Twenty years ago, it was hard to find different skin-colors of foreign students in Beijing's streets and lanes. But nowadays, they can be seen in any one of Beijing's institutions of higher learning. According to the Ministry of Education, the number of universities with more than 1,000 foreign students has reached 20, and that of foreign students in Beijing is expected to exceed 50,000 in 2005.

The specialties they choose have been enlarged from traditional Chinese and Chinese medicine to various branches of learning, such as science and technology, economics, law and finance, according to the overseas edition of People's Daily on November 7.

Kung Fu (martial art) lures them

Momba Xineitu, a foreign student from Congo, is studying in the Beihang University, formerly called Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics for a doctoral degree of circuitry. Today Momba Xineitu wishes to become an engineer working in a well-known airline corporation in China. However, his initial goal to study in China was Chinese kungfu.

Momba Xineitu is not only one of foreign students who want to learn kungfu here. Japanese student Kan Shinohara in the Computer Department of Tsinghua University is very fond of Jin Yong's martial art works. The student said, "The Eightfold Path of the Heavenly Dragon is my most favorable one. My father often buys TV plays adapted from Jin Yong's martial art works for me. And I also finding special liking in them. Every time I watch I will be full of heroic spirit."

Many of foreign students in China almost have the same experience - they are familiar or obsessed with the details of Chinese films, such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Hero", "Kungfu", and "Myth". "I have no enough time to learn Chinese martial art, since the time is very pressing for me to study", Momba Xineitu said regrettably. "Nevertheless, it's no problem that I can have some practice, putting on a pose of "Chinese kungfu", he said smilingly.

Chinese language makes them have the future

Although learning no "Chinese kungfu", Momba Xineitu can speak Chinese fluently.

"In Congo, speaking Chinese is a symbol of wisdom, as it is deemed that it is hard to learn Chinese". In talking, he took out his pocket electronic dictionary. If encountering into some Chinese words that he is not familiar with, he will refer them to the dictionary that he brings with him.

Notwithstanding that most of foreigners think it is complicated to write Chinese characters, and it is even more difficult for beginners. The charm of Chinese civilization, especially the peculiar Chinese writing art as well as artistic works, including novels, poems and lyrics, couplets, prose and dramas, still attracts a large number of foreign students. With the sustainable and fast development of China's economy and the improvement of Chinese international status, there have been more co-operations between China and the international society in the areas of politics, economy and education. Speaking Chinese evidently denotes the better prospect for personal development.

"There are many Japanese companies in China. If I have a good command of Chinese with work experiences, it will be easier to hunt for a job", said Utsumi Manabu, a Japanese student, who learned Chinese in the Beijing Normal University for a year. Before coming to China for study, he had worked for 11 years in Japan. He is<