Listen to this articleIf you are a Japanese student and you want to study in China, then I guess before you apply for a Chinese school, you will definitely search the Internet to see if there is any real sharing of Japanese studying in China. You will want to know whether it is good to study in China, whether China is suitable for you to study, so today I will share some cases of Japanese students studying in China, about their learning process in China, experience sharing and so on. I believe that after reading, you will have the answer to the question about how Japanese students study in China.
Data of Japanese students studying in China
Statistics show that in 2012, the number of Japanese students studying abroad reached 613800, an increase of 2637 over the previous year. Among them, the number of students studying in the Chinese mainland increased by 18%, up to 21 thousand and 126, and surpassed the United States to the top. Since then, with the encouragement policy of Japan, more and more people study abroad. Among the countries that Japan studies abroad in every year, more and more people go to China. By the end of 2017, Japan had more than 240000 students studying in China; In 2016 alone, 13595 Japanese students were studying in China, ranking ninth among 443000 students from 205 countries.
Next, I will list the real learning experiences of two representative Japanese students studying in China.
Japanese student Yamakawa Yuri’s experience of studying in China
When it comes to Chinese culture, everyone may think of it differently: some people think of the four great inventions, some people think of Tang poems and Song Ci, some people think of Ming and Qing novels, and some people think of novels in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The beauty of the Jiangnan water village… and what I think of is the ancient architecture of China.
The first time I came to China, and the first time I walked into my mother’s hometown-Fuzhou, Fujian, my heartbeat with it. Fuzhou is a shining pearl on the southeast coast of China with beautiful mountains and clear waters and a gathering of humanities. Especially worthy of the pride of the Fuzhou native of my mother is Sanfang Qixiang, where celebrities have emerged in large numbers, and the former residences of celebrities such as Yan Fu, Lin Juemin, and Bing Xin are well-known all over the world.
Walking on the old streets paved with bluestone slabs, I feel like I am in another era. Although it has gone through the vicissitudes of the years, the old buildings still retain their original features: slate floors, white walls and tiled houses, and carved doors and windows. And those carved wood and brick doors and windows deeply attracted me. These doors and windows are carved with various characters, flowers and birds, and each one is lifelike as if they are telling the world about the past. As night fell, the three lanes and seven alleys had a special flavor. The red lanterns on both sides of Nanhou Street were lit up one by one, and the warm lights shone on the ancient bluestone road, and also shone on the bustling crowd, with many reflections. The sound of the guqin is sometimes high and low, so the lively and peaceful atmosphere is really intoxicating. I can’t help asking myself: How can there be such a rich and beautiful place with history and culture!
I bid farewell to my carefree childhood and left elementary school. As an international student, I came to Fujian again, stepped into a Chinese school, and opened my way to study Chinese.
In the school I attended, I had to study many subjects when I was in junior high school. Among them, the most attractive thing to me is the number of Chinese, because learning Chinese makes me very happy. One of the reasons is that I have read many famous Chinese works, and I have also learned about many famous works in the history of Chinese literature, such as Lao She’s “Camel Xiangzi”, Bing Xin’s “Fairy Stars” and “Spring Water”, Wu Chengen’s “Journey to the West”, and Cao Xueqin’s “A Dream of Red Mansions” “, Shi Naian’s “Water Margin”, and Luo Guanzhong’s “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. The second reason is that Chinese idioms and culture are particularly interesting. For example, the most valuable words are a promise of gold, the longest leg is called a step to the sky, the worst ending is a defeat, and the longest day is like a year… In life, the Chinese are full of wisdom. Be good at using the shortest language to express rich connotations. The third reason is that Chinese characters are particularly beautiful characters. They have undergone many years of changes, from oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, small seals, official scripts to regular scripts, each of which carries the long history of China. In my eyes, the glyph lines of each Chinese character are like spirit-filled elves. They dance cheerfully on the paper, with light movements and graceful posture. However, the seemingly ordinary Chinese characters are deeply hidden, and each meaning of the word and word contains rich cultural thoughts.
Looking back on the first part of my study abroad career, although I have left a lot of sweat, I have gained a wealth of knowledge. Through this experience of studying abroad, I have grown up.
In February 2019, I came to China again and completed my undergraduate studies in the Chinese Department of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Time flies so fast, what is the city of Beijing like in my eyes nowadays?
