Teacher Chen 🔥 101
@teacherchen
15 years getting students into Chinese universities. The dorm, the visa line, that first freezing winter. Ask me the awkward stuff, I have heard it all.
81 Articles
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Twenty nine American college students, led by a New York City schools PE official, played pickleball at South China Normal University and toured Lingnan culture sites in Guangzhou, part of China's new push, announced by Xi Jinping in September, to host 100,000 American youths over five years.
Universities
打匹克球,交中国朋友:美国大学生的广州一天
Playing Pickleball, Making Chinese Friends: An American Delegation's Day in Guangzhou
HSK 4 · 4 min read
China's biggest shopping festival, Double 11, runs from mid-October presales through the November 11 peak. Here's the 2026 schedule and simple tips for international students buying online for the first time.
Universities
双十一来了：留学生怎么网购更便宜
Double 11 Is Here: How International Students Can Shop Online for Less
HSK 2 · 3 min read
Chinese university campuses are full of vending machines that never close -- Northeast Forestry University alone runs thirty-two of them at twenty campus spots, placed by dorms and teaching buildings. No cash needed: just scan a code with WeChat or Alipay, and universities require prices to stay no higher than at a nearby supermarket.
Universities
大学里的自动售货机：渴了、饿了怎么办
Vending Machines on Campus: What to Do When You're Thirsty or Hungry
HSK 1 · 2 min read
Ginkgo trees on Shenyang campuses have turned gold this week. Shenyang Urban Construction University is holding a ten-day festival, and you only need an ID card to get in, no reservation required.
Universities
沈阳银杏黄了：大学校园不用预约看秋天
Shenyang's Ginkgo Trees Have Turned Gold: See Autumn on Campus, No Booking Needed
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A simple look at how international students use campus gyms and sports fields in China to run, play basketball and football, swim, and make new friends with their Chinese classmates.
Universities
大学的健身房和操场
The Campus Gym and Sports Field
HSK 2 · 2 min read
International students in China can get a haircut inside campus for about 15 to 20 yuan, or just outside it for around 30 yuan, plus simple tips on prices, membership cards, and showing a photo to the barber.
Universities
大学里的理发店：便宜又方便
Campus Barbershops: Cheap and Convenient
HSK 3 · 2 min read
Malaysian and Indonesian students touring Nanjing this week visited the old city and Niushou Mountain's Buddha relic hall. The ancient capital, once called Jinling and Jiankang, makes an easy weekend trip for students studying nearby.
Universities
留学生游南京：寻六朝古都，看牛首山宝塔
International Students Visit Nanjing: Tracing an Ancient Capital, Seeing Niushou Mountain's Pagoda
HSK 3 · 2 min read
Frost's Descent, the last solar term of autumn, arrives on October 23. An international student learns from a Chinese classmate why eating a persimmon now is said to keep winter colds away.
Universities
霜降到了：吃柿子，不感冒
Frost's Descent Arrives: Eat Persimmons, Don't Catch a Cold
HSK 3 · 2 min read
A Haikou forum showed how Hainan's free trade port is testing new ways to send Chinese education abroad: a 31-student "overseas hotel manager" class built around one company's expansion plans, a proposed China-Malaysia vocational education pilot zone, and a shift from study-abroad services toward exporting whole training standards and ecosystems.
Universities
海南自贸港办教育论坛：职业教育怎么“随企出海”
Haikou Forum: Hainan's Free Trade Port Wants Its Colleges to "Go Global With Enterprises"
Native · 5 min read
A sudden cold snap hit northern China in mid-October, so cities from Inner Mongolia to Xinjiang turned the heat on early -- good news for the many international students living in dorms at northern universities.
Universities
北方突然降温，供暖季提前来了
A Sudden Cold Snap, and the Heating Season Arrives Early
HSK 4 · 3 min read
In Liuzhou, Guangxi, a Laotian student follows his older brother's path at a railway vocational college — the brother now drives trains on the China-Laos Railway, part of a program that has trained over 1,200 ASEAN students in five years.
