What to do if interested in studying in china – how to apply to university

There are a wide variety of reasons as to why someone might go to a new country to pursue their education, but when you do get to that point it’s important that you know exactly what the procedure is when applying in that country, especially that of China’s as it’s much different to others in the world.

Getting the right information can often be difficult when applying to university in China, as many people will find that many universities won’t have up to date information regarding their university, courses and procedures, especially that in the section for international students. So it’s a pretty good idea if you can’t speak Chinese to simply go with a good agent that provides study in China services, as they’ll be able to give you information and support on the Chinese education system, university application completion, documentation preparation, scholarship applications also including other services.

It’s probably best to start off by researching about the Chinese education system and find some sort of information regarding degrees that you’re interested in, and potential universities, degrees or areas that you’re interested to study in, it can really help.

You can do this by looking on university websites or company websites that help students study abroad, from here you can get a real feel from the education market in China and also what kind of services that these companies can offer, my advice is to go with one you can trust. Look at their content, look to see whether they’ll actually remember your name when you send them an email for example.

Once you’ve decided which university etc. you should really start to collect whatever educational documents you have in preparation for the application process. The majority of universities in China will charge around 100 to 150 USD for their application process, of which you need to pay whether you do it by yourself or through a company. This is completely un-refundable, so if you don’t get it right then you’re wasting that amount of money, so it’s often more beneficial to go with an experienced company that can significantly increase your chances of being selected.

The next stage after submitting the application is to wait, many of the universities here in China are pretty slow at replying due to the amount of applications that they receive, so again, some good advice is to go with a company that has connections within the universities, you’re more likely to be selected this way.

If you’re accepted, then you’ll likely be through to the next steps which will be to have contact with someone within the university, and from here you’ll be sent the JW202 forms or the equivalent, and you’ll be able to apply for the VISA (but make sure you apply for the right one!), if you’re successful with your VISA, then you can book your flights, and the university will likely send you a welcome back too.

For more information, please check www.studyinchina.hzlearning.com.  Or scan the following QR code for more information. 

How to apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship

1. Search the university and program

You can do this by heading over to the CSC website at  http://www.csc.edu.cn/Laihua/scholarshipdetailen.aspx?cid=97&id=1422 and you can search the university and the program that you’re interested to study.

It’s very simple and easy to do, and you can find a lot of helpful information from their database of 300 universities:

 2. Fill in application online and prepare documents

Application Online:

· CSC has an online application that you can complete

· First, create an account for the website at http://laihua.csc.edu.cn 

· Second, enter the ‘Agency Number’; code given to each university/embassy and can be found    via https://www.facebook.com/groups/CGSchina/ or simply by Googling the University’s agent    number

· It’s often better to leave the ‘optional information’ sections blank and concentrate on the      compulsory part.

· After you’ve completed it, save it in PDF and print a hard copy (make sure that the application       form has a serial number)

Preparation of Documents:

·These include compulsory documents and also optional documents

Compulsory include:

1. Academic Documents (Degree certificates, transcripts) – they should be notarized

2. Foreigner Physical examination form (blank form can be downloaded from http://en/csc.edu.cn/uploads/foreignphy.pdf)

3. Recommendation Letters x 2 (issued by different teachers, previous university’s professors)

4. Research/Study Plan (Research plan/proposal for PHD/MS) or Study Plan for BA/MS)) in less than 800 words.

·Research Plan/Proposal – Research background, future research field, research methodology,

expected results, applications and references.

·Study Plan – Student’s introduction, educational background, motives/aims for further higher

education, and brief future research intentions.

Optional include:

Acceptance Letter/Invitation Letter (IMPORTANT) – Sometimes considered compulsory by some universities. This is where a Chinese teacher accepts you into their research group at the university that you want to study. How to get the acceptance letter:

v Research the relevant professor’s email address, which can be difficult if you don’t speak Chinese, hence why many students go to agents to apply as they’ll already know the right people to contact in the university and they’ll also speak Chinese. You may need to phone the university’s international office which could take a long time and get the contact details for the teacher.

v You then need to find good research papers from the teacher that are relevant to your research field, and contact them stating your research interest, interest in studying at the university, interest in the teacher’s research, the urgency to study under him/her at the university, including the help from CGS.

