Follow the jump links to learn more about China:
Lifestyle and Family Living
Teen Life
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts
Lifestyle and Family Living
The Confucian ethic of proper social and family relationships forms the foundation of Chinese society. The Chinese have a strong sense of family, and they respect hierarchy and interpersonal obligations. Parents expect to know when their children are going out and where they are going.
Often, both parents in a family work outside the home. Families generally include one child, and it is not uncommon for a grandparent to live with the family.
Because parents tend to take a keen interest in their children’s education and expect them to study hard, they will typically set limits on going out or on recreational activities that might interfere with schoolwork. In addition, parents often encourage the active involvement of the school in their child’s upbringing. Chinese students spend a great deal of their day in school engaged in studying.
Most Chinese families in the cities live in multi-story apartment buildings. All space within the home is generally considered shared. You may live in your own room or share with your host sibling.
Chinese host families, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.
Teen Life
As described above, much of a Chinese teenager’s life revolves around his or her school. When not at school or engaged in school activities, teenagers get together at friends’ homes, go to movies, watch television or play sports. Soccer, ping-pong, handball, volleyball, basketball, Chinese traditional martial arts, and dance are all popular pastimes.
Chinese teenagers seldom date. Instead, they often socialize with their classmates and go out in single-sex groups. Dates are not unheard of, but neither are they encouraged. Public touching or displays of affection between a male and female of any age is unusual, though it is not unusual for schoolmates of the same sex to walk hand in hand or with an arm around one another.
Dress and Appearance
Chinese teenagers, while dressing very much according to popular teenage styles worldwide, wear their school uniforms most of each day during the week and at all school-sponsored events.
School uniforms typically consist of a jogging suit worn over street clothes, and a more formal uniform for special school occasions. The typical cost of a uniform is 300 RMB, but some schools can provide you with one.
You should bring jeans or other casual pants, T-shirts, collared shirts, sweaters, comfortable shoes for walking, a bathing suit, raincoat and a full range of warm clothing for the winter months, including warm underwear, snow boots and a heavy jacket.
For special occasions, more formal dress is expected: for women a dress or blouse and skirt; for men a jacket, slacks and tie.
It is generally unacceptable to wear torn, worn out, or revealing clothing. Note that Chinese students do not usually have large wardrobes (or closet space), so limiting the number of items you bring will not only help keep your luggage compact but will also help you fit in with your Chinese peers.
Diet and Meals
Typically, the Chinese diet consists more of vegetables, rice and noodles than of meat. Noodles and dumplings are popular in the north, while rice dishes are more common in the south. Chinese cuisine is varied and delicious with a wide spectrum of textures and tastes.
It is important to note that Chinese families are not expected to provide Western-style food. It is also not advised that participants make a habit of buying Western-style food for themselves, even though it is widely available; it is comparatively expensive and will tend to create a distance between you, your peers and your host family.
Educational System
The school year usually runs from early September through the end of July. School is in session all day with some optional sports, music, club or study sessions taking place after 4 p.m. The school day is typically divided into seven lessons. Chinese schools and classrooms are often large, with 35 to 50 students in a classroom.
There is a set curriculum, and a class remains together throughout the day, with teachers typically coming to the class, except in some music and laboratory classes. You will also participate in exercising or “eye-massages.”
Most AFS participants will be placed in the Senior 1 level. AFS students are not placed in the Senior 2 or 3 levels, because they are the graduating classes, and students in those classes are typically fully engrossed in study for the university entrance examinations, leaving nearly no time at all for social activities.
Academic achievement is extremely important to most Chinese students and their families. Therefore, a great deal of time is devoted to study. School days are long and emphasis is placed on math and science. Chinese students often devote several hours to study outside the classroom each day. Classroom work often means reciting and being tested orally by the teacher and sometimes evaluated by the teacher in front of the class. Criticism from teachers in the classroom is frequent and accepted.
All of the schools in which AFS participants are placed are top academic high schools. The standard of behavior and academic engagement is very high and adherence to school rules and behavioral standards will be expected of AFSers, just as they are for Chinese students.
Although you may be able to obtain academic credit for the coursework you successfully complete while abroad, AFS cannot guarantee academic credit for courses. Please discuss your plans with your school before you go abroad.
Geography and Climate
China is the third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada. It occupies most of eastern Asia south of Siberia. It is bordered on the south by Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India and the Himalayan mountains. It lies almost entirely in the temperate zone, although some sections of the southern provinces lie within the tropics. In summer, warm, moist air brings heavy rains to the eastern part of the country. In winter, dry cold Siberian air pushes south into China bringing a fair amount of snow. Despite its huge area, the country observes one time zone.
Population
China, with a population of about 1.3 billion, is home to more than 20% of the world’s people.
Language
Mandarin Chinese (the national language) is spoken by more than 70% of the population and is also used in Singapore and Malaysia. China has 55 different ethnic groups, each with its own language or dialect.
You are not required to speak Mandarin prior to departure but we encourage you to begin studying independently since the more you know before you go, the better. If you are participating in a Year or Semester long program, you will be offered intensive language classes during the first 3 months of your stay. These classes will be arranged by your local volunteers and be offered through your host high school.
Government
The National People’s Congress is the chief legislative body. The State Council has executive authority. Congress elects the premier and deputy premiers. The Chinese Communist Party controls the government.
Religion
Officially China is an atheist country, although it is not unusual to find some small religious groups as Taoists and Buddhists. Muslims represent 1% – 2% of the population and Christians 3% – 4%.
Spending Money
Chinese money is called Renminbi (RMB) means “The People’s Currency”. The popular unit of RMB is “yuan”
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about $100- $300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- Great Wall – Its construction started in the 7th century B.C. and took 200 years to complete. It was built for defense purposes. Today, with a total length extending more than 6,000 km (3,800 mi), it is said to be visible from outer space, though astronauts have not confirmed this.
- Chinese Horoscope – “This is the animal that hides in your heart.” According to legend, Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from Earth. Only 12 animals came to bid him farewell. As a reward, he named a year after each one in the order they arrived.
- Mount Everest – The highest peak in the world 29,035 ft. (8,850 m.) was formed about 60 million years ago. Its name in Nepal is Sagarmatha (goddess of the sky); in Tibet it is Chomolungma (mother goddess of the universe), and around the world it was named after Sir George Everest in 1865, British surveyor–general of India.
- The Chinese physician Hua T’o, born sometime between 140 and 150 A.D., was the first doctor known to perform surgery using general anesthetic. The potion that rendered his patients unconscious was a mixture of hemp and strong wine called ma fei san. Prior to the Communist revolution, a national holiday commemorated his birth.
- Fingerprinting was used in China as early as 700 A.D.
- It is not true that the early Chinese used gunpowder only for fireworks. They had forms of guns (invented in 1288), bombs, grenades, rockets, land mines and other arms.
- The manufacturing process that produced porcelain, or “china,” was a mystery known only to the Chinese until around 1700. Although imitation porcelain was made earlier in Italy, it was Johann Friedrich Böttger, of Saxony, who first made true porcelain (Dresden china) in the West.
- Paper was invented in China around 105 A.D. by the eunuch Ts’ai Lun.
- More pork is eaten in China than in any other country, about 50% of the pork consumed worldwide.