Universities
老挝兄弟的铁路故事：弟弟上学，哥哥开火车
A Laotian Brothers' Railway Story: One Studies, One Drives the Train
HSK 4 · 4 min read
A beginner's guide to the simple Chinese words international students need to introduce themselves and make a new friend on campus.
Universities
怎么认识新朋友
How to Make a New Friend on Campus
HSK 1 · 2 min read
HSK 3.0 goes live worldwide on December 13, 2026. Paper-test registration closes November 16, computer-test registration closes December 3 — here is what international students in China need to know before the deadlines pass.
Universities
3.0版HSK：12月13日正式开考，留学生怎么报名
HSK 3.0 Launches December 13: How International Students Should Register
HSK 5 · 3 min read
A sick day doesn't mean silently skipping class. Here's how Chinese universities expect international students to ask teachers for leave, fill out the paperwork, and avoid an unauthorized absence.
Universities
不能上课，要先跟老师说
Can't Make It to Class? Tell Your Teacher First
HSK 3 · 2 min read
In a Chinese dorm, the campus network isn't free Wi-Fi shared by everyone — it's a paid account tied to your student ID. Here's how students at Xi'an Jiaotong, Beijing Language and Culture, and Wuhan Universities register, pay, and log in.
Universities
校园网：留学生怎么办上网账号
Campus Wifi: How International Students Get Online
HSK 4 · 3 min read
Chinese universities often have a small shop or supermarket right inside campus, so students do not need to leave to buy water, fruit, or notebooks. This beginner piece explains how the campus card works for shopping, plus one simple rule to remember before you top it up.
Universities
大学里的小商店：留学生在哪儿买东西
The Shop on Campus: Where International Students Buy Things
HSK 2 · 2 min read
Rain, a late night, or just too busy to go to the canteen — international students in China reach for Meituan or Ele.me. A beginner's guide to China's delivery apps: how to order, why your food might wait for you downstairs instead of at your door, and Teacher Chen's one piece of advice: don't make it a daily habit.
Universities
叫外卖：手机一点，饭就到宿舍楼下
Ordering Delivery: Tap Your Phone, and Food Arrives Downstairs
HSK 3 · 3 min read
International students meet a very Chinese convenience: scan-to-pay washing machines in the dorm laundry room, with real prices from a Chinese university and how to pay with WeChat, Alipay, or a campus card.
Universities
宿舍洗衣房：手机一扫就能洗衣服
The Dorm Laundry Room: Scan Your Phone to Wash Your Clothes
HSK 3 · 3 min read
Many Chinese universities require first- and second-year students to log running distance on a phone app for part of their PE grade, with strict pace rules and real crackdowns on cheating. Here is how the system actually works, and what to do if your university uses one.
Universities
校园跑App：你的体育课成绩绑着手机定位
The Campus Running App: Your PE Grade Is Tied to Your Phone's GPS
HSK 4 · 4 min read
In Chinese dorms, hot water from the tap is free at any hour. Drinking water usually isn't. A beginner-level guide to how campus water really works, with real numbers from three universities.
Universities
宿舍的热水：二十四小时免费，喝的水却要花钱
Dorm Hot Water Is Free Around the Clock, But the Water You Drink Costs Money
HSK 3 · 2 min read
When an international student in China gets sick, the campus clinic—not a big hospital—is usually the first stop. A simple beginner-level guide to registering, seeing a doctor, and getting medicine, based on official university health guides.
Universities
生病了，去校医院
Feeling Sick? Go to the Campus Clinic
HSK 3 · 2 min read
Every year, students ask the same two questions about the Chinese Government Scholarship: what does it actually pay for, and do I qualify. Here are the real numbers and steps, drawn from an embassy notice and a university's official application guide.
Universities
中国政府奖学金：全额奖学金包括什么，怎么申请
Chinese Government Scholarship: What Full Funding Covers and How to Apply
HSK 5 · 4 min read
October 8 marks Cold Dew, the solar term behind China's old saying "don't bare your feet." A simple HSK2 read on why campus closets are filling with extra layers, shoes are replacing sandals, and chrysanthemums are blooming in the parks.
