Yes. Security tends to be tight on campuses in China, with every gate guarded by security staff. Most crime tends to occur outside of the campus, especially on the public transportation systems (pickpocketing) and in the bars / clubs (pickpocketing / occasional fights).

 

 

The problem here is normally the documentation that the scholarship funds require (in English) from the universities. Usually the paperwork that they require cannot be provided. HYCC can assist with coordination (for an extra fee), however the universities will require that the tuition fee arrives before course commencement. We usually only recommend students applying to full-degree courses (which are more expensive) to consider obtaining a scholarship.

 

 

Some are extremely well-respected, among the best in the country. Examples are Harbin University of Technology, Jilin University and Dalian University of Technology. Other universities we have chosen because of their particular strength in teaching Chinese to foreign students. These include Heilongjiang University (in Harbin), Liaoning University (in Shenyang) and Dalian University of Foreign Languages. 

 

We have also selected a few “Normal” universities. What this refers to in China is that the universities specialize in graduating students to become teachers. There are normally more female students at these universities. While these universities are not particularly famous, the staff are usually very pro-active and the Chinese students are more interested in helping the foreign students (as a kind of training for them in their future careers).

 

 

Generally good to excellent. Larger universities will have their own sports centres including swimming pools, athletics tracks and large stadiums. Smaller ones may only have gymnasiums. Foreign students are able to use the facilities for a small fee. Chinese students are normally happy for the foreign students to participate. The most popular sports are football, basketball and tennis.

 

 

Each university will have a foreign students’ canteen, some are better than others. There are canteens for the Chinese students which foreign students can also use - these are cheaper and have more selection of food. There are also restaurants on larger campuses, and immediately outside the front gate there will be a long line of cheap restaurants catering to students. The Chinese do not have so much of a “bar” culture. In Dalian there are lots, due to the large foreign population living there. In other cities your choice will be limited. Usually there will be a few near to the campus which are reasonably cheap. Bars in the centre of towns are generally much more expensive and not popular for students.

 

 

Yes. In the poorer cities like Jiamusi and Changchun you will see a large difference between the levels of cleanliness on the campus and those outside of the campus perimeter. Levels of hygiene at some of the restaurants on campus are not as good as foreign students normally expect. If you are sensitive to this then we suggest you go to some of the many ethnic-Korean restaurants you will find around the cities in northeast China. Due to cultural reasons they are generally cleaner without being more expensive.

 

 

A mixture actually. Some of them are located very centrally, for instance Harbin University of Technology, Liaoning University and Dalian University of Foreign Languages. This has positive and negative aspects. While it can be more convenient to go to the city centre, costs of off-campus accommodation are higher and the surrounding environment is not so peaceful. Universities that are further away from the centre of town have good transportation links, more pleasant campuses and cheaper off-campus accommodation.

 

 

Yes you can, and some students do. However the universities are not efficient at coordinating with applicants, sending documents or answering questions. It is unusual for universities to be able to answer questions over the telephone in any language other than Chinese. Delays and mistakes occur frequently – students are left waiting and wondering what is the status of their application. Overall, they are much better at teaching than they are at administration. 

 

The HYCC service saves a lot of time and reduces the risk to applicants, while providing a lot of supplementary information.  Based on our experience, for the small additional cost we believe it is the best option for university applicants.

 

 

Not usually. The universities will have a separate building for teaching the foreign students and the dormitories are also separated. 

 

 

This is a question we are asked frequently by students that want to study a full-degree course in China and then take a masters degree back in their home country. The only answer we can give for this is “it depends”. Whether or not you are accepted onto a masters course is a decision made by the university in your home country. Each university has different criteria. We can say if you choose to study at a large, famous university in China like Harbin University of Technology then it should not be a problem. If you choose a smaller one like Shenyang Normal University then your home university may be more sceptical.

 

As for employers, in our experience they will want to see concrete evidence of your Chinese language ability like an HSK certificate rather than show a great interest in which university you studied at. Therefore it is more important what you learn rather than where you learnt it.