A class act

The Welsh city of Bangor, between the shores of the Menai Straits and the mountains of Snowdonia, is renowned for its ancient buildings and picture-postcard scenery. Eight thousand kilometers to the east, amid the gleaming towers and concrete ring roads of Beijing, Luna Wu is keen to put Bangor on the map for another reason.

"With the growth of higher education in China, Bangor University made a strategic decision to work with reputable Chinese institutions to raise Bangor University's profile in China, attract high-caliber Chinese students, develop joint research projects and ease the way for Bangor students to study in China," she said.

Wu, Bangor University's chief representative in Beijing, is not alone in wanting to establish links with the country. Hundreds of higher education institutions in the UK are tapping into the world's largest source of internationally mobile students, and their efforts are paying off.