Universities
寒露到了：脚不能露
Cold Dew Arrives: Keep Your Feet Covered
HSK 2 · 2 min read
Milk tea shops now sit inside thousands of Chinese university campuses, and ordering a cup — sweet or not, with or without ice — has become a small daily ritual for Chinese and international students alike.
Universities
大学里的奶茶店
The Milk Tea Shop on Campus
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A practical guide to China's campus shared bikes, drawn from two university notices: how to verify your identity, how cheap a campus pass really is, and the parking and safety rules international students need to know.
Universities
校园共享单车：怎么认证，怎么骑
Campus Shared Bikes: How to Register and Ride
HSK 4 · 3 min read
A Chilean student in Shanghai is training in acupuncture and tuina massage at a Chinese medicine university, and his father followed him there — now the two study side by side as classmates.
Universities
罗德里戈的中国故事：和爸爸一起学针灸
Rodrigo's China Story: Learning Acupuncture Together With His Father
HSK 3 · 2 min read
Classes Monday through Friday, homework at the library, then weekend trips into the city and campus culture activities — a look at the weekly rhythm international students settle into in China.
Universities
留学生的一周
An International Student's Week
HSK 2 · 3 min read
In many Chinese universities there is no separate library card — your everyday campus card doubles as one. Using Beijing Foreign Studies University's rules as the main example, here is how many books international students can borrow, for how long, and how to renew them from a phone.
Universities
校园卡就是图书馆卡：留学生怎么借书
Your Campus Card Is Your Library Card: How International Students Borrow Books
HSK 2 · 3 min read
On October 1, crowds at Tiananmen Square watched the flag rise at sunrise to mark the People's Republic's 77th anniversary, as students across China began a week-long holiday.
Universities
国庆节：五星红旗伴着太阳升起
National Day: The Five-Star Red Flag Rises With the Sun
HSK 3 · 2 min read
International students from Yemen, Thailand and beyond made mooncakes, painted rabbit lanterns and tried local snacks at a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration in Fengsheng, an old town in Chongqing.
Universities
重庆古镇里的中秋节
Mid-Autumn Festival in a Chongqing Old Town
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A Russian student at Shandong Jiaotong University's Don River College shares how learning Chinese and traveling across Shandong changed how she sees China.
Universities
达利雅的中国故事：从顿河到黄河
Dalia's China Story: From the Don River to the Yellow River
HSK 3 · 3 min read
New international students often forget one basic task: getting a Chinese phone number. Here is what Chinese law requires, which document to bring, and how one university prices its optional campus SIM plan this year.
Universities
手机卡：留学生在中国的第一件小事
A SIM Card: An International Student's First Small Task in China
HSK 3 · 3 min read
Guangxi Minzu University opened its 2026 school year on September 24 with 684 new international students from 23 countries, including Vietnam, Laos, Russia, and Brazil.
Universities
广西民族大学开学：684名留学生来自23个国家
Guangxi Minzu University Welcomes 684 International Students From 23 Countries
HSK 3 · 4 min read
As China's combined 13-day National Day and Mid-Autumn holiday gets underway, aviation officials expect 31.19 million passenger trips. Fresh government safety bulletins urge holiday travelers, including international students, to check weather, avoid mountain hazards, and stay safe in crowds.
Universities
十一中秋长假来了：出行高峰下，这些安全提示要记住
National Day-Mid-Autumn Holiday Is Here: Safety Tips for the Travel Rush
HSK 4 · 4 min read
For five years, Xi'an's immigration police have visited university campuses to teach new international students about visas, part-time work rules, and safety, using interactive quizzes and real case studies.
Universities
西安警察进校园：给留学生上“入境安全课”
Police Visit Xi'an Campuses to Teach International Students an "Entry Safety Class"
HSK 4 · 3 min read
Xi Jinping replied to a letter from nearly 100 students from ten U.S. universities, including Harvard, who had just finished a cultural exchange trip across China. The trip was part of a China US youth initiative that has already brought over 50,000 American students to China, two and a half years ahead of its own schedule.