Beijing is a city that combines modernity and history. There are the Forbidden City, the Old Summer Palace, the Great Wall… and the Sanlitun Bar Street full of modern flavors.
With the development of China, the face of Beijing has also undergone earth-shaking changes. Roads have become wider, the environment has improved, transportation has become more convenient, and the economy has developed. Here, people’s lifestyles have also changed. Ride-hailing software, bike-sharing, Alipay, WeChat, etc. have brought convenience to people’s daily lives. Various changes have made Beijing and even China more and more international and more effective. The world is watching-look, this is China!
The dream is a beacon, it guides my path forward. Having encountered many times China, I not only learned Chinese, but also attracted by Chinese history and culture, impressed by China’s development and changes, and moved by the warm and kind Chinese people. If someone asks me “what exactly is Beijing in your eyes”, I will answer like this—Beijing is a place where my life is full of meaning.
Japanese student Yida’s experience of studying in China
The reform and opening-up started in 1978 opened the door to exchanges between Chinese and Japanese students. Since the Chinese and Japanese governments reached an agreement on the exchange of foreign students in 1979, the exchanges between the two countries have flourished. Japanese girl born in the 1990s, Yida Yurijia, is a member of the tide of studying in China from Japan. Yida Yurijia just graduated from Tokyo Women’s University in 2048. During the university, he served as an exchange student at Shanghai International Studies University for one year. Although the time is short, her life and study in China have left a deep impression on her and made her inspiring to contribute to the development of Japan-China relations.
Chinese is the second foreign language I studied at Yida University. She believes that learning Chinese can not only better understand China and the Chinese people, but it will also greatly help promote the development of Japan-China relations. After 40 years of reform and opening-up, China’s current economy is developing rapidly and the market potential is huge. In 2017, personnel exchanges between the two countries exceeded 10 million, and the trade volume exceeded 300 billion U.S. dollars. Exchanges and cooperation in various fields continue to expand. Chinese and Japanese companies will need more and more There are many bilingual talents, so learning Chinese is also conducive to the future development of Japanese students, including herself.
Yida was actually very nervous before going to study in China. Although she likes China very much, she doesn’t know much about China. She is worried that she will not be able to adapt to life in China, she is worried that her Chinese is not good enough to keep up with the courses, and she is also worried that she will be hated as a Japanese. After coming to China, she found that these worries were completely unnecessary. The teachers and classmates in China cared for her and made her feel warmer.
When he first arrived in China, Yida became ill because he was still not used to it. When she went to the hospital to see a doctor, she met an aunt nurse. This aunt gave her meticulous help, not only caring about her body but also giving her a lot of psychological care. Later, the aunt took her to learn about Chinese culture, introduced her to job opportunities, and helped her better adapt to the life of studying abroad in China. All these made Yida feel that living in Shanghai is not much different from living in Japan and that this aunt is like her mother in China, and she feels an intimacy with the Chinese from the bottom of her heart.
Unlike many Japanese students studying in China, Yida has been blogging from the perspective of a young Japanese to introduce the Japanese people to China in her eyes. In Yida’s blog, Chinese food such as twice-boiled pork, xiaolongbao, and spicy tang is naturally indispensable. She thinks that the top ten scenic spots in China are all worth visiting. There is also a renminbi joining the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights currency. Baskets and other blog posts on China’s economic development, as well as articles dedicated to the “Belt and Road” initiative. In a blog post, Yida specifically mentioned that foreign media should take a comprehensive view of China’s development, and should not generalize and report only the negative side of China.
When she went to university in Japan, she discovered that the Japanese young people’s understanding of China deviated from the actual situation in China. In fact, many Japanese students want to study in China, but they have various worries. As neighboring countries separated by a strip of water, people-to-people and cultural exchanges have played an important role in the cultural and social development of the two countries for more than 2,000 years. Therefore, as soon as she came to China to study in China, she began to write a blog in Japanese to introduce her to Japanese readers about China and her study life, in order to let more Japanese people know more about China’s openness and tolerance, and the hospitality of Chinese people. Those Japanese who are worried are relieved to come to China. Yida believes that this is her responsibility.
