📘 Part of our complete guide to student exchange in China

✓ Built from official NJU sources · Last checked: September 2026 · See sources

At a glance

Nanjing University runs its exchange programme through the Section of Student Exchanges in the Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges. Where you study depends on your track: Chinese language classes are at the historic Gulou campus in the city centre, while most subject courses are at the large Xianlin campus in the eastern suburbs.

Before you arrive

NJU only accepts students nominated by a partner university; applicants with Chinese nationality cannot apply as exchange students. The deadlines below recur every year but are not printed with a year on NJU’s pages.

1. Nomination — your coordinator nominates you in the NJU nomination system.
2. Online application — on the International Student Service System (istudy.nju.edu.cn), with an English transcript, passport page, digital photo, language certificate if needed and the accommodation application form.
3. Acceptance — letters are emailed in late June (autumn) and late December (spring), followed by the admission letter and JW202 form.
4. Visa — X2 for stays of 180 days or less, X1 for longer. See Before You Go.
5. Insurance — compulsory, ¥400 per semester or ¥800 per year, bought at registration.
6. Arrival — register in person at the Institute for International Students (Gulou) at the end of August or end of February. There is no airport pick-up.

Intake	Nomination deadline	Online registration window
Autumn semester	30 April	1 March – 30 June
Spring semester (e.g. Spring 2027)	30 October	25 September – 31 December

Dates from NJU’s exchange and admissions pages, which do not state a year — confirm with your home coordinator. Source ↗

Which campus?

NJU decides which campus you are housed on based on your programme. Language students are usually based at Gulou; subject-course students at Xianlin.

Accommodation

• Xianlin Dorm 21: ¥3,000 per semester for a double and ¥6,000 for a single, plus a ¥600 deposit and a bedding pack of about ¥380. Source ↗
• Gulou: Xiyuan International Student Apartment and Pingcang Lane buildings — doubles about ¥52 and singles about ¥67 per bed per day (2022 rates).
• In the room: bed, desk, bookshelf, air-conditioning and wired internet. Electricity and water at Xianlin are extra; laundry costs ¥3–5 a wash.
• How to apply: submit the accommodation form through istudy.nju.edu.cn with your application. You cannot choose a building, change rooms or cancel after the deadline, and on-campus housing is not guaranteed.
• Off campus: allowed; register at the local police station within 24 hours and report to International Students’ Service within 5 days. NJU quotes about ¥2,500 a month for a flat near campus.

NJU posted a Fall 2026 dorm-booking notice in June 2026, but the latest readable rate list is from 2022 — confirm current prices with stuex@nju.edu.cn.

Academics

• Course list: NJU publishes an “Internationalized Courses” list every semester (the Fall 2026 list was posted in July 2026).
• Registration: online at xk.nju.edu.cn with your student ID. Chinese language students take an online placement test first.
• Credits: 1 NJU credit = 16 hours of study; take at least three courses per semester. 60/100 is a pass.
• Add/drop: only in the first two weeks of the semester.
• Attendance: missing more than a third of classes means no completion certificate.
• Transcript: posted by the exchange office to your home coordinator.

Campus survival

Arrival

From the airport

• Nanjing Lukou (NKG) → Xianlin: Metro S1 to Nanjing South, Line 1 to Xinjiekou, then Line 2 to NJU Xianlin Campus. A taxi is about ¥150–200.
• Nanjing Lukou (NKG) → Gulou: Metro S1 to Nanjing South, then Line 1 to Gulou (Exit 2).

From the train station

• Nanjing South — Line 1 to Xinjiekou, then Line 2 to Xianlin; or Line 1 direct to Gulou.
• Nanjing Railway Station — Line 1 to Xinjiekou then Line 2 (Xianlin), or Line 1 to Gulou. A taxi to Xianlin is about ¥50.

First-days checklist

1. Register in the ground-floor lobby of the Zeng Xianzi Building (Institute for International Students), 18 Jinyin Street, Gulou.
2. Bring your admission letter, JW202, passport, several 2-inch photos and RMB cash — campus desks do not take credit cards.
3. Get your student number, buy insurance (¥400 per semester) and collect your campus card.
4. Take the Chinese placement test if you are on the language track, then check in to your dorm.
5. X2 holders: police registration within 24 hours. X1 holders: residence permit within 30 days at the Nanjing Exit-Entry office.
6. Set up the NJU app and single sign-on account.

Around campus

• Xianlin: campus canteens, cafés and the malls of Xianlin university town on Metro 2.
• Gulou: Shanghai Road and Hunan Road for cafés and cheap food; Xuanwu Lake is a short walk away.
• Money: there is an ICBC 24-hour ATM opposite the Hankou Road gate.
• Health: campus hospitals on both campuses; ambulance 120.

For the whole-city picture — food, neighbourhoods and weekend trips — use the Nanjing guide rather than this page.

Official sources

• NJU Student Exchange – application procedure ↗
• NJU Admissions – exchange students ↗
• NJU Student Exchange – housing ↗
• Internationalized Courses, Fall 2026 ↗
• Course selection ↗
• Getting to campus ↗
• New student enrollment ↗

Last checked: September 2026. Deadlines, dorm fees, semester dates and office contacts change every intake. Where a detail differs by faculty or partner agreement it is marked Programme-dependent — your nomination email and the exchange office always override this page.

Spotted something outdated or wrong? Tell us and we will check and update it.

Photos: 猫猫的日记本 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · xiquinhosilva / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)