Universities
习近平复信留美学生：愿做跨越太平洋的友谊使者
Xi Jinping Writes Back to American Students: "Be Messengers of Friendship Across the Pacific"
Native · 5 min read
Today is the Autumn Equinox and China's ninth Farmers' Harvest Festival. Learn the old "standing an egg" custom, and get ready for cooler days ahead.
秋
Universities
秋分到了：今天，白天和晚上一样长
Autumn Equinox Arrives: Today, Day and Night Are Equal
HSK 2 · 3 min read
Thirty international students from two Xiangtan universities spent a day with Hunan Library's Chinese Corner, visiting a four hundred year old tower, sewing lotus pattern sachets, and touring a three hundred year old soy sauce brewery.
Universities
湘潭一日：留学生看老楼、做香囊、尝酱油
A Day in Xiangtan: International Students Visit an Old Tower, Sew Sachets, and Taste Soy Sauce
HSK 3 · 2 min read
Every foreign national in China must register their residence within 24 hours of arrival — a legal requirement, not a school rule. Here's how it actually works for dorm residents versus students renting off campus, plus the online option piloted in seven regions since March 2026.
Universities
留学生的第一次住宿登记：24小时内要做什么
An International Student's First Residence Registration: What to Do Within 24 Hours
HSK 5 · 4 min read
More than 20 French students from Renmin University of China's Suzhou campus spent Mid-Autumn Festival at Suzhou's historic Liuyuan Garden, drinking osmanthus tea, tasting Suzhou-style mooncakes, and making bookmarks.
Universities
法国留学生在苏州过中秋
French Students Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Suzhou
HSK 3 · 2 min read
On September 16, Guangzhou Xinhua University welcomed its first-ever group of international students, from seven countries. Despite the rain, teachers and student volunteers greeted them with umbrellas, helped with their luggage, and guided them through registration, dorm check-in, and a campus tour.
Universities
广州新华学院：第一批外国学生来了
Guangzhou Xinhua University: The First International Students Have Arrived
HSK 3 · 2 min read
China's National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays fall close together in 2026, giving most universities a 13 day break. Here is how students, new and returning, can use their student ID to buy discounted train tickets home, and why the railway department is warning against paying for third party ticket grabbing services.
Universities
十一中秋连放十三天：大学生怎么买学生票回家
Thirteen Days Off for Golden Week: How University Students Buy Discounted Train Tickets Home
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A university in Shenzhen welcomed 450 international freshmen from 30 countries this fall, including students from Thailand, the Netherlands, and Portugal, drawn by the city's technology and opportunities.
Universities
深圳来了450名新同学：他们来自30个国家
Shenzhen Welcomes 450 New Classmates From 30 Countries
HSK 4 · 4 min read
On September 15, 2026, the Shanghai Ranking consultancy published its Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, assessing 57 disciplines at more than 3,000 universities worldwide. Mainland Chinese universities now hold 22 world No.1 rankings, with new champions in chemistry, marine science and biomedical engineering — useful information for students weighing where and what to study in China.
Universities
软科最新学科排名：中国内地高校拿下22个世界第一
Shanghai Ranking's Newest Subject Rankings: Mainland China Takes 22 World No.1 Spots
HSK 5 · 4 min read
On September 13, Huaqiao University in Fujian welcomed 10,797 new students, including 5,357 from overseas, in a simple HSK2 story about the start of a new university year.
Universities
华侨大学开学：一万多名新生
Huaqiao University Opens: Over 10,000 New Students
HSK 2 · 2 min read
A new nationwide standardized exam, the CSCA, is reshaping how international students get into Chinese bachelor's programs -- by 2028 it will be compulsory at every university, with a minimum admission score required.
Universities
CSCA：中国留学申请的新一关
CSCA: A New Hurdle for Studying in China
Native · 5 min read
A Nigerian medical student is among 210+ new international students from 42 countries at a Yiwu college this fall — and gets his first look at the city's famous wholesale market and its AI translation glasses.