While studying in China, Yida took the high-speed rail from Shanghai to Suzhou for the first time. She was attracted by the comfortable and stable operation of the “Harmony” at the time. At present, she has set the next “small goal” to come to China: experience “unmanned supermarket”. According to Yida, China has completed tremendous changes in the past 40 years, with rapid economic growth and great progress in the fields of science and technology and culture. She went to China regularly after the end of her study abroad life and was shocked by China’s development every time she went.
Yida currently works in a financial company. 2019 coincides with the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, and also the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Over the past 40 years, China-Japan relations have gone through an extraordinary course of fruitful results and ups and downs. Yitian hopes that in the future, through his own work, he can help Chinese companies achieve development in Japan and contribute his modest strength to the development of Japan-China relations.
After browsing many real examples of Japanese students studying in China, it is not difficult to see that China attracts Japanese students with its extensive and profound culture, food, and educational environment. Therefore, regarding these three aspects, I will introduce them to you in detail.
Chinese culture
China is a country with a long civilization. Among the several ancient civilizations in the world, the Chinese civilization has been uninterrupted and has continued to develop to this day. It has a history of more than 5,000 years. It is not only the ancient buildings that Yamakawa Yuri is interested in, ancient Chinese poems, Chinese characters, dynasty civilization, the four great inventions, Chinese literature, folk crafts, historical relics, Chinese martial arts, etc., but Chinese culture is also broad and profound, and it encompasses all things. Chinese civilization is a shining jewel in the entire world, which is why it attracts students from all over the world to study in China. For a detailed introduction to Chinese culture, you can browse the “China culture” on our website.
Chinese food
On China media bilibili, there is Runa, a Japanese student studying in Sichuan, China. She came to China for the first time in 2018 and studied Chinese in Shanghai, and then went to Sichuan to study major in 2019. Due to the epidemic, she is now stranded in Japan and cannot return to Sichuan. She said that she really missed China very much and wanted to return to Sichuan as soon as possible. She will graduate next year, and she said she still wants to stay in China to study or work after graduation. The first reason is that Sichuan cuisine is so delicious, so she wants to stay in Sichuan. The second reason is that she likes China’s self-media platform very much. She has accumulated a lot of fans since she filmed the video, so she also wants to continue to stay in China to make videos and learn Chinese.
This shows that Chinese cuisine really has a very big charm. There are very special cuisines from various places in China, and there are many ways of Chinese cuisine. For example, chicken, there are many different ways in China, such as chicken soup, white sliced chicken, steamed chicken, roast chicken, fried chicken, Saliva chicken, chicken, roast chicken, Kung Pao chicken, and so on. I won’t introduce them one by one here. If you want to know, you can go to the “Food” on our website.
Study and life in China
Japanese student Akiyama Shota is very interested in Chinese. He said during an exchange study at Nanjing University: “Learning a language is to speak. You first learn the most basic daily words and then apply them in practice, so that you can learn Chinese faster.” “Compared to complex grammar, the learning method directly linked to dialogue is more meaningful.” Akiyama reminded that it is more suitable for the initial stage of Chinese learning. “At first, I learned 200 new words and 30 expressions in this way. Then I chatted with Chinese people and became familiar with the words of daily communication.”
Komatsu has lived in Beijing for eight years since studying at Beijing Foreign Studies University in the spring of 2010. From 18 to 26 years old, he studied, applied for a job, and proposed marriage in this city. Beijing is where he grew up. As a result of his growing-up experience, Komatsu came to Beijing to study Chinese, Peking Opera, drums, and even crosstalk. He said that he really found himself after he came to China. China saved him and he felt at home in China. Until he later decided to go back to Japan, he changed the cover picture of the WeChat circle of friends to the Chinese flag. He doesn’t mind what his family and friends in China and Japan think of his inexplicable feelings for China. “I just want to remind myself that don’t forget what I learned in China.”
Japanese students studying in China all said that the learning environment and atmosphere in China are very good. The Chinese are also very warm and friendly. Just like Yida introduced above, she has actually lived in China, she understands life in China and the Chinese people, so she will use Japan to write everything about life in China on her blog to promote Chinese culture to Japan, eliminate Japanese misunderstandings about China, and promote friendship between the two countries.
After seeing so many real examples of Japanese students studying in China, I believe you have a deeper understanding of studying in China. If you think this article is helpful to you, please forward it to your social platform. If you want to learn more about studying in China, remember to pay more attention to the content of our website.
