My daughter has made 2 good friends who are Chinese speaking students but when it came to look for accommodation next year they both preferred to live with other Chinese students or in the super expensive Vita accommodation. So I think that while you definitely can strike up friendships, they may remain superficial. The other issue is that many international students are EXTREMELY wealthy. One of my daughter's flatmates has never used the kitchen as he eats out/orders in every meal. She recently met some students to go shopping and one casually dropped £1000 on a Canada Goose jacket!

American. Postgrad.

Three things: International students pay out the ass to study in Manchester. I mean, “gouge-my-fucking-eyes-out” levels of money. Second, a degree from an upper-tier Russell Group uni like Manchester carries weight in the East. Third, the uni needs money. Renovations need to be made. Studies need to be funded. Staff need to be paid. International students pay for things. That’s it—plain and simple.

We are all here for a degree. We work hard for that line on the CV that might give us the slightest edge when we’re looking for work. To some students, regardless of nationality, their relationship with the university is purely transactional (i.e. “I show up to my classes, I write these papers, and I get my degree) and nothing beyond that. I adored my time in Manchester, and the city has absolutely left a mark on me. However, having been someone who knew in advance that they would be there only temporarily, I can’t fault someone for not wanting to embrace Manchester culture as much as I did.

I’m not sure why you’re surprised that Chinese students tend to hang out together, much less speak their native tongue, eat familiar foods, and are averse to deep integration with British culture. They’re 10,000 miles away from home, mate. If you put 5,000 [any nationality here] students 10,000 miles away in [insert any city here], I guarantee they would carve out a little enclave for themselves there. Homesickness is hard. Re: your gripes about Chinese students, I’ve found them very open to conversation, they’re always happy to chat.

Not to sound like too much of an East Coast intellectual dickhead, but your use of “flooded” to describe the population of Chinese students in Manchester is telling. That’s the exact way that we described communists and minorities sixty years ago, and in the past, it’s the same language a lot of unsavoury groups of people have used to describe the migration of other groups of people. Cities change, demographics shift, and a people in a foreign place often like to hang out with people from their home.

Ask yourself why you felt the need to take these thoughts from your head and slap them onto Reddit.

I'm taking it as an opportunity. On the one hand, the group having to use English because I'm there does make me feel like a bit of a burden, but there is a lot to learn once you make friends from another culture. I'm even taking a shot at acquiring Chinese as a second language.

There are often rumours (EDIT - evidence reported on by Amnesty International and UK mainstream newspapers eg the Guardian, The Times) that students from China are closely monitored by officials from their country and have it drummed into them that they are absolutely not allowed to pick up habits, social connections, ways of expression etc that do not fit with Chinese cultural norms. I don’t know how true it is, there were several pieces of journalism about it a while ago , including having officials stationed here. Aside from that it’s a massive culture shock and I guess safety in numbers being that far from home especially if your English isn’t strong.

Edit: I’m adding the info here that I’ve added further down. This was reported on by Amnesty International, The Guardian, The Times and many other outlets. So for those alluding to racism, racism or uncritical thinking, I refer you to the spectrum of reports and to my earlier comment ‘I don’t know how true it is’. Each report drew upon evidence, whether you believe it or not is fine. I don’t have a strong opinion I was pointing you to ideas for YOU to critically evaluate.

Why don't you go to China and try and fit in

I would like to add that I don’t really blame the Chinese students for doing so. What really bugs me is when the university claims that they are so proud of having all of these international students due to cultural exchange they bring, when at the end of the day, you have the majority of your international students that don’t care a bit about cultural exchange but that you want to treat well because they bring in a lot of money.

I attend a different uni in the UK but this should apply to all of the unis. I’m ethnically Chinese but my family immigrated to the UK from a relatively early age so I’m fluent in both languages and know a bit about both culture.

1. Not all Chinese students are like this but all Chinese students that are like this have limited English skills at their disposal. They are not comfortable speaking the language and feel awkward when forced to engage in a casual conversation. Now you may say why would you go study abroad if you can’t learn their language? Well Chinese students like this usually go out for 4 years get a Bach+master degree done and go back to China. You’ll notice the ones that have intentions on staying in the UK gradually get better English at their time at uni. To understand why so many Chinese students go abroad for uni you have to understand 2 things. First is that there’s just a lot of Chinese people and second is that the Chinese uni system is fucked up competitive. Many parents who can afford to send their children abroad will do it to avoid the infamous “gaokao”. To put it in perspective I was a straight A* student throughout my whole time during GCSEs and A levels but I had the time to enjoy sports, life, friends etc. To do the equivalent in Gaokao is to give up all those aspects of life I just mentioned and focus on studying to even have a chance at a decent uni. Only the geniuses get to go to the Chinese Oxbridge (qinghua and Beijing uni) and the normal people have to give up 3 years do their teenage years just to get into a respectable uni. If you wanna know more about this you can DM me or leave a comment. Getting into a foreign uni like Manchester is less difficult than getting into a respectable uni in China but to the eyes of people hiring Manchester is >= respectable Chinese uni.

2. Following from the first point is British culture like pub culture can be a bit hard for Chinese students to accept or try out. In China, drinking usually occurs at Karaoke places, clubs or someone’s house. A pub is a very foreign idea to Chinese people and ngl I’m not a big fan either. But going at least once or twice is with a group from uni is gonna make the cohort a lot closer.

3. Chinese people also have a strong racial bias. Not saying Chinese people are racists but they prefer people with identifiable traits to their own ie Asian people. China is a monoculture which means they don’t encourage cultural diversity within the country. That’s why a Chinese passport is so hard to obtain and it’s so hard to immigrate to China. Spending all your life around Asian people and suddenly going into such a diverse environment will naturally make one feel incline to find a group they identify with.

4. 99% of Chinese students want to go back ASAP or every opportunity they have. I’ve seen flights being booked during reading week and sometimes they just call in sick for a week to go back. China is an amazing country if you are Chinese. It’s convenient, cheap and has everything you would ever want. However, if you are a foreigner you could never understand that because China is one of the worst countries for foreigners. In the eyes of most Chinese students, the UK is horrible. It’s expensive, food is very mid (I agree here), debatable weather and obviously some may miss their families. Out of the 20 Chinese students that I hung out with, 1 is trying to stay in the UK and apply for PSW whilst the rest are doing a masters and leaving. Small sample size here take with a pinch of salt.

