Our study tour at the Beijing International Chinese College in Chaoyang district has been the most exciting adventure of our careers. 

We received a warm welcoming on our arrival on 13 November. As part of our study experience in the People's Republic of China, we flew to Shanghai where we visited East China Normal University, which has a partnership with the Department of Basic Education for teachers and schools. The university offers bursaries to international students and currently has 126 international students enrolled on campus. 

Our stop in Shanghai included a guided tour of the city on road, and a night time boat ride onboard the Yellow River ferry to view the magnificent bright lights of the city/ buildings...

Not only did we enjoy the boat ride on the Yellow River, which flows through Shanghai city, we drove in a 2.5km tunnel to get to the other side of the city to visit the world's second tallest sky scraper, at a height of 632m and 128 floors, the Shanghai Towers is a major tourist attraction for local and international visitors alike.

On Wednesday, 27 November, we flew to Weihai in Shandong Province, an eastern coastal city overlooking North and South Korea on the Yellow Sea.

Unlike Shanghai and Beijing, Weihai has a smaller population of just over 2.4million people, meaning there is much less traffic, shorter travel time between places and very little busyness and buzz of big cities. 

The highlight of our visit in Weihai was experiencing the campus life at the Weihai Vocational College, which has over 16000 students enrolled and also offers scholarships to prospective international students. The college offers 59 majors in higher vocational education to meet the demands and support the development of local industries.

Some of the 3-year courses offered include Transportation Engineering, Architectural Engineering, Art and Design, Economics and Management, Tourism and Hospitality, among others. 

The college is a pristine learning environment and you would be hard pressed to find a single piece of paper lying on the ground. The picturesque college is the only one among Chinas universities and colleges (and most likely in the world) that boasts stretches of seawater, on campus amounting to 500,000 square meters including a beach.

Weihai Vocational College is a multi-award winning training institution among Chinas top 50 (vocational and universities) in social contribution, teaching resources and graduate employment.  

The high-quality production by the College students speaks to the high standards expected from each student, the aspirations and ethos of society.