clothes at least 5 minutes before the timer says it's done. The dryers don’t dry very well, so I’d recommend high temperature for 40-60 minutes. I personally only using the dryer for my sheets and towels and hang dry my clothes on a drying rack that I purchased on Taobao.
Hot Water
You’ll need to put money on your student card. Make sure you connect with your program coordinator to make sure you get your SJTU card the day you move in. Otherwise, you will not have hot water.
Once money is on the card, you then need to activate it at either the canteen or convenience store on campus. Every time you add money to the card, you have to reactivate it.
There’s a meter box in your bathroom that you can either place your card in or tap to activate the hot water for 10 minutes. I usually turn on my water, tap the card and then get in the shower. You can also tap the card again to turn off the hot water, so that you’re only charged for however many minutes you use. I found that the meter box is finicky, so sometimes I have to use a specific side of my card if I decide to place the card in the box. That’s why I always tap it. 10 minutes is 2 RMB.
Electricity
There’s a small slot right as you come into your room where you put a card that will activate your electricity. Most people put their room key, but I prefer to leave my driver’s license card in the slot so that if I leave my room, my air filter will still be running when I return.
To add money to your room for electricity, you’ll need to go into the SJTU app (Jiaowoban 交我办APP). However, you MUST have a Chinese bank card to be able to add money. Search for Dormitory Electricity Billing in the app, bind your room number if it isn’t automatically linked, and then add money.
If you don’t have a Chinese bank card:
Withdraw cash from a local ATM. Bank of China or CSBC both take international cards, but you may be charged fees by either the local bank and/or your home bank.
Go to the accounting service building located on campus. Here is the AMAP location: https://surl.amap.com/ickJRBm14hj. It’s open from Monday to Friday from 8:30-16:00. The staff only speak Chinese, so make sure to have your translator ready.
Ask to pay your electricity bill by cash. You’ll need to write your name, Chinese phone number, SJTU email, and room number at Taoliyuan on their form. Make sure to write it clearly, because they will ask you to rewrite it if they can’t read your handwriting.
The accounting service staff will verify your information and then add your deposit to your dorm electricity account.
Check before leaving that your account has been credited properly.
Also, sometimes there’s a leftover charge from the previous tenant. Talk to the front desk to see if you can get the charge waived. Otherwise, while unfair, you may have to pay their balance.
Monthly Safety Checks
Every month, staff inspect rooms for “dangerous" items. It’s essentially checking whether you’re breaking any of the rules. You’ll be notified ahead of time of the dates and times that they’ll check. Every once in a while, there are other checks, like maintenance or air conditioning cleaning. You’ll be notified through the WeChat group and they post the notice by the elevators.
Maintenance
If you have issues with your room, I’d suggest going to the front desk and talking to them. It’s usually faster than trying to submit a maintenance request through the app. For example, I couldn’t get my sink water filter on, so they were able to come and help me attach it.
Drinking Water
The same couple that sells routers also sells water to students.
Here were the rates from August 2024:
17升.19升大桶水有17的千岛贵族水，22的恒大，24元的哇哈哈26的雀巢，28的农夫山泉，饮水机有大的120元，小的80元，，〈空桶押金50元 〉，箱水有5L水1箱4桶装40元，1.5L水1箱12瓶装40元， 550mL水1箱24瓶装24元和36元.
I’d recommend getting a large 5L bottle and a dispenser from Taobao. When you finish the bottle, you can have them refill it for cheaper than the original bottle price and they’ll even pick up and drop off the bottle right outside your room door. But you do need to have a WeChat balance to be able to pay them, which means either you need a Chinese bank card or a friend who does and is willing to transfer you money.