German studies TCM

Susanne Fubian studied Chinese in Germany and in 1985 she was an exchange student at Xiamen University in southern China's Fujian Province. She became interested in TCM when a German schoolmate cured her stubborn facial skin condition using TCM.

Twenty years later she decided she needed a life change. She was teaching German in a Hangzhou middle school and decided to study TCM and learn about the use of leeches.

Learning TCM is demanding, especially remembering the names and uses of herbs and combinations of herbs to treat various ailments. She had to study standard works, most written in old Chinese.

To aid her understanding of TCM, Fubian also learns tai chi and Shaolin neigong (internal exercise), which gives her greater power when she performs tuina (push-pull TCM massage).

Her commitment and skill eventually won the trust and respect of teachers and patients.

Her tutor says that once she used moxibustion on a patient's knees. Since he was sitting on a chair and she is quite tall, she knelt down and stayed on her knees until the treatment was completed.

Brain surgeon from Yemen

When Ammar Albadany was a little boy, he was fascinated by the Chinese medical corps stationed in his country. He eagerly listened to their stories about the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the terra-cotta warriors in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.

So when, as one of the top students in Yemen, Albadany was offered the chance of a scholarship to study abroad in 1997, he jumped at the chance to study medicine in China.

He is a PhD student at Zhejiang University, majoring in neurosurgery. In addition to his studies, Albadany is fascinated by Chinese culture and reads works in archaic Chinese, including "The Analects of Confucius."

Last year, he won first prize in the Chinese Proficiency Competition for foreign college students in Hangzhou and impressed judges with his command of the works of ancient philosophers and poets.

Albadany says the "secret" of his fluency in Chinese is talking and repeating.

"People walking on the streets are all my teachers. I make it a habit to repeat aloud new words that I hear from others wherever I go," he says.

Australian kung fu guy

Zheng Shuai is a 24-year-old Chinese Australian. He just finished a one-year language course at Zhejiang University as an exchange student and is continuing his studies.

As the son of a kung fu master, Zheng started learning martial arts when he was five years old. Last year he won three gold medals in Drunk Fist (zui quan), Drunk Sword (zui jian) and Eight Extremes Fist (ba ji quan) in the 6th Zhejiang International Traditional Wushu Tournament.

Zheng is always busy. In the mornings he studies Chinese language, in the afternoon he practices with the university's wushu team and on weekends he studies folk martial arts with master Ma Ruihua who taught him Eight Extremes Fist.

"Compared with other cities, Hangzhou is clean and the pace is leisurely - that's apparent as soon as you take a breath of Hangzhou air when you step of a train or plane," the young man says.

Georgia gal calligrapher

Irina Reka was among the top students in the Republic of Georgia and arrived in Hangzhou in 2005 for a year of language training.

She traveled throughout China but loved Hangzhou best. When it was time to decide on further studies, she took a postgraduate degree in international relations at Zhejiang University. She received a full scholarship.

Reka is attracted by quiet places and enjoys sipping jasmine tea to relax.

She is learning calligraphy, painting, tea ceremony and tai chi.

Studying Chinese characters takes patience and repetition. She copies every new character hundreds of times to commit the image and stroke order to mind.

Korean studies Chinese

South Korean Kim Myeong-sum is a junior majoring in Chinese language at Zhejiang University of Technology.

"China is a developing world market with huge opportunities," says Kim, adding that Chinese language, culture and customs also drew her.

Though South Korea and China share some aspects of Asian culture, Kim notes many different customs.

She once gave a clock as a gift to a Chinese friend, but she was criticized: Chinese never give clocks, that's considered bad luck. The pronunciation of "give clock" (song zhong) is the same as "send off the dead."

Kim says most Koreans think many Chinese dishes are too oily, but she loves all kinds of Chinese hot pot that isn't made with oil. She sometimes cooks Korean-Chinese food with less oil and more Korean flavor.

Source: Shanghai Daily

Editor: Charlie