Briefly describe China.

We noticed that many of Thai Students have wrong impressions about China. In reality, China now is a lot different from the old China thirty years ago.

Regarding history and culture, China has 5,000 years of civilization wherein Chinese civilization is the only one that keeps on improving in the world. There are many natural and cultural heritages as well as historical sites in China. Modern China also attracts the world because of its cultural and architectural buildings such as the Bird’s nest, Water cube, etc that was used during the 2008 World Olympics held in Beijing.

When it comes to the economic situation, China has the world’s fastest growing economy from the past 30 years. Even during the financial crisis, China’s economic growth maintained a level of 8% which other countries could not achieve. In 2009, China’s GDP is expected to surpass Japan as the world second largest economy after United States. China has already surpassed Germany as the world’s largest trading exporter. The world’s top 500 companies all do businesses in China, even building their Asia-Pacific headquarters in China’s cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. If it’s your first trip to China, perhaps you would feel like you’re in New York while you are in Shanghai, would think that you’re in Europe while you are in Dalian. In Beijing, you will still be able to feel the 3000 years of history in this beautiful modern city. However, China’s GDP per capita is relatively low. There is uneven regional development. Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other coastal areas in eastern and south-east are close to the level of mid-sized European countries; while Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Xinjiang, Tibet and some in the western and central regions are still relatively poor. However, Sichuan, Chongqing, Wuhan, Changsha, Xi'an and other cities are being developed rapidly. With regards to the transportation, China's major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Hangzhou are facing heavy traffic pressure just like any big city in the world. However, China's highway has already balanced with United States, ranking first in the world. There is always a highway that connects any two cities together; China’s air transportation also developed rapidly. In 2008, China’s airport handling capacity ranked first in the world. The readers of a British travel magazine "Conde Nast Traveller" selected Beijing Capital International Airport as top one of the world's top ten airports; The standard of high-speed railway in China is also leading in the world, in a maximum speed of over 300 km/h, In fact countries like Russia began to use China’s high-speed railway technology.

The Chinese Government has always attached importance to environmental management. Even though we can not control environmental degradation from countries like Mongolia that has a great impact to China, China has continued to promote the use of clean energy, pollution control, emissions and etc. Beijing, for example, has continued for three years without sand and dust weather, the water became clearer, the sky became bluer. The people, especially those living in big cities, also paid great attention to environmental sanitation. Tourist attractions are very clean and tidy. Maybe you’ve heard about an African player did not participate in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games because he dislikes the environmental pollution in Beijing. He then admitted that he was wrong and regretted this for his whole life.

Regarding Science and technology as well as education, Secondary education in China has been enjoying a world-class reputation. Students work very hard, North America and European universities are very welcome to Chinese students. China's higher education and scientific research level has also made great progress in some areas such as: Aerospace Science and Technology, China is one of the world's few countries capable of launching large-scale carrier rockets. It is the third country able to explore space which follows after United States and Russia; Communications and information technology is also excellent. Intel, Microsoft, IBM and other companies also built their Asia-Pacific headquarters in China; Others such as biological and agricultural technology, medical technology in China also in the ranks of world-class.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games offered the world with "Culture-enriched Olympics, High-tech Olympics, Green Olympics" commitment. And now, we promise you: Studying in China will lead to a successful life. It is time for you to study in China, "To Study in China is to invest in your future!”.

Is it hard to study Chinese? I’ve been learning Chinese in Thailand but I find it difficult to improve. Why is that?

Most people think that their mother language is easy and other languages are difficult. In reality, from the linguistic point of view, Chinese is one of the world's most mature languages, the grammar is simple, and pronunciation is also not difficult. Some people believe that Chinese is hard, but it’s for sure that if you mastered 3,000 Chinese characters, then your Chinese level is high, you can already read newspapers and write articles to express your thoughts.

We must admit that the result of learning Chinese in Thailand is not as good if you actually study it in China, studying any other foreign language face the same truth. We knew that schools and teaching methods in Thailand need to improve. Learning the Chinese language does not equal to learning how to make dumplings, practicing martial arts, painting Chinese painting, calligraphy, practicing tongue twisters, though these are also part of Chinese culture. Learning a language needs to have a goal and only China can give you that type of Chinese environment, provide you with excellent teachers, and can help Thai students learn Chinese.

A Thai student with personal experience tells us that the effect of a one month summer study in China summer in China is better than a year of study in Thailand. While there may be an exaggeration, studying Chinese in Thailand and in China, the result is very different.

How many universities are there in China? How’s their standing in the world? Are they open to foreign students?

Perhaps you do not know that China has about 2000 universities, the size of China's higher education is the world's number one, and the number of university students are more than the students in United States, each year there are about 20 million students enrolled in school.

