SHANGHAI, August 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese language and traditional Chinese medical science are the favorite subjects of foreign students studying in China.

Cao Xingguo, an official with the Ministry of Education, said that the number of foreign students studying in China has been increasing by 20 percent annually. In 2005, 140,000 foreign students from 190 countries were enrolled in Chinese colleges.

The favorite natural science subject for these foreign students is traditional Chinese medical science.

Since China started teaching traditional Chinese medical science in 1956, 23 teaching and research institutes have been founded across the country. They have helped train 54,700 foreign students from 130 countries and regions, said Chen Kaixian, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chen, also rector of Shanghai University of Chinese Medical Science, said that the foreign graduates included diploma-level, bachelor's-level, masters and doctoral level students.

So far, 568 Chinese higher-learning institutes have been authorized to sign up foreign students.

Cao said that enrollments of foreign students in China will surge to a record 300,000 this year. With new government funding available, 10,000 foreign students will benefit from scholarships this year, as compared with 6,700 last year.