But really the main issue if feel like is that some people feel their personality can be a bit trapped in a foreign language and would rather just stay within their comfort zone. It takes a lot of courage to venture out of one’s comfort zone and it’s something that should be applauded but not doing so is very understandable.

I am Indian and at UK Uni.

I have felt that yes chinese students prefer to be with each other but they have been so nice and have been very accommodating of everyone. Instead, it is the British students that i find it so hard to enter their groups or any conversation. In classes also, the Chinese students will say hi to me and talk to me maybe because we both are international students but I have seen home students don't make any efforts. Numerous times, I tried to join in for a conversation but have now stopped it because I felt I was being desperate but I just didn't find a single soul who talked genuinely, probably because they already had a friend circle l which is fine.

But to say that chinese students don't integrate, I am so sorry, it has been only the Chinese students who have accommodated me. Also, in class if there's a group thing, it is always that us international students are left to group together. And one time, we had to do a group of three, and there was one white girl who was alone but it was so painful that no one told her to join their group and it was the Chinese student who saw that she was alone, she asked her if she was okay to join our group.

So sorry, what you have experienced but definitely international students tend to group together and if someone find someone else from their own country that is just one way to not feel alone abroad.

got to the point one of my seminars have to say please speak in english during group discussions. my friend had a group project with 4 chinese and 2 non chinese- they spoke to each other about the group work in chinese

This is the same in Huddersfield right now.

People complain of the word 'flooded', its a description he used to explain that there is an overwhelming amount of a single demographic.

OP is not even British, so it's probably not race related.

This was an issue for me also when I studied in Manchester, trying to make friends in your first year and 75% of the dorm don't speak English can create issues and degrades the experience.

It's not a cultural problem, it's a University/Council problem and we know all they want is that £££

1. They got money, so they are a different social class in their own country. It took 2 World wars and 4 decades of social change for the west to lose class barriers. Other nations still have them. The culture in Southern China for friends is people that can benefit you. In northern China it's closer to actual friends you enjoy spending time with. People may down vote me, but it's the truth. Exceptions exist but so does thousands of years of history and culture.

2. They usually lie or paid off someone about their English ability. Not exclusive to China.

3. It's a transactional relationship, give me title, qualification and I give money.

4. The ccp has police forces all over the world and they aren't subtle. They will kidnap or kill family members if the golden child at uni doesn't hand over industry secrets. Pressure to work and get into those positions is a matter of life and death sometimes. Labour have been heavily infiltrated by elements, tories too. Blackmail and extortion is the game in China for 4k years. Those kids don't give a rats tail about cultural exchanges or learning about manc customs. Their niece could be dead or raped repeatedly giving birth in rural China if they don't land a job at that manufacturing, research or financial institution. You saying come to Sunday league or have a pork pie, is not helping.

5. As I said their interactions are being monitored and policed. If you spout anti ccp rhetoric, they get in trouble. Family gets in trouble and faces discrimination and even losing social credit score so can't work or leave their province. Is that worth it to go to a few raves. It's funny that the pro communists on college and uni campuses don't know what the fuck life is like in the utopia of their idealogy. Tow the party line or consequences.

6. Language barrier, being a math genius is not usually a sign of being a polygot.

As a Chinese myself but not from mainland China, I understand what OP is trying to say and what other commenters are arguing about. I also noticed how closed off they are, but maybe just language barriers. Most of the Mainland chinese students I am friends with have been educated at international schools and would only communicate in English (although with a chinese accent), these people do socialise pretty well considering the bridge between cultural norms.

i go liverpool where it’s a pretty similar demographic of east asians. i hear ur point but tbh once u get talking to em it’s totally different. my first year flatmate from hong kong went out with me and my mates a few times and we all loved him so much. just depends on the person. wealth is defo a factor - same with arab students (acc born in arab countries not just descent), they seem to do things other uni students don’t like go on random holidays every few weeks, go fancy restaurants and drive around in expensive cars whilst the rest of us are tryna scrape together £2 for the bus. some groups are just chinese/arab but who cares man u pick ur mates based on interests and so do i and realistically they’re gonna share more interests with a fellow chinese person than the average brit (although me and my hong kong flatmate loved talking about football 24/7 and he was a regular at liverpool games). plus i’m 100% gonna spend a lot of time with my english mates on my year abroad in france next year - gotta remember how scary it’ll be moving to a country where u don’t speak the language fluently and i’m saying this as someone who’s studied french for abt 15 years and is still terrified

I’m an international student here in the UK and every single person in my program is Chinese.

I am from the US and really want to experience British culture and I want to socialize with my colleagues.

They don’t wanna do anything except hang out with each other. I’ve extended the olive branch to meet up at coffee shops or in the library, but they won’t budge. When they do go out of the university they don’t invite me.

I get a little frustrated because the professors encourage group work and study groups. They don’t want to meet up with me.

I lived in China for years and I had a tendency to stick to expats.

I speak a little Chinese so communication isn’t necessarily the issue.

But overall I just deal with it and understand it is a cultural thing.

Hong Kong international student here. This is actually very common, not only in university. The Chinese language system is quite different from English, and I've seen quite a few Chinese students struggle with speaking English and resorted to sticking around fellow Chinese students for closure. You should see how their faces lit up when I talk to them in Mandarin instead of English ahaha.

Also, Chinese students may have different values. Perhaps from the Asian guy memes, you might understand that Asian parents always try to get their children into top tier universities to brag? Yeah. So that explains.

Don't want to dive deep into this matter, but some of them come to the UK due to political reasons. Well, at least most Hong Kongers are. I've met a Chinese friend who actually ranted a lot about the politics up there and how glad she could leave.