1. Passport

2. English Proficiency Certificate – IELTS or TOEFL – or English certificate from university

3. Other optional:

4. Research papers, awards, certificates, work experience etc.

3. Additional University Application Processes

·University Fee – Universities may ask for a processing fee

·University online registration – Registration form on university website

4. Collect all documents and send to authorities

v Apply through your agent, university or embassy, send directly to the university

v Make sure to have your photo on the application form, all of the above documents, and check with the university regarding how many copies they want you to send.

Please Note: If you’re having any difficulties and want a better chance of acquiring the right documents (including the acceptance letter), get in contact with Hongzhou Learning as they have good contacts within many universities and can help you with this process.

 For more information, please check www.studyinchina.hzlearning.com.

Amazing Facts about China

China is an extremely fascinating country, from their food to their people, there’s never a point in China where you can say it’s boring, here are a few weird and wonderful facts that I found about China, and also some that I was told during my time here.

1. China holds the record for the world’s longest traffic jam (I lived in Beijing and can understand this), it happened in Shanghai and stretched over 62 miles and lasted 12 days, wow.

2. China is the 3^rd largest country by area

3. 47% of the population live in Urban areas

4. China is the second largest economy after the United States, but is forecasted to overtake the US if the growth rate carries on

5. The Great Wall is the largest man made structure in the world, stretching a wonderful 8,850 KM (5,500 miles)

6. Over 9 million people left Beijing during Spring Festival, or the aptly named people migration holiday

7. China uses more than 45 billion chopsticks per year

8. In China, nearly 35 million people still live in caves (cave houses – search ‘Yaodong’)

9. Almost a 3^rd of San Francisco’s air pollution comes from China

10. There’s a bridge between China and Macau where the cars switch from left to right-hand drive and vice versa!

11. A new skyscraper is built in China every 5 days

12. Company executives in China can get sentenced to death for committing fraud

13. All Pandas in the world are on loan from China

14. Fortune cookies are not a traditional Chinese custom; they were actually invented in San Francisco!

15. Trendy items can make people millionaires in China, as once it starts everyone will likely have it or do it, but as soon as it springs up it can quickly die back down

16. In 2015, a Chinese billionaire bought a 170 million USD painting with his credit card so he could use the points for free airfare

17. Delivery companies are becoming one of the main ways for people to get their food in China!

18. It’s a terrible idea to make someone lose face in China, you need to compliment them and give them credit

19. Kites were actually invented in China a mere 3,000 years ago

20. Lucky numbers in China include 8 and 9, 8 means good luck and 9 means longevity

21. Unlucky numbers in China include 4 especially (as its pronunciation is similar to that of death)

22. In China it’s highly likely that the ‘unlucky’ numbers around the world won’t be present in elevators, building floors etc.

For more information, please check our website www.studyinchina.hzlearning.com.

Apps that you should download for when you're in China

We thought we'd help you students/ workers out there and give you a handy list of apps that you need to download before you come to China, as it will make your life much much easier when you're here! The majority of apps you can download in China, but you're probably unlikely to be able to access the app store for a VPN! From food places to messaging apps, we're covering it all!

WeChat:

We couldn’t create this list without having WeChat (weixin) in it. You may be asking yourself what is this Wechat? But Wechat is the leading social media/messaging platform in China, with 11 billion registered accounts with the average number of users being 570 million a day! Now that shows how used this app is! You may not have heard of it now, but when you come to China it’s an absolute must!

As you may well know the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or even Gmail is forbidden in China, so the best way for you to contact your friends and family without having to download a VPN is through getting WeChat. Everyone you see walking around on their phones, they’re either watching a movie or talking to someone through WeChat.

So what actually is WeChat?

WeChat is predominantly an instant messaging app, similar to that of Whatsapp, but has a huge array of other functions included. First of which is the ‘WeChat Moments’ which is basically a news feeds of your friends, similar to that of Facebook, you can upload text, pictures of video to share with them. Another great feature of WeChat is the ability to talk to someone via a phone call or sending them a voice clip. WeChat also has a huge database of GIFS, emoticons and stickers that you have at your disposal, you’ll soon be swapping loads of them with your friends.

