Twenty years ago, it was hard to find different skin-colors of foreign students in Beijing's streets and lanes. But nowadays, they can be seen in any one of Beijing's institutions of higher learning. According to the Ministry of Education, the number of universities with more than 1,000 foreign students has reached 20, and that of foreign students in Beijing is expected to exceed 50,000 in 2005.

The specialties they choose have been enlarged from traditional Chinese and Chinese medicine to various branches of learning, such as science and technology, economics, law and finance, according to the overseas edition of People's Daily on November 7.

Kung Fu (martial art) lures them

Momba Xineitu, a foreign student from Congo, is studying in the Beihang University, formerly called Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics for a doctoral degree of circuitry. Today Momba Xineitu wishes to become an engineer working in a well-known airline corporation in China. However, his initial goal to study in China was Chinese kungfu.

Momba Xineitu is not only one of foreign students who want to learn kungfu here. Japanese student Kan Shinohara in the Computer Department of Tsinghua University is very fond of Jin Yong's martial art works. The student said, "The Eightfold Path of the Heavenly Dragon is my most favorable one. My father often buys TV plays adapted from Jin Yong's martial art works for me. And I also finding special liking in them. Every time I watch I will be full of heroic spirit."

Many of foreign students in China almost have the same experience - they are familiar or obsessed with the details of Chinese films, such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hero", "Kungfu", and "Myth". "I have no enough time to learn Chinese martial art, since the time is very pressing for me to study", Momba Xineitu said regrettably. "Nevertheless, it's no problem that I can have some practice, putting on a pose of "Chinese kungfu", he said smilingly.

Chinese language makes them have the future

Although learning no "Chinese kungfu", Momba Xineitu can speak Chinese fluently.

"In Congo, speaking Chinese is a symbol of wisdom, as it is deemed that it is hard to learn Chinese". In talking, he took out his pocket electronic dictionary. If encountering into some Chinese words that he is not familiar with, he will refer them to the dictionary that he brings with him.

Notwithstanding that most of foreigners think it is complicated to write Chinese characters, and it is even more difficult for beginners. The charm of Chinese civilization, especially the peculiar Chinese writing art as well as artistic works, including novels, poems and lyrics, couplets, prose and dramas, still attracts a large number of foreign students. With the sustainable and fast development of China's economy and the improvement of Chinese international status, there have been more co-operations between China and the international society in the areas of politics, economy and education. Speaking Chinese evidently denotes the better prospect for personal development.

"There are many Japanese companies in China. If I have a good command of Chinese with work experiences, it will be easier to hunt for a job", said Utsumi Manabu, a Japanese student, who learned Chinese in the Beijing Normal University for a year. Before coming to China for study, he had worked for 11 years in Japan. He is very confident that he can find a better job and starts his new life in China.

"Now, more and more foreign students come to our school for study. More than half of them are ready to stay here for development after graduation", said Qu Delin, the former president of the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU).

Environment allows them to stay for further study

Lee Joonsung, a student of Tsinghua University from South Korea, had been in a senior high school in the Northeast China for three years. After more than one year's work back at home in the Republic of Korea, he was enrolled into Tsinghua University.

"In the year before returning home, I visited Beijing and saw the university. At that time, I made up my mind that I would come here for study", said Lee. "I saw that many Chinese students went to class by bike. Their enthusiasm of study affected me and made me continue my study here".

"In comparison with universities in Japan, there are better study atmosphere here, which enables people to be reconciled to studying here". Kan Shinohara added, "Although the courses in Tsinghua University are very difficult for foreign students, which is a great challenge to me. The current hardship will provide me a good foundation for my future development".

These days, many universities in China have established special boarding houses for foreign students, offering them choices for single and double rooms. And the study environment here is gradually approaching international levels.

"The way of teaching will be specially made according to foreign students". An American student likes her Chinese teacher very much. She said, "They are worried about that we cannot understand them, so they talk in detail everything in class, and after class, they never forget me too and ask me patiently if there are any difficulties".

"Chinese classmates are very clever and they have good command of foreign languages, which will be able to improve my study enthusiasm and efficiency to study with them", said Kan Shinohara.

Humanity lets them forget to go home

The American student was formerly a volunteer teaching in Tsinghua University. A year later, she changed her own specialty and started to learn Chinese.

"The friendship, love and affection that Chinese possess lure me very much after a year of work. They pay high value on friendship and close connections, which are different from the American society. I like such interpersonal relations very much", said she. "There are friends that I like in China. I will not feel isolated living here".

Many foreign students have such strong feelings: Chinese schools are like big families - students regard teachers as "fathers", teachers' wives as "mothers", higher class students as "elder brothers" and lower class' ones as "younger brothers". All people live like a big family and study together. Chinese students treasure their friends in school time. They help and treat each other sincerely.

In June this year, before graduating from the Beijing Normal University, Chinese classmates of Kan Shinohara held a farewell party for him. A Chinese student, who cannot speak Japanese, recited words of advice in Japanese given at the farewell party. "There were no grammatical mistakes made with standard pronunciation in such a long talk. It is certain that the speech was made before hand, so I feel excited", said he repeatedly.

"I want to give a birth to a child in China", the American student said, "Living in the Chinese society with the sense of emotion and human kindness, my child will not feel isolated".

"I want to marry a Chinese wife", Kan Shinohara said seriously, "Such doing will make me feel more like living on the earth."

By People's Daily Online