The serene recompense of the beautiful south

By Riazat Butt(China Daily Europe)

　　Chinese students drawn to quieter life in Southampton on the English coast

　　I realize two things as Liu Yuxuan, an engineering student, leads me past the hordes of undergraduates spilling out of Southampton University and into the bowels of a nightclub called The Cube.

　　First, that I am old enough to be the mother of most of the people around me, and second, that I have never been this far into the university's Highfield campus, despite having lived a 15-minute walk away for most of my adult life.

　　We meet on the day of The Bun Fight, which takes place during Freshers' Week, where the university's many societies and clubs vie for membership. Somewhere toward the back of a basement room, in between "Wales", "Nepal" and "Poland", is the stall for the Chinese Student Scholar Association.

　　It is decorated with photographs, lanterns and knotting. Foil-wrapped packs of chicken-flavor noodles and red cans of wonglokat, a Chinese herbal tea, are being given away.

　　"When people come to our stall they ask who we are and what we do. They are also interested in joining our events," says Liu, who is 24 and comes from Xiangyang in Hubei province. "The other people - non-Chinese - are more interested in our snacks and drinks."

　　He and the other Chinese students looking after the stall arrived at 9.30 am and spent three days preparing for The Bun Fight. The event officially finishes at 4 pm, but Liu concedes it will be at least 5 pm before they go home.

　　"It's a door that's open to everyone in our university, not just Chinese students. They have a chance to get to know us. We also want people to get to know Chinese culture," he says. "There is a Confucius Institute (at Southampton University), but there are some people who can't afford the fees so we also try to organize a small course so people can practice their Chinese."

　　Southampton University attracts more than 6,500 international students from more than 135 countries every year. About one-third are from China. During the 2013-14 academic year, the college had 2,410 Chinese students: 953 undergraduates and 1,457 postgraduates.

　　In December, the city's other higher education institution, Southampton Solent University, welcomed two delegations from China's Ministry of Education. These visits were followed up by a weeklong trip to China in April by senior Solent representatives, who visited eight universities in an effort to increase the exchange of students and staff between Southampton and China.

　　Southampton's appeal as a destination baffles me. Its institutions are excellent - Southampton University is ranked as one of the top 75 universities in the world and is a member of the UK's prestigious Russell group - but the city itself is quiet and small. It lacks the cosmopolitan element and glamour of bigger cities and my complaints while I was growing up there - and on my visits since - were that there was nothing to do and everything closed at 6 pm.

　　Once, I complained to my mother about not being able to get a manicure on a Sunday.

　　"I'm Chinese and I find it (Southampton) a different experience," says Zoe Yao, who works in Southampton University's international office and comes from Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. "It's a positive thing. It brings a different life experience. It's very green. It's on the water. We are near the New Forest and we can travel easily to London.

　　"Many people appreciate this. It enables them to study without distraction. It's a research-led university and many people choose Southampton because of this. A lot of (Chinese) students are from cities which have millions of people living in. They are very crowded and you're in a very competitive zone when you're out and about: on the subway, buying a cinema ticket, in a restaurant."

　　Yao graduated from Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium in 2004. A UK company offered her a job in research publishing and then she moved to Southampton because her husband applied to study a PhD course in audiology.

　　Southampton has a population of about 250,000 and has no subway system. But Yao is right: It is green and is close enough to places of interest should the young Chinese who have made my hometown into their hometown want to kick up their heels. It also has a massive Ikea - its Market Hall is one of the biggest in the UK - and young Chinese people can often be seen staggering under the weight of flat-pack furniture.

　　I started noticing the city's increasing Chinese population after I had accepted a job with China Daily in Beijing.

　　"To be honest, I'd never seen such a small city," Liu says. "I lived in China for many years and Singapore, where I have also lived, is so developed and modern. The (recruitment) agency told me it was the sixth-largest city in the UK, but to me it doesn't seem very large.

　　"I love this city, it's really very lovely and I love the sea. It was easy to be in Singapore, it was close to China and it's part of Asia. We spoke English on campus and the rest of the time we could speak Mandarin. Coming to the UK was different. In Southampton I could hardly understand what my lecturers were saying; it didn't sound like English. Also, everything closes early on a Sunday in the UK. I don't understand this."

　　There are a few Chinese supermarkets in Southampton, including one in my area, Portswood, and karaoke clubs in the city's Chinese restaurants. Yao Brothers Oriental Supermarket even has a minibus service between the university and its premises in Northam so Chinese students can stock up for Spring Festival.

　　"Chinese students don't go out and hang out with other (non-Chinese) students," Liu says. "They should. Normally the Chinese prefer to stick together, but we're trying to promote information about SUSU (Southampton University Student Union) events so they have a chance to get in touch with real English culture.

　　"There are three things we Chinese do in our leisure time. We like cooking. It's something we can do together as the cooking process is very social. Some people like to go shopping to London or Bicester for luxury items.

　　"Chinese students also like to travel around the UK and (Eurpoe). That's what every Chinese dreams of doing, traveling. I've been to France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. The living experience is as important as the academic experience."