Another handy little feature on WeChat is that you can pretty much do everything from it; you want to transfer money to your friends? Done. You want to top-up your mobile phone? Done. Pay for Electric/water bill? Done. Want to be able to book a taxi, train or plane ticket, hotel room or find any local deals at restaurants? Done. WeChat is incredibly useful for a huge amount of reasons, and you can now see why it’s so popular in China, and is now spreading throughout the world. You can even share your exact location to your friends if you’re lost, or they’re trying to find you! Easy.

WeChat is incredibly easy to use, it’s extremely user friendly and can be set up with a huge variety of different languages. Also when you’re in China you’ll definitely notice QR codes everywhere, and we mean everywhere! And WeChat is one of the reasons to why there are so many. WeChat has a QR scanning feature, which when you scan the QR code on the advertisement for example, it will link you directly to the company’s official WeChat account or open up offers to you directly on your phone to use. It doesn’t stop here, it can also be used to scan your friend’s QR code, so there’s none of that trying to remember your or their username!

This app is a definite must if you’re coming to China, it’s easy to set up and use, free, and everyone has it. When you download it, give our QR at the bottom of the page a scan!

A VPN:

As you’re most probably aware, the majority of apps and websites that you’ll be using right now are blocked in China thanks to the Great Firewall of China. That means that without a VPN, you’re limited to a slim choice of apps and things to go on. You won’t be able to access Facebook, Twitter， Snapchat, Instagram, Gmail, or even search via Google etc. you’ll soon be very frustrated about this, so we recommend to download a VPN to help! It would be more ideal to download it in your home country, before you come to China, as quite often you can’t access ‘VPN’ searches online.

So what is a VPN?

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is basically an app or platform that bypasses the normal route the internet would take and goes via a different ‘server’ to create a secured connection that can't be traced. This means that you’re able to connect to the internet using for example the ‘UK’ private server, so the internet basically thinks that you’re in the UK, so you can therefore access websites that are only accessible from the UK. Quite a lot of people use VPN for the extra protection when doing online banking to prevent people from stealing their information. But in China it allows you to bypass the Great Firewall of China and you can access a server perhaps in your own country and it’ll let you access the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Google etc. without a problem.

There are a huge variety of VPN’s available, but they predominantly do the same thing. But we’d advise you to download the more popular and reviewed versions, and please check which ones are still working in China before you download by looking at the reviews, as quite often many VPNs, especially the free ones are being blocked by the government. Furthermore the free VPNs are quite good, but they don’t have the added protection and features than the paid versions do. A free VPN may limit the amount of data that you can download, or perhaps may have only one server to choose from. Which a paid VPN such as ‘ExpressVPN’ allows you to select the exact server you’d like to connect to, so if you’d like access to websites that only allow a connection from within the UK, you can select the UK server etc.

An example of a pretty good VPN would be ‘BetterNet’, it’s free and doesn’t have adverts, it also allows you to select which country you’d like to connect to, but it can sometimes have really slow downloads, so you’d have to wait quite a long time for a video to load for example.

We advise to download a few of the free ones and see whether you like the functionality of each one, and if there’s an option, go to the paid version for the extra features. This means you’ll be 100% happy when you come to China as you’ll know your VPN inside out.

Most VPN’s are very easy to set up, for example the ones via the app store, most of the time only require you to download the app and accept the app to configure some VPN settings within your phone, you can then open the app and simply click connect. The ones via the desktop or laptop may require something slightly longer, but not too much, you may have to download the programme onto your computer and then access it that way, but still, it’s still very simple to do, convenient, and you can access everything that you want, but remember to download it before you come to China!

UBER/DIDI:

The majority of us have used UBER, or at least know what it is, and in China it’s the same. However recently UBER’s Chinese business has been bought by DIDI, which is basically the Chinese version of UBER. UBER’s advantage in China was that it was foreigner friendly, and the fact that it was in English, so therefore they could use it here without a problem, but DIDI is only in Chinese, so unless you can speak/read Chinese you may find it difficult to use it. However as DIDI has recently bought the UBER business which was their biggest competition, then it’s highly likely that within the soon future, the app will release more ‘foreign friendly’ versions, perhaps in English.

