It's September, and many campuses in China are filled with freshman students from different countries, hoping to learn Chinese and know more about this country.

According to the Ministry of Education, 240,000 foreign students studied in universities across China in 2009, a huge jump from 52,000 students in 2000. More foreign students are expected to come to China this year, and more will be enrolled as postgraduate students.

For newcomers, everything is fresh, exciting, and sometimes astonishing.

Speaking of their study plan, learning Chinese may be their first answer, but not the only one. Many are in one-year language courses and then go on to other degree programs in majors such as international trade, applied economics, logistics, …

Once registered, all the foreign students will have to take part in an interview on their Chinese skills, and then they will be classified into different levels ranging from elementary, middle, and advanced. If you want to get into a degree course, you will have to pass a proficiency test as well.

To better help foreign students cope with campus life, many universities hand out guidebooks at registration that include information on campus life, medical services, popular shopping places, banking, transportation, embassy information, and even a bilingual menu for Chinese dishes.

(China Daily September 9, 2010)