"Studying in Hong Kong gives me a great chance to increase my learning ability and develop my interests," first year student of City University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Zhang Yijing said yesterday .

Zhang, a Beijing resident, is one of the 400 mainland students who applied through the National Joint College Entrance Examination to get into CUHK.

Mainland students in Hong Kong have to study for four years for a degree, the first obviously being the foundation year.

Four of such students China Daily spoke to said studying in Hong Kong had many positives that were not available on the mainland. One thing they like the most is the good learning environment in Hong Kong.

And all of them are grateful for the support they have received from teachers and fellow-students. That has been a constant source of encouragement, helping them to immerse into university life.

Meng Hao from Shandong is in the first year. He said his friends on the mainland couldn't believe that he had so many facilities (like computers and common room) in the dormitory building.

Another first year student, Xu Ke, said mainland universities arranged everything for students. On the other hand, Hong Kong students could choose the subjects they wanted. In Hong Kong, teachers and students were like friends, with the former volunteering to help students.

The Beijing resident found her Hong Kong counterparts to be more independent and involved in more extra-curricular activities. She said she would try to acquire creative thinking and cooperative attitude from her Hong Kong counterparts.

Students on the mainland, Meng said, don't have the same motivation to study as their Hong Kong counterparts because they had to take some compulsory classes. The atmosphere in the city has prompted him to excel in as many fields as possible.

Zhang has completed the foundation year. Now a major of Manufacturing Engineering, she said she had received enthusiastic help both from teachers and students.

She believes her excellent result last year, CGPA 3.95, was partly because of their help.

Jiangxi's Wan Shiyao, 15, is the youngest mainland student to be admitted to CUHK this year after jumping grades both in junior and senior high schools.

She had heard rumours before coming to Hong Kong that people here didn't treat mainlanders well. But it took just two weeks in the city for her to realize how baseless those rumours were, for she found Hong Kong people to be nice and caring.

Though they have problems with using English in class, help from teachers and students enable them to adjust to the new environment more easily, the four students said.

An important reason for them to have applied to study in Hong Kong was their urge to understand more about the city as an international financial hub.

By studying in Hong Kong, they could learn about eastern and western cultures both, something that would help their development, they said.

They have been offered a full scholarship of HK$60,000 a year by the university.

(HK Edition 09/14/2006 page2)