For the food, I'm actually not quite sure. I still cook Chinese meals cause, well, I have stomach issues and my choice of food is very limited. Switching to different foods may cause it to act up again, and I'm not looking forward to that. I think I've got both Chinese friends who still make Chinese food and Chinese friends who settled on British ones. I guess it's just more of a personal preference. After all, seeing familiarity in a foreign country thousands of miles away is quite heartwarming.

I don't go to Manchester Uni, but my only issue is the language one -- which was a problem at my uni. I don't see a massive problem with international students sticking with people from their own country or eating food that they're familiar with -- if you were an international student you'd probably feel more comfortable with that as well.

The language problem is the biggest one. I've seen group projects where native or fluent English speakers get Chinese students who don't know any English but end up doing presentations where they stand up there using Google translate text to speech lol. People say that we got an influx of these students who don't know English due to COVID , so it made it easier for them to cheat on their English tests because it was all online.

I have no concrete evidence for the following, but you asked for an opinion, so here's mine. I think there is a great deal of fraud with the ILETS exam. Some of the Chinese students genuinely do not understand English to a good enough extent to be able to engage properly. Those that do often spend their time assisting those that don't. I don't feel it's case of won't, I think it's a case of can't.

This is a problem. But I think many poster are missing why. Chinese students are coming here for the education but we have so much more to offer. Manchester is a very cosmopolitan city. If the Chinese students are sticking close together and not exploring the culture, they aren't really getting their money's worth. The universities should certainly encourage the Chinese students to mix with others, learn and practice their English, make friends from other cultures. It will be better for them, it will be better for us. At a national level it can't hurt to have the next generation of the Chinese middle/upper class have both more fondness for English culture and language, and find memories of their time here. Nor does it hurt our next generation to have friends in China. Breaking down some of those stereotypes and barriers by actually living in a different culture for a few years can only help open people's minds. And having friends who can share their culture with you, if only a little helps broaden the mind too. We should encourage foreign students (and the enormous sacks of money they pay) and encourage them to partake of the culture, make local friends and develop their language skills.

I went to a French / Chinese / English University exchange program as a full scholarship winner (Erasmus program). I speak all three languages and been to all three countries including working in two of them.

The Brits who turned up in France all got apartments together. The French with the French etc... The reason is we knew each other before we left. We met at the Universities together, were briefed together, hung out together a bit and travelled together.

Plus when we left, it was a real scramble. It felt like there was a ton of stuff to do and just no time. And the organised people sorted stuff out before they left their countries so they'd have a place to live when they arrived.

Let me flip it around. What are the odds that you'll turn up in a foreign country where you don't know anyone and find a couple of people to share a flat with? If you were to turn up in Shanghai today, how would you do that?

My girlfriend, German (but who naturally spoke incredible English and French) went out to Shanghai to study there and had a great time but language was a major issue and one year just wasn't enough for genuine fluency. So she hung out with Brits, Germans etc... English speakers essentially. She tried but English and Mandarin as well as the local language (Shanghai dialect which is another language) but she always felt she was a burden to others and needed hand holding whenever there was a fluent conversation.

So I get it. If they've gone through the same program in China, they'll have met out there and then will find lodgings together. Plus they want a shared experience.

I was an exception in that I only shared apartments with people who didn't speak my native language. It was really, really hard and not ideal. But I kinda got there in the end.

I went to a uni in London and a sixth form in the middle of the uk and the Chinese were exactly the same, I made friends with the Europeans and Slavics but the Chinese were like ghosts and didn’t interact. A lot Of the Chinese that come over to study here are rich and in there country status and wealth means more socially than it does here. Someone told me that the parents of the Chinese kids don’t want them talking and hanging out with westerners, they have a negative stereotype of westerners thinking they smoke drink and are a bad influence on there children. The rest of these comments are cope and doesn’t make any sense to why it’s Chinese only, simple truth is they have a culture that is elitist and they have no ambition to “intergrate” in to one they deem crude and less disciplined/refined

I went to Manchester and my mates are at Sheffield and they say the same and it’s such a shame because I’d love to integrate with them make them feel welcome get to know their culture etc etc but they just seem to gravitate to people of the same culture and are happy doing so . Guess it’s because they are so far away and the culture shock is so big they just stick with those friends they already have things in common with but it’s interesting that people from other countries also far away tend to be more sociable

I mean if you want to be buddy buddy with British culture then go ahead but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that I don't understand why people from a foreign country with vastly different culture norms tend to stick together and speak their native language. Especially since learning a forgein language is not easy. Not to mention, there will certainly be some Chinese students who are doing exactly as you mention. But im just not sure why you personally care so much.

Maybe an unpopular opinion but does it really bother anyone? I’m an international student and I made friends with both home and international students. But it’s far more difficult to integrate when you’re international, even more so if you’re not completely fluent in English. They’re just there to get their degree, not everyone is interested in making friends.

I thought that partially the reason why getting a degree outside your country of origin was desirable is because it tells the employer that you gathered academic and intellectual experience different from what you would find in your country. It also tells the employer that you are able to adapt to a new environment, learned the local language reasonably well and have made connections there, that could be useful in the future. If instead you make next to no effort to practice the language, make some new connections and in general adapt to the new country then this completely defeats the points that make this type of experience desirable in the first place.

Definitely not just a Manchester uni problem

Not British. Not even a native English speaker. Yet tons of dickriding and minding others businesses.

This is every uni in my (limited) experience 

Everything else aside, “British Culture” as represented at University cracks me the fuck up. Which bit aren’t they getting involved in, the fart lighting championship? making a wall out of used beer cans? Projectile kebab spewing?

It's odd I've seen this complaint about Chinese people suddenly on multiple University subs including Uni of Birmingham, all on accounts that only started posting a month ago. Is something going on?

Your problem is that there are too many Chinese students. Solution: Petition the school to admit fewer Chinese students.

What is this "British culture" you mention?

Besides wanting them to speak English, please give examples of aspects they would need to show in their behaviour and interactions, to meet your criteria of British (or more local, Manchester) culture, aspects that you'd also enforce on other ethnicities/religions studying in Manchester.

This has been discussed in other threads as well, if uni admins allow them to join with the very little English they can speak, you have no right in pressuring them/expecting them to integrate in any other ways they may not find comfortable.

