From August 29 to 30, 2018, the Yanqihu campus of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences welcomed international students of Class 2018. 480 students from 57 countries including Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kenya and Rwanda were enrolled, including 249 doctoral students, 218 master students and 13 advanced students. They will study at Yanqihu campus for one semester or one year, after which they will return to graduate school for research and practice.
UCAS welcomes you
On August 30, the early drizzle did not bring much inconvenience to new students and staff, but the campus in the rain adds a bit more romance for the arrival of new students. By 9 a.m., the square in eastern district was filled with students and parents. They are filled with happiness for the future study life.
In the crowd, a different set of faces caught our attention, and international freshmen from eight colleges and 70 institutes followed the crowd to the registration square. From these students’ curious and sincere look in the eyes, we are inspired to investigate their stories in China.
Cross thousands of miles just to meet you
At the apartment downstairs of international college, reporters met a pair of international students. They are from the Republic of Macedonia and the Kingdom of Cambodia respectively and are about to study medicine chemistry and botany. On why they chose to study at UCAS, a student from Cambodia said that he enjoys a high reputation for its rich scientific research resources. Poor language communication brings some difficulties to the new life，but it is desirable to meet for science.
International academy was established in 2013 to make advantages of science and education resources of UCAS, to accelerate international development, to create a diversified international academic atmosphere, and to promote the development of education for foreign students. Every year, many overseas students study at UCAS. They come from different countries with culture diversity, but they can acquire the warm feeling in UCAS. At the foot of the Great Wall, next to Yanqi Lake, at the temple of science, it is believed they can harvest a different life here.
Gatherin China
In the crowd of registration, Rahimi and his friends were particularly conspicuous. They came from Iran to pursue their PhD in zoology at UCAS. As a country along the “One Belt And One Road”, Iran has established a profound friendship with China, and the academic exchanges between the two countries are also frequent. Rahimi told us the reason why he chose UCAS: “China and Iran have a good relationship and people in Iran know China and know this university. I traveled to China four years ago and China left me a very good impression. Many people, including my professor, recommended me to come here, so I applied to study here.” UCAS has officially enrolled international students since 2004. Its internationalized school-running model and constant foreign exchanges have attracted more and more international students to come to this university for further study. International students have a deeper understanding of their majors, in the meantime, they also learn Chinese to have a better understanding of Chinese culture and to have easier communication with Chinese students.
When Rahimi was asked for the first impression of the university, he smiled and said, “the campus is so beautiful, and the infrastructure is complete.” As the main campus of UCAS, Yanqihu campus took ten years to complete its construction, with big green area, beautiful scenery and complete infrastructure to satisfy students’ needs in both life and study.
Rahimi and one of his friends hope that they could see pandas in China since they have only seen them on pictures. We believe the four years learning and living experience must leave them deep impressions of China and they will never regret for coming to China.
Look forward to China
Magnus came from Norway and it was his first time to come to china with full of curiosity and longing for this Oriental country. He has a Chinese classic bamboo hat, which could be easily recognized. He loves it so much that he put on it every day even today for registration, which makes other people laugh out. He showed great gratitude to a Danish friend for recommending him this university. He claimed that the application process did not go smoothly though, the unique Oriental culture and the unique natural scenery here make everything worthwhile. The stunning Yanqihu campus is a surprise to him. He likes the overall architecture style, perfect infrastructure and the attractive green campus at the foot of the Great Wall.
Magnus is also a travel talent. He praised the Great Wall and the scenery of China, and he also yearned for Sichuan and pandas there. He is also familiar with the geographical signs of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. He hoped that he could travel to more scenic spots with Chinese characteristics, know more about China and feel the charm of China.
Magnus’s homeland Norway is a fertile country with many fjords, which represent an unembellished rugged beauty. While in China, such a landscape as in paintings, the East Asian scenery and classical humanities will never make his time for studying in the next year seem lonely.
With different eyes and different stories they gathered beside Yanqi Lake from all over the world. An international, open, comprehensive and forward-looking UCAS attracted them here. And these young exotic faces, with different languages are becoming a new landscape of UCAS.
By WANG Mingchao
