Explore China - People Enjoy Beautiful Spring Day

Many citizens enjoy peach blossoms in the Forest Park of Fuzhou after the rainy days. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Many citizens enjoy peach blossoms in the Forest Park of Fuzhou after the rainy days. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

In southwest China's Chengdu city, people enjoy rape flowers, cherry flowers, pear blossoms all over the mountains. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

n Longshi village, southwest China's Chongqing city, people enjoy the scenery of a small hill in the lake, which seems like "a giant turtle that surfaces from the water". (CNS/Wang Dongming)

In southwest China's Chengdu city, people enjoy rape flowers, cherry flowers, pear blossoms all over the mountains. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Besides the Nanming River of Guiyang city, citizens go for a walk and do morning exercises in Hebin Park. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Beautiful plum blossoms in Anqing city, Anhui province. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

People enjoy the fresh spring in Yangzhou city. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Over 30 swans swim in the Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, attracting many visitors to take photos. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Rape flowers make the village in Wuyuan county, Jiangxi province more beautiful. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Flower festival is held in Wushishan mountain in east China's Fuzhou city. People enjoy themselves and take photos here. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Flower festival is held in Wushishan mountain in east China's Fuzhou city. People enjoy themselves and take photos here. (CNS/Wang Dongming)

Source - people daily online


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Explore China - Red Earth in Yunnan

Dongchuan, a rural area in the northeast of Kunming, SW China's Yunnan province, is believed to have the world's most imposing red earth, even more magnificent than that in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Due to the warm and humid climate, the Iron oxide in the soil deposited slowly through years and gradually developed an extraordinary reddish brown soil. 

The land is seldom visited by ordinary tourists for its remoteness and inadequate lodging facilities; however, the picturesque scenery there is paradise for photography fans. 

[Photo/China.com.cn]

Source - China Daily

2 Chinese Universities Rise in World University Reputation Rankings 2015

March 12, 2015

Editor: Amanda Wu
Harvard University has again won the laurel of world's most prestigious university, while two Chinese higher education institutions Tsinghua and Peking also made good progress, according to the latest Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2015.

Times Higher Education (THE) published the 2015 THE World Reputation Rankings on March 11, revealed a new round of the top 100 universities across the world.

Five Chinese universities entered the ranking. They include Tsinghua University, which moved to 26th from 36th last year, and Peking University, which rose nine places to 32. The THE said both Tsinghua and Peking secured their highest ever positions.

Tsinghua University

Peking University

"This is a strong performance by China. Its two leading institutions have made gains in the reputation rankings, reflecting the country's commitment to developing world-class universities," said Phil Baty, editor of THE Rankings.

"China's growing stature should lead to further improvements, as a strong reputation helps universities to attract and retain more global talent and investment," he said.

The University of Hong Kong slipped out of the top 50 from 43rd to the 51-60 band, while National Taiwan University dropped to the 61-70 band, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology also slipped a band to 71-80.

According to the rankings, the top ten universities are all located in the United States and Britain. Harvard University retained the first place, while Cambridge moved to the second from the fourth a year ago. University of Oxford stood at the third, up two places from the fifth last year.

New rankings showed the United States is the country with most higher education institutions -- 43 institutions in the top 100. Britain is the second with 12, and Germany ranked the third with six.

The highest ranking of Asian University was seized by University of Tokyo, which taking the 12th place, but dropped one from last year.

Different from the annual Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Reputation Rankings are based on expert subjective judgment of those who know most about excellent teaching and research.

The 2015 World Reputation Rankings are based on 9,794 responses from 142 countries. The survey was available in 15 languages and was distributed based on United Nations' data to ensure that it accurately reflects the global distribution of scholars.

Source - Xinhua


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International Students Find Ideal Place For Study In China

Updated: 2015-01-23 13:07
By Zhu Lixin(China Daily USA)

More and more international students are coming to China to study, but few take science and technology subjects, as many fear the language difficulties will be insurmountable.