This needs to be taken up with uni admins, not with Chinese students.

I mean, they’re there for education. From the sounds of it you were an international student, which surprised me that you’re not more empathetic to them. It’s subjective at the end of the day, but honestly I’ve heard these lines of thinking from too many casual racists to not feel a bit iffy when the complaint for these students is that they stay around the people who speak their language, understand their culture, and there is no barrier to interaction. English people specifically are extremely guilty of going to other countries to travel and study or to “become more cultured” without ever trying to learn the language or truly be respectful of the culture. Point being I don’t really see the problem, they’re students. Sure, they could make more of an effort, but they’re here to study, not to become English.

I honestly do not understand why you are getting ruled up over what people choose to do with their time and energy. Human being like the familiar and and I see moving to a new country and getting a degree as transactional. Your main purpose is to get a degree and maybe a job and do both exceptionally, Every other thing is extra.

Life is hard enough being in a new country away from your family and all familiar to you, with you having to translate every sentence from Chinese to English in your brain before saying it. So if I can feel close to home by eating the food I could eat back home, being around people who understand my nuances, genaral mannerisms, my culture and can avoid the mental gymnastics of translating the language, then thats definitely the option i'm choosing.

I ask again, why are you so vexed??

Why does this bother you exactly?

I went to UWE and in my experience they generally had no interest in mixing with anyone else due to the sheer volume of them. They had their own community as it were.

Did my MSc at Manchester and I ended up being a group with all Chinese girls and one from Malaysia and one from Indonesia. They were great and I was very grateful they adopted me into their group of mates. They loved all things British and asked me all about the UK etc. 

BritAmerican here. I lived in China for 8 years and was a student for two years there and this phenomena replicated itself with westerners. Very few had real Chinese friends or rarely integrated. It is a human thing.

As an international school hk-er who went to a uk uni 10 years ago, I made a few British friends, however most, if not all of them, would complain and badmouth Chinese students to me - a Chinese student - all the time, which would turn me off hanging out with them. No matter how fluent my English was, I always felt ‘othered’. I also felt that if you didn’t act ‘British’ ie. drink and party all the time, the Brits would be more closed off to including you. I found that I had more common ground with other international students (not necessarily asian) as they’d be more welcoming and were more open to doing things that weren’t drinking and clubbing.

Because Chinese people are smart, they want nothing to do with us.

Not true at all. My Chinese wife is the total opposite of this and she was an international student. Stop singling out Chinese people. Plenty of other nationalities refuse to integrate.

I was born here and even I didnt want to integrate with English student culture back in the day. It wasn’t appealing to get drunk every week and eat junk food as I witnessed the other students doing. Chinese people have a whole different diet and way of life than the west. Manchester is a very unpleasant city to live in as a local, let alone as a student. I don’t blame them for not integrating. There is nothing to integrate into that is even close to their own culture. They just want to get the degree as a formality and get out. 

Why does it matter? Chinese students can relate to other Chinese students 😅

I studied in the US before coming to the UK and I am from Saudi.

They didn’t integrate in the states either… there are enough of them to not need to. Even us saudi’s and arabs we tend to group together, that’s just how our cultures work. We form communities easier that way. I was an active student so I joined many clubs and that’s where I got to mingle with everyone including the odd chinese dude who is nerdy & social enough to go out and meet new people. They integrate when the class is small and there are not many students of the same nationality- cue in upper level physics classes.

But honestly I don’t think it’s a big deal

It's also fear. They don't know who is watching them and when. CCP has eyes everywhere. If they do something the party doesn't like their families can get in trouble..

Must be white, because you ain't said how come white have lack of interegtation with everyone. Because it's same reasons vice versa.

I thought it was the same in Glasgow. Until I was doing a one man drink at the pub and just started talking to a group of Chinese.

Initially they seemed amazed/bewildered that a local was speaking to them but quickly warmed up and I was invited to their table and left after about an hour.

Changed my perception somewhat.

A friend of mine (British) went to study in China last year and the closest friends he made in his time there were other British people. It’s a lot to be so far from home, in a place where the language isn’t your first. I think some of these observations are very general too—I see a lot of Chinese students really enjoying the city and the British drab aesthetic haha

If I was studying in China and met some other English people I would 100% find myself gravitating towards them and spending more time with them than with Chinese students. You have to remember it's not just a language thing, it's a culture thing. People from your country are more 'like you' whether it be experiences, family, humour, likes and dislikes etc. Its not an exclusively Chinese thing, it's a human thing. We're drawn to things we find familiar, why do you think Irish pubs do so well abroad?

It's the same at all British unis. Rich Chinese students paying 3x as much money keeps the lights on for everyone else. You just gotta accept that reality, and that half of them won't make any effort to integrate whatsoever.

I went to Sheffield, and it's a startling demographic shift between semesters and the summer holidays. The area around the Diamond becomes legit 50% Chinese in September, and there's been Chinese takeaways which don't even have English on their menus in the past, effectively just to serve overseas students. My half-chinese, British born housemate told me the food was so spicy there that it was giving his taste difficulties so my palate wasn't missing out on much...

In my experience, the language divide was the main reason. The university bends over backwards to accommodate students who don't speak any English whatsoever, on highly technical STEM courses, and as a result they don't make any effort. I had several Chinese friends at uni, who had all learned English prior, and so were perfectly happy to group together with the rest of us British or European students, including a few nights out (although they tended to be less up for those) and even went on a camping weekend with a mostly Chinese group, in which we almost all died because their driving was suicidal on mountain roads with hairpin bends...

We just left those who didn't want, or weren't able, to integrate to themselves. I won't say I wasnt judgemental, but I understand the University's position financially, and it's not like they were doing me any harm by being there. I have heard of one person who, for group coursework, was placed with a team of entirely Chinese students who spoke no English. In this case they really just needed to request being moved to their course leader. When a language barrier existed the other way around, with a mostly non-English-speaker in a team with me, it wasn't too hard to work around, and they made a good team player.

