Chongqing- 2023 marks the tenth anniversary since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched, which has greatly enhanced trade cooperation and related infrastructure with nations from six continents worldwide. Chongqing is located at a critical juncture between the BRI and Yangtze River economic belt, which has raised interest amongst young students worldwide to undertake degree programs at universities based in the city, with many taking advantage of BRI scholarships to foster skills and contribute to development in their respective countries. In this series, iChongqing reporter James Alexander meets with overseas students from five top universities in Chongqing to learn about their impressions of life and study.

Chongqing - iChongqing reporter James traveled to Southwest University to meet with Franca Enyiazu, a Ph.D. student from Nigeria, Nguyen Thi Hang, a Ph.D. student from Vietnam, and Masters’ student Olga Lazareva from Russia, to hear about their experiences in Chongqing and hopes for the future.

When Franca is not busy studying, she loves to explore the natural surroundings where she always feels safe and enjoys mixing with the locals and tucking into local delicacies. Thi Hang shares how both the climate and culture between her native Hanoi and Chongqing have many similarities, while Olga hopes to move back to Russia in the future to teach Mandarin language to the ever-growing number of students.

Liu Meng, General Secretary of the Southwest University International College Party Committee, met to introduce the history of overseas student recruitment at the university and the advantages they offer in terms of education and living environment, such as having one of the first landscape campuses nationally.

Southwest University is located in Beibei District at the foot of Jinyun Mountain near the meandering Jialing River and is known as the back garden of Chongqing. This landscape campus offers a fine environment for students, while the cost of living is relatively low compared to the more developed areas downtown.

The number of international students exceeded 2,000 for the first time in 2018, while more than 16,000 from over 100 countries have graduated from Southwest University in total. For these, the most favored degree programs are Chinese Language and Literature, Chinese International Education, Economics, as well as Pharmaceutics and Education.