At the University of Science and Technology of China, however, dozens of international students have risen to that challenge.

One such is German Vogel, a doctoral candidate from Chile studying nuclear science at the university.

Ideal venue

It is only half a year since Vogel began his doctoral studies at USTC, but he learned of the university's renown in nuclear science years ago, while studying for his master's degree at the University of Tokyo.

Vogel's specialization is fusion energy, and he said USTC is a leading institute in the field.

"To produce energy, we plan to build our own sun or a kind of small star to use as an energy source. It has a very high temperature, several times higher than the sun," he said.

Scientists have to be able to confine the energy source, and research indicates the only way to do that is to keep it contained within a magnetic field.

As such technology is very complicated, scientists have not yet been able to keep items stable and confined in such a magnetic field.

The challenge is so complex that many countries have united to try to solve it, including the United States, the EU, Russia, Japan, China, India and South Korea. The joint project is called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, which was proposed in 1985 and started three years later. The project requires billions of dollars of combined investment from the countries.

In 2006, USTC, which is home to the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory of China, joined the project and has focused on the design of the magnet.

Vogel said he is lucky to find the ideal venue at which to do the research that will occupy him for the next few years.

"I will be focused on a very complicated experiment, which requires a lot of hard work and the most cutting-edge facilities," he said.

Mastering language

Ammar Hawbani from Yemen has been studying at USTC since 2005, after he passed the college entrance examination in his home country with a very high mark.

As one of Yemen's top students, he was awarded a national scholarship and came to China for his university study.

After spending one year in a normal university studying Chinese, Hawbani began studying information science and technology at USTC.

In his first year at the university, Hawbani said, he found it very difficult to follow the Chinese-speaking teacher in such courses as physics. With a lot of hard work, he passed most of his exams with high marks but still failed his physics courses.

"Starting from my second year, my Chinese improved very much and I got accustomed to the courses," Hawbani said. He started to catch up with his classmates in his second year and surpassed most of them in his junior year. The language is no longer a problem for Hawbani, who spoke fluent standard Chinese in his interview with China Daily.

Hawbani said he enjoyed being at the university so much and he chose to stay for further study after attaining his bachelor's degree in 2009.

He is now a doctoral candidate working on wireless sensor networks. His current study program is supported by a national scholarship from the Chinese government.

Vogel said he had similar language difficulties in Japan before coming to China, so knew quite well how to cope with the situation.

The Chilean student said his experience in Japan made him realize how important it is to have a good grasp of the local language.

Studying Chinese mostly by himself, he has achieved a level where the language is no longer a major obstacle for his studies. 

In this first year of his doctorate study, Vogel has three physics classes at USTC. Two are in English, taught by internationally prominent professors.

Vogel said he is "kind of a geek", but wants to learn more about the culture of his host nation and to make the most of the opportunities he has been given at USTC.

Fan Qiong contributed to the story

zhulixin@chinadaily.com.cn

Part of a linear particle accelerator in the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, based at USTC.

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How Sudy Abroad Impacted My Career

By ELAINE KILGORE 
Published 03/09/15

“On behalf of Captain Baker and the entire crew, welcome aboard American Airlines flight 392, non-stop service from Chicago to Madrid.” Holy crap, I’m going, I’m finally going to Spain! The months of research and planning are finally paying off. This is a great idea. Isn’t it? I’ve been studying Spanish for years, but what if I don’t understand their dialect? Do Spaniards even like Americans? I don’t know anyone in Spain. What am I doing?

This is what goes through your mind when you study abroad for the first time. Excitement, with a healthy dose of fear. Growing up, I barely even traveled to Canada. But in 2011, the summer after my junior year, I left the continent. I had accepted an internship with a with a company in Madrid that connected private English tutors with Spaniards. I hopped on a plane with two other girls from GVSU, whom I barely knew.