Universities
义乌迎来210多名国际新生：从"世界超市"读懂中国
Yiwu Welcomes 210+ New International Students: Understanding China Through the "World Supermarket"
HSK 4 · 3 min read
Today is China's 42nd Teacher's Day. A simple guide for international students on how to thank their Chinese teachers — no expensive gifts required.
Universities
今天是教师节
Today Is Teacher's Day
HSK 2 · 2 min read
Chinese universities are announcing their Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays for 2026 -- and the length varies a lot, from 10 days to a full 13-day break, giving students a chance to travel.
Universities
中秋节、国庆节：你的大学放几天假？
Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day: How Many Days Off Does Your University Give?
HSK 2 · 2 min read
On September 7, China entered "White Dew" (白露), the solar term marking the shift from summer to autumn — cold mornings, warm afternoons, and doctors' advice on staying healthy as the air turns dry.
Universities
白露到了：留学生的第一个中国节气
White Dew Arrives: An International Student's First Chinese Solar Term
HSK 3 · 4 min read
The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences began its new semester on September 6 with 21,577 new students, including 519 international students from 67 countries — part of a wider community drawn from 98 countries and regions.
Universities
国科大开学：519名留学生来自67个国家
UCAS Opens: 519 International Students From 67 Countries
HSK 3 · 3 min read
A practical guide for new international students on using WeChat Pay and Alipay in China: how to link a foreign bank card with no Chinese bank account, the $5,000/$50,000 limits, and how Beijing's subway now takes foreign cards too.
Universities
手机支付：留学生在中国怎么花钱
Mobile Payment: How International Students Spend Money in China
HSK 3 · 4 min read
New semester, new task: on Chinese campuses, packages don't reach the dorm door. Students collect small parcels from lockers using a text-message code, and bring ID to a service center for oversized ones -- based on official logistics guides from Zhejiang University and Xiamen University.
Universities
留学生的第一个快递
An International Student's First Package
HSK 4 · 4 min read
On September 2, South China Agricultural University welcomed over 14,200 new students at its opening ceremony in Guangzhou -- including international freshmen, who received their school badges for the first time.
Universities
华南农业大学开学：留学生的第一枚校徽
South China Agricultural University Opens: An International Student's First School Badge
HSK 3 · 3 min read
Hong Kong Baptist University has opened a new Master of Social Science in Sports Management built specifically for China's national team athletes, with places for only 30 students a year.
Universities
香港浸会大学开办运动管理硕士，给运动员的“第二起跑线”
Hong Kong Baptist University Opens a Sports Management Master's for Athletes
HSK 5 · 4 min read
A Sudanese PhD student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology has spent four years developing a low-cost, electricity-free material that turns sunlight and water vapor into clean drinking water — technology he hopes to one day bring home to water-scarce Sudan.
Universities
苏丹博士生严亚明：把阳光变成水
Sudanese PhD Student Yan Yaming: Turning Sunlight Into Water
HSK 4 · 4 min read
Southeast University in Nanjing welcomed nearly 5,000 freshmen on August 29 — among them a student who biked 706 kilometers from Fujian over ten and a half days to get there.
Universities
东南大学新生：骑车706公里去报到
Southeast University Freshmen: One Student Biked 706 Kilometers to Enroll
HSK 2 · 3 min read
On the night of August 29-30, Tsinghua University's incoming class completed a traditional 20-kilometer overnight route march as part of freshman military training, passing the campus's Second Gate and the Yuanmingyuan ruins before returning at 4 a.m.
Universities
清华新生的一夜：走二十公里
One Night for Tsinghua's Freshmen: Walking 20 Kilometers
HSK 3 · 2 min read
Fudan University's new undergraduates checked into dorms on Sunday, August 30; international students report a day later at the School of International Cultural Exchange, with classes starting September 8.
Universities
复旦大学新生：8月30日报到，留学生31日到
Fudan University Freshmen Move In August 30, International Students a Day Later
HSK 4 · 3 min read
A beginner-level look at China's famously cheap university canteens: dumplings, roast duck, and hot pot for around 30 yuan a meal.
Universities
中国大学的食堂：便宜又好吃
China's University Canteens: Cheap and Delicious
HSK 1 · 2 min read