These kind of apps are incredibly helpful for foreigners and anyone in general, especially when travelling late at night, as it can often be quite hard to get hold of a taxi at certain times. For now, UBER is still working in China, therefore it’s really easy for foreigners to book a taxi, simply do it as if you’re doing it in your home country. But when you’re setting up your card, make sure that it’s accepted by the company, or if you’re here for a longer duration, you may want to set up a Chinese bank account. We’ll have another guide soon regarding setting up bank accounts in China.

If you’re quite happy using DIDI, you may try this, It’ll be in Chinese and the driver is likely to phone you to ask where you are, but it’s very simple if you understand Chinese, but we’ll have another guide soon on how to use Chinese-only apps. But you’ll basically be able to set your location to exactly where you are, you’ll be able to set exactly where you want to go, and you can pay via your phone so there’s no walking for miles from the subway station or carrying lots of cash with you.

Explore Metro (ExploreBeijing, ExploreShanghai, ExploreHongKong, ExploreGuangzhou, ExploreShenzhen):

This app is considered one of the best apps for students and visitors who are new to China. Explore Metro is an incredibly user-friendly subway map of the whole city that you choose, it even has the new stations on the map for when they’re completed. You can select which subway stop you’re at, and which one you want to go to and it will give you detailed instructions on how to get there, including how many stops, the duration of time, the price of the journey, and also where and how to transfer lines if it’s required to do so. It’s extremely user friendly and easy to use, especially when you’re new to a city and don’t know how to get from A to B.

The app is free to download but offers an in-app purchase where it can then give you VIP, which means the maps can be used offline, you won’t be bombarded with advertisements, you’ll be given accurate pricing for each trip, and will also be given information on the first/last train times etc. This app is definitely one of our intern’s favorite apps for getting around Beijing.

This app is fantastic for when you’re new to a city, and it will save you a huge amount of time and effort as you’ll know exactly where you need to go and how. And before you know it, you’ll be travelling on the subway like a local.

QQ, also QQ International；

QQ is another one of those apps that everyone in China uses, it’s fairly similar to that of WeChat, however this one is use predominantly as an instant messenger/email app/platform. This app is really useful as it’s quick and it allows people to send large documents to their friends, which perhaps through other emails may be too large. Also in China is essential for sending extra large documents as unfortunately we can’t access drop box here. The apps great especially if you don’t have a VPN and use emailing websites such as GMAIL, as again, because of the firewall it doesn’t work.

However, one thing that you need to note about this app is that the original ‘QQ’ is in Chinese only, and if you can’t read or write Chinese you may find it a little difficult to set the app up, so we recommend downloading and setting up the ‘QQ International’ app, which is basically the English version. And it’s incredible easy to set up, just a few details such as name, date of birth, other email, and that’s your account done! You’ll just need to be able to remember your many digit account/email number as you can then give it to others when you need something sending to you.

有道词典(youdaocidian) youdao Dictionary

We all know what it’s like when we’re travelling somewhere in a country where we don’t speak the language, and you’re trying your best in sign language and pointing to get the thing that you want, but in China you don’t have to struggle. There is a Chinese app called youdao electric dictionary, and the majority of Chinese will use it when speaking English, and will quickly search for the word they’re looking for. It’s basically an electronic dictionary, that translates from Chinese to English and English to Chinese, and one of the best things about this app is that it can be used offline.

Not only is it a dictionary, but it can also be used to translate whole sentences and phrases, which is incredible useful for if you’re lost, or you’re trying to order food, or even if you’re learning some Chinese, the translation in this app is really accurate.

Ordering online food:

As you’ll find out in China, there is food everywhere you can see, and this also includes the ways in which you can get it. A huge part of business in China, especially the larger cities include companies distributing restaurant food to people who have ordered their food online. Similar to the newly started Deliveroo in the UK, but these companies are everywhere in China, and are extremely popular. People get their food delivered to their offices, to their homes, to the exits of subways, it’s extremely convenient and useful, whether you’re local or Chinese.

The range of food available is incredible, some of the best options for you would be apps called 饿了吗 (elema) or 美团(Meituan). You can simply download the apps, input various factors such as your address, and a tip for foreigners would to write a note along the lines of ‘My Chinese is poor, please deliver straight to door’ and they won’t have any problems with this. You’ll order your food, and it will arrive at your door within 20-30 minutes, it’s extremely fast, and you have plenty of options available, in terms of restaurants to choose from, and also payment method. But if you want to pay online, you must make sure that you have a Chinese bank account or at least a card that is accepted in China such as VISA.