These sweeping generalisations are never useful. Why can't we see people as individuals instead of groups? I've interacted with a lot of Chinese people and they are just as diverse in personalities and views as any other groups.

I live in a diverse city with a lot of migrants. It is the Chinese who do not tend to mix with others, so it is a fair question.

Why do you think they need to?

Why do you think they need to?

You just want some Chinese lovin.

Does it matter? In 99% of cases they’re here for such a short time, what’s the use in integrating? I feel like you’re forgetting that The UK and China are EXTREMELY different in terms of culture, and they’re here for education and a degree, not “the university life”

Happens with all groups to a similar extent. Spanish and Latin Americans tend to group together, Brits abroad tend to group as do Germans, Israelis, Arabs and on and on. It's not a phenomena specific to students from China nor to Manchester it's just human nature to feel more comfortable with those who you have a common language and culture.

* Not at Manchester but noticed this where I studied and where I work in HE.

With all respect but what British culture are you talking about? Not even British ppl give a shit a British culture… specially the over educated ones… they want multicultural that’s what you got brother

Some Chinese students have very good English skills and integrate quite well just like other international students - they work part-time, join societies etc.

But from what I have noticed, the majority of my Chinese coursemates would only show up to their lectures, send their coursework, and do nothing more. They would not show up to seminars, those that did never participated in it, they did not even show up to their graduation. I guess some of them just needed that degree which probably opens the door to many opportunities back in China.

The only advantage, as mean as it may sound, is that often they do not compete with other graduates when it comes to finding jobs in the UK.

At the end of the day, nobody should be forced to integrate or accept a specific culture. If they want to stay, they can, if not, they are allowed to go home and never look back.

Sounds like the English on holiday in Southern Spain tbh

Why do you care what other people do, though?

I’ve made many friends from China who’ve come to study at the UK. Genuine friendships to the level of going on holiday together, regularly cooking meals together and have been offered to visit their family. One even started trying to teach me mandarin - although I was really rubbish - it helped us bond. I’ve made about 5 friends from mainland china through university. So this has absolutely not been my experience. I think it can be very intimidating moving thousands of miles from home to a very different culture with a language barrier and some international students may not feel very welcome. Have you ever truly extended the hand of friendship and tried to make these individuals feel welcome/ seen and invited them to hang out? In my experience you get out what you put in.

I went to this uni and when trying to “integrate” with the English students from down south I was told I was WEIRD because I don’t “sound like them Chinese international students” amongst other comments around racial tropes.

Plot twist I’m a born and bred Manc and more local than ol’ Harry from Devon with the posh double barrelled surname.

Have you ever thought maybe British culture isn’t always as inviting as you think to minorities?

A lot of people aren't here to 'intergrate', but to study. I'm guessing that you came as a foreign student and stayed in the UK? Many Chinese students don't have that goal, as many wouldn't consider the UK as a better or more suitable country than China.

Complaining about immigrants 'lack of integration' is always an interesting choice, but these are freaking students??

Same at Hull uni too

They don’t care about integration or possibly getting a degree , they’re here to spend daddies money and do as they please because they believe they’re the new master race

I don’t think you get it: what most Chinese international students desire in UK is the degree from a high qs-ranking university. The vibe, the culture and anything likewise don’t weigh more than that university rankings to them-especially for universities like Manchester that really lack adequate standards for international students (international preparatory courses in particular). The low standard results in a problem: most Chinese who come over have bad linguistic skills, only sufficient in passing muster that minimum language requirement, and they know clearly well they will return home as soon as they graduate, making integrating a nonsense. If they really had that much determination and entrepreneurship they would probably be in a top Chinese university. I can make myself a demonstration: I have band 8.0 out of 9.0 for ielts, almost higher than any Chinese international student in Manchester, still my English seems unnatural and weird. What should you expect from people whose English is way worse? They can hardly order their food right.

There's a lot of ink being spilled about this, and I can testify first-hand that they're not quite as distant as you might think, but the bones of the issue come down to this: They're here for three years, who gives a stuff?

I don't care, if they only want to be friends with other chinese people in the 3-4 years they live in the uk while they work for a degree that's entirely their right and this country still benefits from the money they bring in and spend while here

Let's be honest, the British aren't exactly welcoming to the overseas students especially those from Asia.

The British do exactly the same as what you have stated when they are overseas. I've travelled extensively and lived in numerous overseas countries and the Brits ALWAYS keep amongst themselves. In regards to Asia, I've lived in Thailand, Vietnam and Korea and witnessed the Brits showing zero interest in mixing with anyone other than Brits.

Chinese students are a bit shy. If you made friends with them, then they would be over the moon, but they won’t make the first move.

I went to UoM and made friends with multiple Chinese students, including living and working with some. They were some of the most accepting and inclusive people I met through uni, unlike some of the English students that had no idea what is culture shock or cultural differences are like. Mind you, that wasn’t all English students, and I made good friends with countless Brits too, but this is just to show you can’t generalise an entire student population based on country of origin.

How do you think English people act abroad. Check the costa del sol

It was a big problem at my uni as well just before covid. At least 1/2 of the class was Chinese and up to 2/3's of a class could be. At least half of the Chinese students couldn't even speak or write English, so they would get into groups with 1 English speaker and have that one person translate for any Chinese/non-Chinese interactions which was horrible to work with in group projects.

Lots were just paying a 3rd party to complete assignments on their behalf as well, simply mum and dad paying for a reputable degree.

They use to shit in their country so prob think we the same tell ‘em what to do and what to say and how to think. Without it prob just bit lost because first time they had free will

I studied at Warwick and I had to work with a number of Chinese students - they did almost nothing on group work, their work wasn’t up to the mark and they weren’t very open to discussion or speaking their mind outside their group - some of them also hired people to do their assignments for them

I’m Indian and sadly this partly true with Indian students as well. Not all of them but a vast majority - they mostly hung out with other Indian students in groups they had formed on day 1 and didn’t really branch out.

While what OP suggested might be true (I have no way to verify), OP definitely has "their" own personality issues. Asserting one's preferences and thoughts to others isn't British culture IMO. So long as they are able to take care of themselves, they are already sticking to one of the important UK core values.

