Outpost in Beijing gives mixture of home, culture and learning

Basang Phanthok, 17, is a sophomore at the Beijing Tibet Middle School, which she and her nearly 300 classmates from Tibet consider to be a home away from home.

The Beijing school, which is near the North Fourth Ring Road on Gaoyuan Jie, opened in 1987. It is the largest, and one of the best, Tibetan middle schools established in China outside of the Tibet autonomous region.

By August, it had educated 1,135 middle school students and 4,458 high school students.

The school has four grades, from freshman to senior in high school. The students all board at the school, and their schedule is strictly planned from 6 am until 10:30 pm.

According to the daily schedule, they get up at 6 am and run for 30 minutes before breakfast. The morning session starts at 7:30 and ends at 12:10 pm. Then students take a lunch break. The afternoon session begins at 2 pm and ends at 4:40 pm. Students take part in extracurricular activities before dinner, which is at 6 pm. The evening class begins at 7:40 pm and ends at 9:50 pm. Students then take a break before going to bed.

The majority of students go home once a year during summer vacation and stay at school the rest of the time, according to Zhang Mei, the school's vice-principal.

"We try to provide as many Tibetan cultural activities as we can to give students a homelike environment, ease their homesickness and help them adapt to life outside of their region," Zhang said.

"We host Tibetan Culture Week every year and encourage students to present their talents in all aspects, including Tibetan calligraphy and traditional dance. Students like to dress in traditional clothing for the festival."