Education for the Chinese masses is seen as a way of ensuring a bright future, a financially rewarding career and the security of one's parents in old age. In 1992 there were 2.18 million university students in China; by 2002 this figure had risen to 16 million at almost 2,000 institutions across the country. For those who've grown up in the countryside, a higher education removes them from the daily toil of rural life. A few see college as a ticket to a better life abroad. No surprise, then, that from a young age Chinese kids are put under a lot of pressure to be successful academically. These demands are by no means lessened during university - and life for Chinese students is far removed from the comforts and pleasures of foreign students.

　　These and other cultural differences are natural; but other differences are often accentuated by the universities, which cordon off their foreign students from the Chinese. There is a lack of free time available to Chinese students, and different attitudes towards what constitutes socialising and having a good time. Chinese students at Beijing Normal have an average of thirty-three class hours per week; foreign students, an average of fifteen hours! Even if a foreigner managed to make good friends with a Chinese, when can they find the time to meet? Many of my classmates have so little spare time, some have not even been to the Summer Palace or the Temple of Heaven. When I ask them what they enjoy doing, one of the top answers is sleeping.

　　Meanwhile, for Westerners, fun, leisure time and social interaction are just as important as serious study. Before I came to Beijing, I was warned about the "Sanlitun Trap": Drawn in by bright lights, cheap drinks and virtually twenty-four hour partying on offer in Beijing's bar district, those who fall into this trap frequent bars by night and DVD shops by day. A similar lifestyle would be inconceivable for most of my Chinese classmates. The average Chinese student would not be able to afford to spend hundreds of yuan on beer. In a society where money and face play a big role, it would be difficult to find a Chinese student with enough disposable income to fully participate in a foreign students' night out - leaving one to wonder how to involve a Chinese in one's social circle without creating a potentially embarrassing situation.

　　So how to overcome all the aforementioned obstacles? With efforts by students on both sides. When foreigners leave their air-conditioned rooms and walk around campus, they should try out Chinese facilities. Eat in Chinese student canteens. Play football or table tennis with Chinese students. Time will play its part, too. My classmates already know more about the English football premiership than I do. As the economy improves, the amount of disposable income jangling in people's pockets will increase and maybe Chinese students will begin to join foreign ones indulging in the occasional night out.

　　Perhaps most importantly, universities should try to address the current situation of two student communities each almost fully independent of one another. If they were brought closer together and encouraged to interact more often, Chinese and foreign students wouldn't find it so hard to relate. One day, perhaps, a British man like me might find himself in a dormitory for both foreigners and Chinese. If that happened, I guarantee he would return to England with a better understanding of China.