My host “family” was group of three women who did not speak English. This was intimidating at first, but it forced me to practice and improve my Spanish. They were kind, inviting and understanding of the language barrier. They taught me how to cook a couple of their favorite dishes and made sure I felt welcome coming to them for anything.

If I felt homesick, I could Skype my family, boyfriend and my cat and dog. As time went on, I found myself less and less depending on the Skype conversations and more and more interested in planning my next adventure.

I could take a day trip to Toledo, Spain, try new food and tour an ancient city and, later that night, still check in with my cat in America. On my last day in Spain, I found myself mourning leaving the town, roommates and new friends I had made. Three months was more than enough time to fall in love with a country, its people and the language.

My second chance to study abroad came in the summer of 2012, when I applied for a program called Marketing in China. They accepted twelve students from GVSU, MSU, and SVSU, myself included. And I didn’t even know Chinese!

One day we met with the president of Amway China, and the next we were working our calves out on the Great Wall and learning how to make dumplings. We traveled throughout the region, hitting cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi’an and Hong Kong.

Studying abroad isn’t strictly business, and it isn’t a vacation. I had the opportunity to experience the sights, food and people the world has to offer, and I did real work with real world benefits.

In September of 2014, two years after I graduated, I got a job teaching English in Shanghai, China at an English language training center for 5-12 years. My experiences studying abroad have had a direct impact on what I'm doing now. And I still barely know Chinese.

No matter what field you end up working in, even if doesn’t seem very "international," employers like to see that you’re adaptable and willing to take risks. Spending any amount of time living and studying abroad changes a person.

I’m not saying that you come back completely different, equipped to spread world peace with your new cultural understandings and fluent language skills, but you do come back more empathetic, more independent and a lot more understanding of other cultures. International experience says, “I’m willing to take risks and adapt to new situations. I’m able to go out on a limb to see the world from a different perspective.” Hiring managers like that (wink wink).

Source - Lanthorn.com

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Related stories on study abroad:

1. Why Study Abroad?
2. New Study Makes The Link Between Study Abroad and Employability

3. International Students Eye China To Expand Their Horizon

4. Making The Most of Your Study Abroad In China
5. Is Studying Abroad An Expensive Affair?
6. International Study Is Expensive : Weigh Cost Against Quality

Explore China - Enchanting and Flowering Cherry Blossom

Flowering Cherry Blossom at Wuhan University
After the spring festival, students return to the Wuhan University campus and find it decorated by the beautiful flowering cherry. They usually come out one month earlier than the cherry blossoms on the Cherry Blossom Avenue. Its bright color brings a festive glow to the university.

(Photo by Ran Zhang)


People flock to cherry blossoms at Wuhan University
Visitors flock to the Wuhan University campus to view cherry blossom in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, March 16, 2015. Though most of cherry trees are not yet in full bloom, crowds of tourists are already visiting to the university. Entrance to the famous cherry blossom garden is controlled during this season and visitors must pay an entry fee. 

Visitors crowd university to view cherry blossom

Thousands of cherry blossom lovers crowd a 200-meter-long path at Wuhan University in Hubei province on Saturday, turning the usually quiet campus into a crowded park. It was estimated that more than 100,000 visitors made their way to the annual event, March 21 2015.

People flock to cherry blossoms at Wuhan University

Though most cherry trees are not yet in full bloom, crowds of tourists are already visiting the university. To control the number of visitors, the university has started to charge visitors an admission fee of 20 yuan ($3.22) from March 18, to enter the famous cherry blossom garden during blooming season.

Source - people daily online
[Photos: Chinanews.com]


Enchanting cherry blossoms thrill east China

With winter slowly giving way to ‪‎spring‬, people in east ‎China‬’s Jiangxi Province were treated to some rather breathtaking scenery on Monday.

People gathered to enjoy the season’s first ‪‎cherry blossoms‬ at the Fangzhu Temple at the foot of the renowned Lushan Mountain.

Source - Wuhan University and CCTV News


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