The China Helper
Your practical guide to studying, living and learning in China.
Guides for international students planning to study at a Chinese university.
The single best argument for travelling while you study here is that the thing which usually ruins travel budgets elsewhere — the distance — is cheap here, while the things you actually want out of a trip are not. A…
This is one of the most misunderstood topics among graduating students in China, so let us start with the sentence that saves people the most time: nothing converts automatically. Finishing a degree here does not roll your student residence permit…
During enrolment week you are handed paperwork at speed, and somewhere in that pile are two things that quietly run your life for the next year or four. One proves you are a student. The other is effectively your wallet,…
If you are coming to China to study a degree programme in English, or arriving on a scholarship that includes a language year, you will spend a surprising amount of your week in a Chinese classroom — and it will…
Most international students default into a dorm without ever comparing it to the alternative — and most are glad they did, at least for the first semester. But dorms and off-campus flats are genuinely different products, with different paperwork, different…
If you entered China on an X1 visa, you are not finished with immigration paperwork — you have just started it. An X1 is a single-entry visa that only gets you through the border; it does not let you stay…
What international students are legally allowed to do, where to find internships, how to build a Chinese-style CV, and how to convert to a work visa.
CSC, provincial, university and Confucius Institute scholarships — types, amounts, eligibility, deadlines and how to write a winning application.
A step-by-step guide to applying to Chinese universities: choosing a programme, finding scholarships, required documents, deadlines and what happens after you are accepted.
How to get a Chinese student visa: X1 versus X2, the documents you need, step-by-step application, costs, and converting it into a residence permit after arrival.