The person who is your delivery driver (if you don’t write a note saying your Chinese is not good) they'll likely call you to confirm that they’re maybe outside, or they’re on their way. But not to worry, they often deliver to foreigners as foreigners really do like this way of having their food delivered as it’s nice and convenient, and can be done quickly from their phone.

One extra thing about these apps is that you may have to pay a little extra for the service fee, but it’s not going to break your bank. You’ll soon have your food delivered straight to your door every time without any problems or worries.

For more information, please check www.studyinchina.hzlearning.com.

Or scan the following QR code via wechat

The Weather in China

Everyone is always asking me what the weather’s really like here in China, and especially in Beijing. As around the world China is known for its smoggy weather and people want to know how bad it is!

As China is such a big place there are said to be 5 different temperature zones:

1. The Cold-Temperate Zone

Province(s): The north part of Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia (the top top part of China)

Cities: Harbin City for example

2. Mid-Temperate Zone

Province(s): The rest of Heilongjiang, Liaoning Province, Northern Xinjiang

Cities: Beijing, Shenyang, Dalian, Urumqi, Lanzhou etc.

3. Warm-Temperate Zone – the middle section of China

Province(s): Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi

Cities: Xi’an, Taiyuan, Qingdao, Zhengzhou etc.

4. Subtropical Zone

Cities: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Guilin, Suzhou, Chengdu, Kunming etc.

5. Tropical Zone

Province(s): Hainan, South Taiwan, Guangdong

Cities: Sanya, Haikou etc.

(Note that the general temperature gets warmer as you go down the list)

As I lived in Beijing for over a year, I noticed some really cool but also strange things about the weather here, that may or may not settle any unanswered questions you may have about the weather here:

· When it rains, it really rains, and I mean a lot. It’s full of thunderstorms lightning etc. But I noticed that the majority of the full on rain happens majority of the time at night, and by the morning the ground is pretty much dry, strange.

· When it’s cold, it’s really cold. I had to buy a coat for the first time ever in my life from living in Beijing during the cold winter days, the wind, the air, the snow, terrifyingly cold! And I made the stupid mistake of going to the great wall on one of these days…

· When it’s hot, it’s hot all day, even in the evenings.

· The hottest temperature I faced in Beijing was 35C, just imagine that with no air con inside

· There isn’t a gradual change from summer to autumn to winter, it just sort of happens with a quickly changing shortening of the day light.

· The main rainy season is seen in July and August

· The warmest month is August

· The coldest month is January

· It can be humid often, which gets a lot worse the further south you go

· It might be raining when you get on the subway and two stops later it’s completely dry and blue skies, that’s how big Beijing is!

· Most of the snow starts in December to February

· People carry umbrellas even if it’s raining or if it’s slightly sunny. So if you’re tall, watch out for your face.

· The smog doesn’t really disrupt you at all, if you’re conscious of breathing the particles in, simply wear a mask, maybe 70% of people will wear a mask when the smog is very full on i.e. more than 200 AQI. But it’s likely to be clear again when a warm or cold weather front comes to the area, and even if the smog is only slightly there, maybe only 10% of people you see will actually wear a mask, it’s majorly women with kids (understandable), the very health conscious, and also foreigners. It’s probably better for you to wear a mask in anything more than 175AQI as this is the range of which it’s not good for people with asthma etc. But quite often you don’t even notice it, quite a lot of times however, when it was hot, and the skies were blue and clear, you could still taste the smog in the air, nice! But even when the smog is bad, it only ever happens a few times.

· When the weather’s nice, it’s the best weather you could ever hope for, it’s a good temperature the skies are blue and clear, it makes perfect sightseeing and travelling weather, and to be honest, it’s like this most of the time, but there are just a few occasions of which the skies are full of dense smog, or thunderstorms. But you soon get used to the smog, it’s a bit daunting at first, but you’ll hardly ever notice it as it’s not there every day.

For more information about China, please visit us via www.studyinchina.hzlearning.com or www.hzlearning.com

Here is also a very good platform called Overseas Students Union, please scan the following QR code via your wechat.