China not only has Peking University and Tsinghua University, there are also many excellent universities such as Tianjin University which has a history earlier than Peking University and also the first government-funded university. In the latest world university rankings, there are about 30 universities that got into the top 500, wherein Peking University and Tsinghua University is among the top 50 of the column.

In order to ensure the students of the best education in China, Chinese Ministry of Education has a strict qualification examination for students to enroll in institutions. There are about 500 universities have such qualification. The use of CHIWEST is qualified, and also is partnered to China's top universities.

China welcomes international students, it also welcome students from Thailand. Chinese Ministry of Education formulated the "China Study Plan", hoping that by the year 2020, when there are 500,000 foreign students studying in China, so China, like the United States, will become the most popular study destination for international students.

How’s China's higher education system?

China's higher education system and universities mainly influenced by the United States and the Soviet Union. Embodied in :

• Type of Institution:Research universities, general universities.
• University Name: Usually derived from the city’s name or location such as Shandong University, Wuhan University, Xiamen University, Donghua University etc; Few from famous person such as Sun Yat-sen University. However, due to Russia's influence, many universities’ name reflects the university’s disciplines and areas of expertise, for example: University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Geosciences, Petroleum University, Ocean University, Jiaotong University, Language and Culture University, Normal University of Posts and Telecommunications etc. University. Almost all comprehensive universities, despite the advantages of their own disciplines, are often far beyond the name of covered area of expertise, such as the Peking University of Aeronautics and Astronautics University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , China Petroleum University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing Normal University, South China Normal University, South China University of Technology and so on.
• The university management: China's universities are generally public, only public university awards degrees. Aside from the universities directly under the Ministry of Education, almost other universities are under the provincial. The better universities are public university, and this compare to Thailand is not the same. About 10 years ago, there are many universities are under the Chinese central government's management of certain ministries like many medical universities , but has now been incorporated into the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, and merged into other comprehensive universities.
• Chinese universities quality assurance system: Because almost all universities in China are public, the Chinese government attaches great importance to control the quality of the University. Quality control are mainly: first, the colleges have established a grant to any professional or a degree, must be reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education; Second, China's Ministry of Education set up a "Quality of Undergraduate Education Assessment Committee", gives the University of mandatory assessment on a regular basis; Third, professional associations check on the various disciplines of university development and research discipline on a regular basis; Fourth, non-governmental organizations and the media creates the annual ranking of universities.

How is the system of education in China? Term arrangements?

Like most countries in the world, China's university education is as follows:

• Associate degree: 2-3years
• Bachelor Degree: 4-6 years (Medical Course 5 years plus one year internship)
• Master’s Degree: 2-3 years
• PHD: 3 years

The only difference from Thailand is that Chinese universities are divided into two semesters each year. Chinese universities generally start the school year during fall, which is quite similar to European universities, but unlike North America or Australia's universities. A small number of universities have enrollments during spring. If it’s an advanced degree, students generally only have one opportunity to enroll in a year.

• Fall Semester: Mid-September – January or Early February(few schools for international students deferred to open till the end of September or mid-October, such as MBBS or English-medium engineering degree)
• Spring Semester: February or Early March — Mid July

Is China's education recognized by other countries? Which courses are better?

China’s Universities extensively establish cooperation with North America, Europe, Australia, Russia, Japan and other countries’ universities and research institutions.

Chinese university graduates are welcomed in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia and other countries by leading universities. Each year, there are about 20 million Chinese students going to these countries’ universities to study, and their education in China is recognized.

As of April 2009, the Chinese government has signed the agreement or mutual recognition of academic qualifications with the world's 65 countries and regions including Thailand.

China's higher education has a good reputation. China's manufacturing and other industries has a strong international competitiveness, China's university graduates are welcomed by the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and other European universities. In overseas, Chinese graduates in a wide range worked in Silicon Valley, Wall Street, the famous university and first-class laboratory.

Aside from learning Chinese language, traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, history, philosophy, sports, and Chinese folk arts (music, dance, painting, etc.) welcomed by students, China’s art courses (including machinery, irrigation, manufacturing, electrical, electronics, communications, computer, software, information technology, aerospace, building construction, civil engineering, chemical engineering, mining engineering, petroleum engineering, geology, marine, environmental engineering, etc.), science courses (including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology), medicine courses (including clinical, surgical, imaging, nuclear medicine, medical engineering), economic courses (including trade, economics, management), MBA, as well as finance and other areas have very good quality.

How many Thai students are there in China? What courses do they usually take?

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education statistics, a total of more than 8000 Thai students studying in China by the year 2008. Aside from learning Chinese, they also take management, business, trade, computers, communication, design, medicine, and tourism and hotel management courses. Some students prefer learning it in Chinese while some students choose to attend international courses taught in English (International Program).