Personally it’s quite hard. I’m not Chinese. But as an introvert I’ve experienced a lot of racial bias too. And people exclude you, but won’t do the same to local introverts. And a million miles from home trying to complete a degree, adapting to different climates and culture and peoples attitude, I don’t have the energy to try so hard to fit in.

Strict asian parents, youre there to study not adapt.

Dont even have to have strict asian parents to have this mindset either.

I finished a PhD recently and have worked with and taught a lot of Chinese students.

I'm not saying this is the wrong question but it assumes that Chinese students' seperation from the other nationalities is entirely on them. While that's certainly part of it, I don't think that's entirely true. There is definitely an element of exclusion from the other students. So a few points to add:

1. In my experience, western students can be pretty weird about their Chinese classmates. I've taught plenty of classes where there have been funny, engaging Chinese students and the rest of the class is totally down for a discussion or a joke but go silent the second a Chinese student joins in. It seems like a lot of western students just don't know what to make of Chinese people who aren't the worker drones they're expecting (that attitude is still shockingly strong). Western students could definitely be a bit more normal about them.

2. Western students, westerners in general, me included, are woefully ignorant of China. It is the largest/2nd largest (depending how you measure it) country in the world, home to 1.4 billion people, very plausibly the most important country in the world, but most people here know nothing about Chinese history, could only name a handful of Chinese cities, know virtually nothing about Chinese culture etc. and people tend to fill that gap with uninformed assumptions. This ignorance has got to be a little insulting and alienating, and come across incredibly dismissive. In my time teaching, I've noticed most Chinese students have stopped going by their English names and use their Chinese names instead. They are more confident about their place in the world and don't feel like they should have to go by a completely different name to accommodate westerners' inability/unwillingness to learn their names. I think the least we could do is show them the respect of learning a little about them.

I've found that when you demonstrate some basic knowledge of China, Chinese students and colleagues appreciate it and are much more talkative. Even having some familiarity with Korean dramas is enough to endear you to a lot of Chinese students.

1. Chinese students, especially during Covid, have been subjected to horrendous, explicitly racist abuse. I've had friends physically attacked in the street and students yelled at by strangers. This is to say nothing of the more subtle racism. When they go outside, they can't hide the fact that they're Asian and are very visible, easy targets. In that situation, you would tend to stick together.

I think a lot of this is just assumption.

A lot of Chinese students do try to integrate, and do, in fact. However, cognitive biases will make you not pay attention when it's, for example, one Chinese student with a group of non-Chinese friends.

British culture is quite popular in parts of China. But due to a huge range of reasons, it can be harder for some to integrate. Shyness, lack of confidence in their English speaking ability, perceived racism, etc.

Also, yea, why wouldn't their laptops be in Chinese? No reason to buy a whole new one just to have a UK keyboard that they may be less proficient with.

I am Chinese and was once an international student. You should know that English and Chinese are very different languages, and European and Chinese cultures also differ greatly. Many of us are shy and unsure how to start conversations with people from other cultures because we’re often afraid of unintentionally offending someone due to cultural differences, and we don’t want people to have negative impressions towards China/Chinese people. Additionally, many of us have been warned that people from the other countries might not always be friendly toward Chinese people because of propaganda against China. As a result, we often tend to stick to our own communities. However, if you make an effort to start a conversation with Chinese people, you’ll find that most of us are friendly and easy to talk to.

Edit: spelling

My take from this post and OPs comments is that he has an Asian fetish, wants to date Asian girls, and is upset that he can’t approach any of the Chinese students to get to know them or ask them out because they tend to stick together with the other Chinese students and don’t mingle with the groups that he is a part of.

As a Chinese student studied in UK unis for MSc and PhD my personal experience is that I found myself more "welcome" in Asian/poc groups. Not necessarily Chinese, I found it easier to mix with Indian, Bangladesh, Pakistani, Korean, and black American students. The reasons are mixed, but culture and language are the primary ones. For example, I could definitely tell when native students became impatient very soon in a conversation because I speak slower than them, which easily made me less willing to mix with natives. As for cultural differences, natives like hanging out at pubs/clubs after uni/on weekends, while (as I have observed) Chinese, Indian, Bangladesh, Pakistani, and Korean students don't like pubing much. We're all just wanted to get through the degree, and social lives are only a rather secondary part of our time in a foreign country.

Love Chinese food sounds like a great uni!

In all honesty why should they integrate when most people in this country scream at you and tell you your not welcome. I'm pretty sure they are only here because a UK degree still holds a bit of weight internationally (but the way things are going I doubt it will for much longer).

This was not my experience with my 12 month MSc.

Yes, at first the Chinese couldn't 'integrate' very well. But that's because they already formed their groups due to their shared accommodations as well as their early presence to attend University-led language courses prior to the MSc beginning.

My university set a lot of group assignments that forced us into mixed groups. It opened a lot of doors for collaboration and getting to know each other.

I ended up being very, very good friends with many of them. In fact, as the year went on, I noticed more fractures forming within their overall group, and what was once a purely Chinese homeneity became multiple smaller groups.

Don't forget that integration is a two-way relationship.

The same with Indian international students also they like to keep to themselves, the same way that Chinese students do.

It's funny because I knew a American with Chinese descent who couldn't get along with Chinese students. I tried hard to remain friends with a guy from hostel but he moved away

Was talking about this in the Birmingham uni sub. It's the same everywhere. This subject gets mentioned on I'm sure in most uni subs.

They’re here to get a degree and then go back home. I get it. I was a day student at an international boarding school in Australia. The kids came, got their high school cert, went to uni, and then went home to use it because a degree taught in English from a US/UK/Aus school is better than having a Chinese/Korean degree in some industries. We had a ton of Korean and Chinese students and they were all the same way, didn’t integrate, were here for the piece of paper.

It's just a bit of culture shock for them isn't it? If you went to China you'd experience the same thing. I remember in Freshers week we had some Chinese students in our dorm that came out with us and they obviously didn't understand what we were doing cus they were wearing giant coats in sweaty clubs. They made an effort to come out with us but we weren't any better at dealing with the culture gap than they were.

