As I walk out of the busy Birmingham New Street train station on this unusually shiny Saturday afternoon, I can make out the familiar sound of Chinese smartphone chatter next to me. "Ni zai nar ?" ("Where are you?") screams a young Chinese woman trudging through the crowd, apparently exhausted and displeased. Outside, a group of equally youthful Chinese is waiting at the taxi rank with oversized bright suitcases and bulging rucksacks. They are about to embark on one of the most thrilling adventures of their lives, the student experience abroad.

Home away from home 

Chen Liangyu, 23, from Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province, has just been through a 10-week pre-sessional English program in English for Academic Purposes at Aston University. He already holds a bachelor's degree in broadcasting from the University of Guangzhou. His eagerness to take a master's degree in global media management is visible. However, he still found it difficult to convey his excitement in English, and we quickly switched to Chinese.

"I chose to study abroad to widen my cultural horizons. When I come back to China, I want to work in the field of intercultural communication," he said. He settled in quickly in England.

"People are very nice and polite", he added, admitting, however, that he spends most of his time with other Chinese students. He acknowledged that since he has arrived in Birmingham, he has been living in an exclusively Chinese environment. "I speak Chinese 90 percent of the time here because I communicate with other Chinese. It's only natural," Chen said.

Birmingham is home to five universities catering to the educational needs of more than 65,000 students. It is also a diverse city. According to the UK's 2011 census, around 42 percent of residents were from an ethnic group other than "White" and 22 percent of its residents were born outside of the UK, compared with an average of 14 percent in England. In the pedestrian precinct, you are therefore more likely to hear conversations in Polish, Urdu, Hindi or Chinese than in English.

The Chinese Quarter is a magnet for Chinese students with its plethora of supermarkets, restaurants and takeaways. Located in the city center, this area has a vibrant Asian community and is a popular weekend destination.

Li Yang, 21, from Shanghai, has just arrived. I met him with a group of trendy, ebullient Chinese youths outside an Asian supermarket on the quaint Ladywell Walk in the Chinese Quarter. Li will study international business at Birmingham City University. Like most of his friends, he is determined to enjoy his stay in Birmingham to the fullest, even though prices are somewhat steep.

"My father is a security guard, and my mother an accountant. They are not business people," he explained, biting at his hamburger. "They pay for my education, so my budget is quite tight."

Tuition fees have shot up in England in the last decade, and universities charge international students up to £16,000 ($24,528). Taking living expenses into account, a year in college can cost up to £25,000 ($38,325). Students are therefore tempted to scrimp on food and social activities, while others just take a part-time job in a supermarket or a fast-food chain.

Unique experiences 

Chinese students are not deterred by the hefty bill. According to numbers from the UK's Higher Education Statistics Agency, for the period 2013-14, the number of students from outside the UK coming to study in the country increased slightly by 3 percent to 435,500. Of that, the number of Chinese students far exceeded any other nationality at 87,895, accounting for 20.2 percent of the total, and their numbers are growing fast.

Figures from the Higher Education Funding Council for England show that there are almost equal proportions of local and Chinese students in full-time master's programs in Britain (26 percent and 23 percent, respectively). These proportions were influenced by declines in entrants coming from traditional UK postgraduate markets such as India, Pakistan and Iran, coupled with continued growth in entrants from China.

It's an incredibly big step for young people from a radically different culture and linguistic background to come to grips with student life in the UK, a popular option for Chinese parents who can afford it. "There's a huge difference between Chinese and British education. We have class almost every day but in a relaxed atmosphere compared with China," Li said.

Dai Wei, 17, from Shenzhen in Guangdong, is a sixth-former. She had poor results in China. "My parents saw that I was not happy to study in China so they decided last year to send me to the UK. There are 13 Chinese students in my year group. That's almost 5 percent," she said.

Dai finds it difficult to make friends with her British classmates. "They are friendly, but the culture is different. I don't know what to talk about with them. They like fashion and cosmetics, and I like manga and Chinese literature," she added.

Most Chinese students plan to go back to China after graduation. "I really love this place. If I get the chance, I want to take another master's or even a PhD, either in this university or somewhere else in England," said a confident Chen. "But I will definitely come back to China and find a good job, especially in a bank."

Dai has already made up her mind. "I will study psychology at university in England, probably take a postgraduate degree in business and return to China. I love my country. I want to do something for my country," she said.

She also feels that foreign students are no longer welcome in the UK and that her professional prospects are bleak. "I heard in the news that the prime minister doesn't want foreign students to stay in the UK," Dai noted.

A positive perception 

After 10 weeks in Birmingham, Chen has noticed that most people around him, either students or lecturers, have a superficial understanding of China, mostly based on incomplete or inaccurate information.

"Sometimes they are amazed when I tell them what's happening in China," he remarked.

Li, however, strikes a positive note. "The British understand China quite well and are curious about it. They know it's a fantastic tourist destination."

Dai's main gripe is that some people still haven't got a clue about what China is. "They don't like us. They just don't understand who the Chinese are now. I am not really happy about that." She recalls a news report she saw on the BBC. Some people were interviewed and said that China poses a threat to other countries. "I felt sad, because my classmates are nice and they know China is friendly, but some people still feel--They don't understand China."

Distance lends enchantment to the view, wrote Scottish poet Thomas Campbell. From afar, Dai feels proud of her native land. "Even though there are still problems, my country has improved. I would like my government to solve these problems quickly so that foreigners cannot say that China is bad," she said. She, however, recognizes that face saving is important. "Maybe at a very early age, we learned to love our country and to introduce ourselves to the world in the best possible way. I just love my country, and I want everyone to see its achievements."

Huang Zhiying, 16, also from Shenzhen, shares a room in a homestay with Dai. She has a different assessment. She feels that the British are friendly and polite. "I really love life here, really enjoy their teaching methods. My father also would rather I live here."

Studying in Birmingham is a journey of discovery for these Chinese students. Most of them have never been abroad, and their sense of excitement away from their familiar environment is palpable. Li said that he was "happy to travel to Britain." "Sorry, I mean study in Britain," he corrected in Chinese as his friends burst into laughter. Such a slip of the tongue speaks for itself. This year in Britain will be a memorable journey and the experience of a lifetime.

The author is a French journalist living in Beijing 

Copyedited by Eric Daly

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