Since 2000, more and more Thai students come to China to study.

Can one still study in China with or without HSK certificate?

HSK is necessary to enter a university in China; it is also an important requirement in applying for Chinese Government Scholarship. HSK is "Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi" (Chinese Language Proficiency Test). For more information about HSK, please see: http://www.hsk.org.cn

We have found out that many Thai students think that without HSK, one can’t apply to study in China. We must tell you that with or without HSK certificate, one can apply to study in China.

If you are applying to study Chinese language, you don’t need to provide HSK certificate. Many universities have opened Chinese language courses at different levels, students can choose according to their own level. If you are unclear about your own Chinese level, during school enrollment, you will be provided an examination in order to determine what level to learn is appropriate for.

If you apply for an advanced degree, there must be at least 3 or above HSK level, business, arts and social sciences, the professional requires HSK 5 level and above. If you apply for Chinese bachelor's degree programs (BA in Chinese Language), you are not required to provide HSK results, which means you can be Chinese beginners students.

In addition, many Chinese universities have English-medium international courses, no need to submit HSK certificates. This includes business, management, MBA, medical, engineering and other courses. Studying international programs at the same time will also give you the opportunity to learn Chinese -- in the near future, the world's lingua franca.

How much does it cost to study in China?

Studying in China is very worth it. In fact, studying in China will cost you less than studying In Thailand. It is free of charge when you apply online to the university or maybe just 100 Yuan per year directly to the university. Beijing's subway system is implemented for one-ticket system, that is, a subway ride only 2-3 Yuan. The cost of a year of study is as follows (international courses and tuition fees for medical courses is slightly higher around 25%):

If I go to China for study, what are the university's requirements?

In order to ensure the quality of students, the university has academic and other requirements, such as: no criminal record, there must be sufficient financial capacity to pay and so on.

For the non-degree Chinese language courses and culture courses, there is no academic qualification required, but:

1. Above 18 years of age (if it is summer and winter group camp, there is no such requirement. However, there must be a Thailand teacher with the group to help the Chinese institutions ensure the safety of students.)
For degree students, relevant qualifications and language proficiency are required.

2. Applying for bachelor degree:

• high school graduates or above
• HSK level 3 or above (business, arts and social sciences courses require HSK 5 level or above)
• If want to study the major in English-medium, no HSK certificate required but you should have IELTS 5.0 or above, or iBT TOEFL Score of 70 points or more
• If you only hold 0 Level certificates, then the need to learn one-year International Foundation Program, before you can enter the undergraduate course.

3. Applying for master’s degree:

• college graduates or above
• HSK 5 level or higher
• If applying for MBA, requires more than two years of work experience. MBA courses taught in English require IELTS Score 6.0 or above, or iBT TOEFL 80 points or more, and universities also require GMAT.

Which university should I choose?

China is the world's third largest country in land area. Since China has 5,000 years of history, and regional economic development is not well balanced, therefore, formed different styles of cities, both Beijing and Shanghai which are super-scale international metropolis, there are regional or Asia-level economic centers such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, also like Qingdao, Xiamen, Dalian. There are many large cities of more than 1 million people and a few thousand years of history and cultural cities such as Xi'an, Chengdu, Nanjing, and Suzhou and so on.

Different cities will bring you different experience. Regarding the expense, the cost would be higher in large cities, which not only will be reflected in the cost of living expenses, tuition fees for universities in big cities would be higher too; In addition, if you want to study in China's eastern and southern coastal city, you will need to pay more than the cost of study in the central, North (except Beijing), and the western city.

China's Universities have strict quality control and security system, in any university you would study, students have access to quality assured educational experience.

If you are just learning Chinese language, university rankings seem less important, except a few very popular universities, such as the Beijing Language and Culture University, East China Normal University, Beijing Normal University, South China Normal University, Shanghai International Studies University. Other the university has no big difference, a number of integrated comprehensive universities which ranked very well have the main task to do research, which are not suited for you.

Of course, if you want an advanced degree, then different universities have their own professional strengths, the Chinese government has more funds to support for some of the top universities research, such as the list of 211 universities and 985 engineering universities.

In order for you to choose easily, we specially offer you CHIWEST ratings as a reference: the list of 985 universities (including Beijing Language and Culture University) has been given 5 stars; 211 University, was given 4 stars ; and other universities have three stars and below.

The Chinese government encourages universities to enhance the students posed by diversification and internationalization. Some universities for international students have a very preferential policy, such as:

• Southwest University of Finance and Economics is China's second top university for finance and economics. The university offers the students free 1 on 1 counseling for learning Chinese.
• Huazhong University of Science and Technology is China's top 10 research universities, the Faculty of Medicine also ranked China's top 5. Anyone who study bachelor degree here are free to learn Chinese.
• Chongqing University is also ranked the list of top 985 universities. Majority of international students here is a master's degree student who can receive Chinese Government Scholarship, Chongqing Mayor Scholarships or university scholarships.