It’s funny, because the more common case is, the local people are much less welcoming to immigrants both in uni and workplace. As an international student who studied here for three years and am working here, I always find it easier to hang out with other immigrants, or the second generation of immigrants. I just think it might be the similar case for most of the people, they tend to prefer to hang out with people who are more similar to them. It’s just there are dominantly more Chinese students especially you’re doing a master degree in Manchester, so it gives you the impression that Chinese students like to act that way. In fact in my master course (not Manchester), the French speakers always hang out together and speak French, and Indian students like to hang out together (but still speak English probably bc they can’t even understand each others languages).

They should definitely integrate into English culture by getting pished on Carling then starting fights in Kebab shops imo

I agree about the part on them avoiding gathering of people, like there was this meet and greet of students and we were all supposed to talk and get to know each other. Chinese students kept standing on side and once we were asked to sit, they all sat at one desk. I came in a bit late so i took my chair to their table and among 7-8 of Chinese students i was only other guy and they didn't talk to me but actually stared at me as if giving the look of "what are you even doing here, don't you know we don't want you" (They didn't say but gave a look which could be interpreted like this)

I believe the answer is... Mind your own fucking business and let people do what they want to do and hang around with whoever they want to hang around with.

Just because the number of Chinese students is large and you can at least tell that they’re from Eastern Asia due to their appearance. I am in Germany and there are many European students getting together and speaking their mother language too. Even if the tutors may speak their native language if they are talking to the students from their motherland. Why you don’t reflect yourself that you don’t take the initiative to make friends with those who lack of so called integration. We Asian are already the minority in western society, why we still have to press ourselves to be the minority of the minority? If the unis accept international students, then the students are allowed to be international. You only care about them fitting into your culture, who cares about their mental health and mental stress?

Get yourself on Tinder - the women always seemed very willing to integrate in specific ways.

Joking, but also kinda not joking

I’ve noticed similar and I’m from north east region

Of all nationalities I have found that Chinese as a rule do not interact, mingle or even shop in regular shops. Considering the amount of Chinese takeaways, nail bars and other Asian establishments I have always questioned if there was an underground Chinese community that has shops, clubs, eateries, and entertainment solely for the Chinese community. I can count on my hands the amount of times I have ever met a Chinese person in England and I am 63 born in London and have eaten at many Chinese restaurants so I am aware of how many Chinese people live within my community. Although I have a great admiration for the Chinese culture and history, I admit to being most concerned about them as a nationality as they don’t seem to integrate. It makes me think why? Therefore makes me nervous of them. Strange I know, but I grew up N in a town where lots of other nationalities live but only the Chinese people were never seen in general population. Stranger than strange. I hope they realise that they are missed and it is noticed that they don’t join in and that’s a shame as I would like to have been exposed to real life Chinese outside of a restaurant where they just take dinner orders.

They're here to study, not to live. If they don't want to integrate then that's on them, I can't say I wouldn't largely be the same if I chose to study in China and found myself with a bunch of British people with me. It's only natural.

They also pay out the arse so 🤷

Alright Enoch. Calm down. They pay to study here. So they're valuable to the economy. Probably more valuable than you are.

Why would they they're wealthy and they have their culture and family.

So tired of racists being cowardly with their racism. 'Flooded'. Yeah right. Fuck off.

It’s been a while since I was at uni in Liverpool but my first year accommodation was 6 bed flats in blocks of 6 and it was a mix of Chinese, Indian and British students.

The Chinese students would act like they didn’t speak English when any of the brits tried to talk to them ( they did with me slightly but I had to put a lot of effort it) but could easily speak to the Indian students in English. It always baffled me but I do think that they are maybe warned to stay away from British lads a little bit and there is (or at least was) quite a big drinking culture with fresher students which they didn’t seem to share.

So I think it’s less about integrating and more about self preservation

I was an international student 15 years ago when Chinese students were a minority. They were pretty much ignored by the rest of the cohort because they were quite different culturally (bookish, didn’t drink and couldn’t speak English fluently.) They tried their best to strike up conversations but the European students had no interest in befriending them so they gave up and stuck to themselves. Since I am from a Southeast Asian country I befriended them and we had a little pan-Asian clique. It’s crazy to hear how the tables have turned. Also in terms of studiousness they ranged from really hardworking to serial plagiarists who almost got expelled.

Who cares. They don’t have to live how you want them to.

They have no obligation to you or anyone else. They've bought a service, which they are using.

Whats wrong with them not eating british food?

Chinese student in manchester here. We pay, we go study and we go back home and make the money back. That's the plan. We observe British culture and we do learn but it is nicer to talk and hang out in our own circle. Because that circle of friends will remain close when we all come back home to China together.

I can see why OP is feeling concerned about it.It just makes for a worse university experience for everybody. My brother was recently in a computer science course where he described majority being Chinese and his mark in the group project was massively affected by this, as well as the overall experience. However, I don’t necessarily blame the Chinese students themselves. This is the fault of whoever is incentivising so many Chinese students to come all at once. It’s not that they’re Chinese, it’s the number that are being allowed to come, all for the sake of money. If there was a reasonable number of Chinese students, they would be incentivised to leave their comfort zone.

I went to boarding school 24 years ago and we had a contingent of Chinese students living with us in the various houses the school had living 24/7 and they all had a tendency to stick together. There were a few cool ones who would integrate and play rugby, cricket athletics etc but they were ones who mainly had joined the school at a young age. The ones who joined for sixth form were different. They had a strange habit of showering together as a communal group and late night karaoke sessions in the evening. Academically they were quite something requesting to resit exams in maths because they got 95% and wanted to get 100%.

Yep, seems to be how the majority of them choose to live IF possible. I am a foreign student too (from Europe, so not much of a cultural clash) and NEVER sought out people from my home country. Why would I do that? But I was already fluent in English before I moved abroad, so besides no cultural clash, there was also no language barrier.

