Last year the number of international students in China exceeded 290,000, an uptick of 10.38 percent over 2010. In the country’s capital, Beijing, overseas students now total more than 40,000, representing 172 countries and regions.
　　Most of these international students had already studied Mandarin before setting out for China, many having started classes at their local Confucius Institutes, the Chinese equivalent of the French Government’s Alliance Fran?aise and the German Government’s Goethe Institute. But on the whole, it’s not until students set foot on Chinese territory that they fully merge themselves in Chinese culture, experience contemporary life in the country, get to know its people and their values firsthand – and live through a healthy dose of cultural shock. Most foreign students here nominate their time spent in China as “the quintessential experience of a lifetime.”
　　Those who graduate from Chinese universities with a command of the local launguage, the world’s most spoken tongue, are coveted by establishments in their countries involved in foreign relations, intercultural exchange or business with China. In their future positions these graduates serve as support
　　beams in the bridge of understanding and friendship between their home countries and China.