Is there any chance that I can apply for scholarship? How?

The answer is yes. China offers a large number of scholarships to students, and even students who just want to learn Chinese can apply. Some scholarships are made even specifically for Thai students. Scholarship categories:

• The Chinese Government scholarships. In 2008, the Chinese government granted about 20000 scholarships covering tuition and living expenses, meaning that if you get the Chinese government scholarship, you almost do not need to pay any fees regarding your studies.
• Local Government Scholarship. Besides the Chinese government, many provinces and municipalities have also established a large number of scholarships for students, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Liaoning, Guangdong, Yunnan, Jiangsu and so on. Scholarship amount could vary from a few thousand Yuan to the full scholarship.
• Many universities also set up their own scholarships given to their excellent students. Scholarship amount varies from a few thousand Yuan to full scholarship.
• Government scholarships are usually given by the school. You can view the school you’re interested in at the CHIWEST website in the Scholarship section where you can learn information about the scholarship. By the time you have submitted your applications for admission, you can also apply for a scholarship. Some universities will automatically consider your application without the need for a separate scholarship application.

How do I apply for study in China? When should I apply?

You can directly apply to the university. CHIWEST offers our service free of charge. When you have finished choosing your desired course and are clear about the university’s requested materials, you can begin the online application to the university. There’s no need to download the application form, our system will guide you through the application process. You also do not need to post the materials to be sent, in this way your application process will be quicker and safer.

The thing that needs to be emphasized is that you do not apply to CHIWEST, you apply directly to the universities. This is because the university and CHIWEST have signed an agreement on which the university will receive your materials through using our online application (universities generally do not have such online recruitment system). We give each university an online management account, your application materials will in fact be automatically sent to the university account you are applying for, the University's admission officials will look at your material online and decide whether or not to admit you.

Growing number of foreign students apply to come to China to study, we suggest that you arrange a good time to apply as early as possible.

• Fall Semester: opened on October of the previous year, deadline till June;
• Spring semester (language courses): opened on June of the previous year, deadline till January;
• Advice: Unless you are already in China and holding a legal visa and residence permit, you should apply at least one month before the semester begins.
• If you want to apply for the course but the application time is already closed, please contact us to confirm whether or not there is still a slot for you ( service@chiwest.cn )

Note: The application through CHIWEST only needs scanned copies of all the materials. The University requested material is generally:

• Passport
• Passport size pictures
• Diplomas
• Certificates
• IELTS (or TOEFL) results
• Recommendation Letter ( applying for master’s degree)
• Application fee ( The standard payment for each university is different, roughly around 25 – 100 dollars). For payment method please see: http://www.cucas.edu.cn/HomePage/2009-06-12/page_189.shtml

If you still do not know how to apply online, please contact our student advisor:service@chiwest.cn. We will soon be represented in Bangkok for Thai students to help, please pay attention to our notice.

We do not recommend that you apply through your local intermediary institutions, Not only do you waste money for unnecessary expenses, you may also not get the right information you need for your application.

How is the accommodation like?

Many students are concerned about this issue. There a good accommodation that’s beyond your imagination. Warm hospitality of the Chinese people has been recognized in the world. After the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the survey showed that: 100% of foreign athletes and officials are satisfied with the food and accommodation.

One can choose to live in the university’s hotel or dormitory. You can also live outside given the permission to by the school. The campus dormitories usually have the facilities that you may need, which include heaters for winter use.

Dormitories may be singled room, double room or deluxe room. You may also request for your own roommate if you want. The dormitory fee may vary from 25 Yuan up to 120 Yuan per day.

Can a high school student also apply for study in China?

Of course you can.

You must be 18 years old and below if you actually apply for summer or winter camp. You can apply through the university or through the camp provided by CHIWEST.

If you want to study Chinese language course, you must have HSK level 3 or more. It would be best if you choose international schools.

Although living outside is a good choice, we still advise you to live in dorms for your own safety.

How to apply for visa?

Although it’s hard to apply for a visa, China still welcomes Thai students to come and study in China.

After you get your slot in the university, if you apply for a 6-months or more study plan, you may need your passport, Admission Notice, JW 202 Form to apply for X-Visa in the Chinese embassy located in your own country.; If you apply for 6-months and below study plan, then you may request for an F-visa or L-visa.

Can I also work in China?

Although there are a lot of students who do part-time jobs in China, according to China’s rule, you can’t work while you are studying. (Except for school’s internships)

But after you graduate, you can apply for any company in China and they would process your visa for you if you get accepted. We also welcome those who want to do their own business in China.