From Nepal to Kazakhstan: Why Chinese students study in unlikely destinations
Amid the fierce competition in China’s higher education, many Chinese youths are choosing to stay off the beaten — and more expensive — path to further their studies in less popular countries such as Nepal and Kazakhstan. However, Lianhe Zaobao journalist Lee Chee Yang finds out that notwithstanding the challenges of language and academic pressure, there is no guarantee of improvement in prospects for these students.
At 6 am, lessons have already started at Kathmandu University in Nepal. At the lectern, the lecturer teaches in English, speaking quickly with a heavy accent. Xiaotong (pseudonym), from Henan in China, struggles to keep up and has to use his phone to translate the content into Chinese in real time.
Lesser-known study destinations, lower fees
After performing poorly in the gaokao, the 19-year-old had little choice but to seek another path to further his education, persuaded by his family. He shared, “It costs 20,000 RMB (roughly US$2,900) annually to study at a private vocational college in China, which comes to 80,000 RMB over four years. In Nepal, a four-year undergraduate degree costs roughly 50,000 RMB.”
He said helplessly that his family earns only about 30,000 RMB a year. “We could only choose somewhere we could afford,” he added.
Chinese students’ study destinations have become more diversified with the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Constrained by limited budgets, others like Xiaotong are giving up private colleges in China after the gaokao and turning instead to lesser-known countries with relatively lower tuition fees.
Li Jia (pseudonym), a 46-year-old parent from Hebei, faces a similar situation. Her son’s gaokao results were disappointing, leaving him with mostly private vocational colleges or ordinary institutions with relatively high tuition fees as his only options in China.
To ensure her son’s degree would be recognised upon returning to China, Li checked the accreditation list issued by the Chinese education ministry’s Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange while carefully comparing tuition fees and living costs. She eventually found that universities in Kazakhstan were a better fit in terms of both admission requirements and overall expenses.
Li said, “Annual tuition and living expenses come to around 70,000 RMB — far cheaper than studying in Europe or the US.”
From what she learned, some universities in Kazakhstan have flexible language requirements and allow students to take a foundation course to improve their language skills before progressing to the full degree programme, so “it’s not that difficult.”
Number of Chinese students growing alongside Belt and Road Initiative
In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese students are making pragmatic trade-offs over further education and choosing to study in less traditional destinations. Their main considerations centre on two factors: affordability and entry requirements.
According to the Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Students Studying Abroad released last April by the Center for China and Globalization, Chinese students’ study destinations have become more diversified with the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Citing data from UNESCO, the report notes that China was the leading source of international students for 24 Belt and Road partner countries in 2021. Around 170,000 Chinese students were studying in these countries, accounting for 15.8% of their total international student population.
... pursuing further education through domestic channels in China is highly competitive and takes more time. In contrast, some lesser-known study-abroad destinations offer relatively shorter programmes, “for example, you can graduate with a master’s degree in about a year.” — Yang Hua, President, Sidade (思答得)
Taking Kazakhstan as an example, news agency Kazinform cited the latest figures in reporting that there were 35,075 international students in the country in 2025, with China ranking among the largest source countries.
Yang Hua, president of study abroad consultancy Sidade (思答得), told Lianhe Zaobao that enquiries about less conventional study destinations have significantly risen over the past few years. Among the students she encounters, some performed poorly in the gaokao and could only enter China’s vocational college system, while others, after completing undergraduate studies, failed to obtain a degree or lacked competitiveness, hindering their prospects for further education and employment.
Yang said these students are more concerned about completing their studies as quickly as possible and making up for gaps in their qualifications, so as to create more room for future employment or further studies. However, pursuing further education through domestic channels in China is highly competitive and takes more time. In contrast, some lesser-known study-abroad destinations offer relatively shorter programmes, “for example, you can graduate with a master’s degree in about a year.”
Meanwhile, increased frequency in economic and trade exchanges between China and certain countries have opened up more doors for Chinese students to study abroad.
An article on Phoenix News’ WeChat public account quoted study-abroad consultant Zhang Qizhi who pointed out that as the BRI advances and ties between China and Central Asian countries deepen, universities there are keen to recruit more Chinese students in hopes they would stay on to work after graduating.
The report also cited information from Chinese recruitment websites showing that some Chinese companies are hiring managerial staff for their branches in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Better prospects not guaranteed
However, most of these students still feel that job prospects are a long way off. The more pressing problem for them currently is keeping up with the pace of their courses and completing their studies.
Since arriving in Nepal, Xiaotong has had to record nearly every class, then translate the content sentence by sentence in his dormitory. Because the pace of English-medium teaching is fast and with a heavy accent, he often has to listen several times before he can figure out what the lecturer means. He shared that another Chinese student in the same class is also struggling.
... she quickly realised the linguistic and academic pressure he was under overseas. “Oftentimes, the teachers and classmates speak the local language or Russian, which he can’t fully understand,” she said. — Li Jia (pseudonym), a 46-year-old parent from Hebei whose son is studying in Kazakhstan
Li also revealed that her son finds the pace of lessons challenging, and that much of the coursework has to be prepared in advance. “You can’t expect to pass just by flipping through the material and doing some writing,” she said.
She initially thought that as long as he managed to go abroad and complete his enrolment, her son would be able to escape the limited education options he faced in China. But she quickly realised the linguistic and academic pressure he was under overseas. “Oftentimes, the teachers and classmates speak the local language or Russian, which he can’t fully understand,” she said.
Faced with such challenges, some have begun to question the value of studying abroad. Even if they manage to obtain a degree, would an overseas diploma still confer the same advantage in the job market it once did?
Xiong Bingqi, president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, pointed out when interviewed that even if students complete their studies, an overseas diploma alone is now unlikely to give them a clear edge in China’s job market.
He said that whether they choose to remain abroad or return home, the key is whether they truly acquire the skills required for their future jobs, rather than “going overseas for the sake of studying overseas”.
He reminded that in the current environment, students and families considering overseas study need to assess their investment and returns more carefully.
Doubts about the value of his education qualifications have long been part of Xiaotong’s life. Relatives and friends occasionally ask him: “Will studying in Nepal be useful in the future?”
He would usually respond with a wry smile, but he is well aware that this overseas qualification might not immediately change anything when he returns to China, nor would it guarantee better job prospects. At the very least, it has not left him in the same place in life.
This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “费用与门槛更低 中国学生走向小众留学地”.
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