Lucie YL/ Shanghai Daily News

Chinese students take their study trips abroad, while foreigners arrive in the summer-months and flock to university classrooms for short-term Chinese-language study programs. Professor Tsui Baomei, Dean of the College of International Cultural Exchange in Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), stated that some 230 foreigners are enrolled in the university's Mandarin program this year. They came from more than twenty countries, with the number of European and South-African students in perticular growing rapidly, today's Shanghai Morning Post reports.
The extraordinarily hot Shanghai summer doesn’t' faze the students. In a classroom at SUSU Hongkou Campus, about a dozen foreign students are practicing Chinese conversation. Among them is a handsome German boy who says it is the third time that he has attended such programs. He has acquired a Chinese name for himself,  Fang Yuan, literally meaning "square and round".
Professor Tsui said the program usually lasts several weeks, and at a much lower price of tuition and accommodation than is available abroad. The curriculum includes compulsory elements, mainly Chinese Conversation,  with optional secondary courses such as Chinese Calligraphy, Chinese painting and Chinese Taiji. City tours are offered once a week as part of the activities program. After finishing the program, many students continue their travels elsewhere in China.
She revealed that a survey was conducted recently to get feedback on the program's effectiveness, quality and management.
Most students expressed their wish to learn more about China. By studying the language and culture, they also want to enrich their understanding and career.