All students MUST submit their passport number at the time of application or very soon after. We cannot process the official invitation letter from China that you will need to process your visa until we have your passport number.

Student Visa

All students are required to obtain a student visa. The visa costs $80-150. We recommend students use a visa processing service such as www.visarite.com or www.mychinavisa.com.

Chinese Cell Phones

All students are provided with a Chinese cell phone upon arrival in Nanjing. The cell phones have pre-programmed numbers for faculty and staff. Students are given 100 yuan of airtime and students can add to this as needed. If you use your cell phone sparingly and mostly for text messaging, 100 yuan will be enough for the semester. These phones can receive international calls but cannot make calls outside China.

International Calls

For convenient and free long-distance calls, we recommend you have your family and friends install “Skype” on their computer before you go to China. This will allow you to speak to each other free through the internet. To download Skype, go to www.skype.com. Order the SkypeOut service to call regular phones for 2 cents per minute.

Computers

You will have access to a computer lab throughout your time in Nanjing. As you will also have internet access in your dorm room, we recommend you bring your laptop with you to China. This will also help if using Skype to call home.

Orientation

Students will arrive in Shanghai and have a three-day orientation to China. Students will then be transported via train or bus to Nanjing. In Nanjing, students will have some additional orientation activities to familiarize themselves with Nanjing and the local transportation system.

Transportation

In Nanjing, students usually use the subway and taxis. The subway is clean and very easy to use. It costs 2 yuan (25 cents) for each ride. The subway closes at 11:00 p.m. Taxis are also very inexpensive, convenient, and operate all night. Shanghai is only 2 hours by train and costs about 80 yuan ($10).