After Wuhan University of Technology postponed the start of the semester twice, I finally checked in on October 9. A summer break that lasted nearly four months was honestly something I had never experienced before, and it somehow made me look forward to school starting more than ever. After spending a few days here, I’ve got a rough first impression of the campus, so here are some thoughts.

Dorm Life

The first stop after registration was the dorm. It’s a four-person room with loft beds and desks underneath. The space in the middle is actually fairly roomy—though the trade-off is that the beds are less than 0.9 meters wide. The furniture and layout are definitely a bit... classic, but it’s not a big deal. It may look old, but at least it still works.

One less convenient part is that there’s no hot water in the dorm bathroom, so showers have to be taken at the bathhouse. Sometimes that means waiting in line. Of course, if you’re tough enough, taking a cold shower in the dorm is technically an option.

The soundproofing, though, is really not great. You can clearly hear noise from the rooms in front, behind, beside, and even above you.

The Campus

Yujiatou is the smallest and probably the most “classic” of Wuhan University of Technology’s three campuses. The moment I entered, I could feel that sense of age and history. A senior told me that a smaller campus has its advantages: getting to class and moving around is much quicker. After a few days here, I’d say that’s true.

A friend of mine at the Nanhu campus has already complained to me about how huge it is—easy to get lost, and not especially convenient for going to class or eating. So I guess everything has its pros and cons.

Here are a few quick photos I took around campus.

Main Building

East Auxiliary Building

Navigation Building

I haven’t had time to take pictures of many other places yet, so that’s all for now.

Food

Yujiatou campus has three canteens and quite a few small food shops. There are so many options that I still haven’t had time to try everything, and honestly it might take several weeks to get through them all.

My first impression of the canteens was simple: they’re ridiculously cheap. The price difference really made me realize how overpriced my high school cafeteria was. In terms of cost, the rough order seems to be: small shops > second floors of Canteens No. 1 and No. 2 > first floors of Canteens No. 1 and No. 2 > Canteen No. 3.

The meal in the photo below was lunch on the second floor of Canteen No. 2, and it only cost 11 yuan. Even more outrageous—in a good way—is Canteen No. 3, where breakfast for 1.5 yuan can fill you up, and lunch or dinner can be handled for 6.6 yuan. It’s genuinely economical. The other small shops on campus are pretty decent too. They mainly sell snacks and quick bites that students like, and the prices are about normal market price, which is fine.

Classes and Studying

So far, I’ve only had four classes. University life began with advanced mathematics—yes, my very first college class was advanced math.

The class schedule in university really is different. The day isn’t packed from morning to night, and you get time of your own to arrange studying or do other things. Of course, whether it will stay that way later is another question.

The classes themselves are longer, usually two or three periods in a row, but it’s still acceptable. After surviving the final year of high school, this doesn’t feel impossible. The classrooms are also huge; by my estimate, they can seat over a hundred people. General education courses are usually taught to several classes together, while major-related courses have fewer students.

There hasn’t been much homework assigned yet, but I expect there won’t be too little later on, especially since advanced math is definitely not easy. One big difference is that teachers no longer check homework the way they did before. Submitting it is mostly up to your own initiative, so self-discipline matters a lot more now.

Also, seats really have to be grabbed early. I arrived ten minutes before class and more than half the room was already full.

One thing I absolutely have to complain about is the bizarre scheduling. I have no idea who decided to put PE from 7:00 to 9:30 at night. That is honestly something else. Even the teacher said it was his first time ever teaching an evening PE class.

For Now

Overall, university life has been pretty good so far. It feels much freer, and there’s room to do what I want. But this is still just the beginning, and studying is still the main task, so I’ll have to keep working seriously. As for clubs and other activities, I haven’t really figured them out yet. Hopefully there will be something I’m interested in.