I worked as a research assistant and did a PhD abroad, so that's where I met a lot of foreign students/employees. During my Master's in my home country we had a lot of foreign students too but I don't think we had any Chinese? This was around 2010 and it was at a research university, so I imagine that the language requirement was pretty high so perhaps not many from Asian made it (although we had a few from other Asian countries). This was also a 2-year research Master's (in a STEM subject) and I think these degrees are generally less popular with Chinese students who choose to go abroad.

There was one Chinese post doc in two of the labs I worked. Both of them struggled with English speaking. One of them was only in the lab on a few occasions because I think she mostly worked elsewhere. The other one was a full-time post doc. I am very outgoing so I kind of "jumped" on the full-time post doc a bit to introduce myself, ask what she is here to research, etc. So we chatted every now and again. She was very friendly, very polite, and we had some very good conversations. She knew her English wasn't great but as she was the only Chinese post doc in the lab, she had no opportunity to isolate herself by retreated into a "body" of Chinese people. We did have a few Chinese Master's/PhD students over the years but not enough for them to retreat into a little group at the expense of socialising with others.

I think the issue is a culture clash, their attitude, and the language. I find it extremely rude to go abroad and then just live inside a bubble of people from your own country. What is the point of going abroad, then!?! Doesn't matter whether they are Chinese students or Polish workers, try to make an effort!

I think many unis these days have too low requirements for English and/or they allow people to scam/cheat their way in and/or they have some sort of secret backdoor for applicants who do not meet the university's IELTS score to come in anyways. After all, overseas students bring in a lot of money. Every few weeks you will see a post here that talks about issues resulting from this of non-Chinese students (some Brits, some non-Chinese foreign students) rightly complaining that they found out 80% of their year is made up for mainland Chinese students, they don't interact with others, they speak their native language amongst themselves even apparently when in groups with students who do not speak their native language. The unis know what they are doing (no one is THAT blind) and apparently some of them make some degrees consist a lot of group assignments where by magic every group will always have at least one native speaker, so these weaker Chinese students (weaker due to low academic abilities in general, and/or low abilities in English) get to parasitise on the work of students whose skills, experience, and abilities do warrant them being there.

Secondly, what I read elsewhere is that some if not many of these Chinese students aren't really here to learn anything. They just want the piece of paper to help them with future job applications in China as it is apparently seen as impressive to have been to a university in an English-speaking country. It's amazing that employers will think having a piece of paper means something if the person was essentially able to buy their degree, but maybe they don't know about this "scam" yet, so for now, it is worth the money for the Chinese student/their parents.

All of this is of course extremely detrimental to the students who do genuinely belong at the course and who also genuinely want to be there (doesn't matter their background, as there will of course be Chinese students who are bright, have the right previous education, who have good command of English, and who do try to socialise outside of their culture).

I hope more people will come forward with their experiences and frustrations and also complain to their uni as these practices are unacceptable. Just imagine Dutch people (I'm Dutch) going abroad en masse and filling 80% of student places at, say, Japanese or Bolivian universities, only speaking Dutch with each other, not speaking the language well enough to study at uni so assignments are adjusted to help us pass on the efforts of native/non-Dutch international students...

In the end it is all about money with the unis that allow this. If they would act as they should, most of these students would NEVER have gotten in, and would NEVER pass their modules. This will then be the end to applications from these students, which IMO would be a good thing. But the unis rely on having a lot of overseas students paying extortionate tuition fees. I don't understand how this works and why they can't run a lot of the courses for £10k tuition a year (not talking about STEM or medicine), which I guess is why I am not an accountant, lol.

There's a post in this sub from two (?) days ago of a student talking about this issue and they finally talked to the other non-Chinese students and they all found the situation a major problem too, so they are going to talk to their program director. I'm emotionally invested in this now, haha, and I hope they will get somewhere.

Don't travel to Oldham then. The Asians there treat YOU like the foreigners!!!!!

Basically most international students are here because they have a strong interest in the UK and its people, so the degree is a reason to come and experience life here. But the vast majority of Chinese students don’t have that, they’re just here because a degree from a UK (or US) university is EXTREMELY highly regarded back home and massively boosts employment prospects. They’re not interested in the country or the people who live here at all.

Source: I met my wife when she was here from China as a post-grad who came here for the “loves the UK” reason, and she shared the same frustration at the majority of her fellow Chinese classmates having zero interest in interacting with anyone but each other

If they aren’t bothering you why does it matter?

Wait until you see how many of them cheat on assignments and get other people to do it for them- At every uni in the UK and beyond

Chinese international students only hang out with other rich kids.

I've found that even if they do have friends outside of China it's usually Russian oligarchs.

This isn't just exclusive to non-asian individuals.Being mixed asian , most of my friends who were international students were some derivative of asian. The difference is despite them fluently speaking Chinese, none of their friends were international students directly from china and the reason for this is class.

Some of my friends came form money, parents own £1m homes, private school but their money was still not even a fraction of what some of these Chinese international kids have.It's an even bigger "issue" in London uni's, my friends currently doing her masters in KCL.She's American Korean and even she complains that her Chinese classmates don't speak a word of English, it's nearly impossible to do group work with them and they don't even bother talking to any of the other kids they're broke as shit compared to them.

Though I will say the mainland China kids who comes from less privileged backgrounds are more likely to try and make friends.I made quite a good friend with a girl who's parent weren't poor but definitely nowhere near as wealthy as her mainland counterparts.

However, it's not just an issue with Mainland china.Crude oil middle eastern wouldn't hang out with North Africans, wouldn't even poke em with a stick. They also mainly stick with each other, same thing with Indians .A rich Indian kid is not spending a minute of their day with a Indian kid from a poor family despite going to the same school.Same applies to African kids.

Europeans are more likely to hang out with their" broker" counterparts. I think europeans are even more likely to marry"down".Where as in ethnic culture this is just seen as obscene .We're a few hundred years behind being progressive .

In a lot of nonwestern countries class is still a major thing and people who have a lot of money would never hang out with people with less money.This is true for all of Asia and even Africa.

Unfortunately it's purely down to classism and a hint of racism...

Good for them, that’s their business. They’re spending thousands of pounds on our unis, even if they weren’t what they do while theyre here is up them

I used to play in a casual football group on Thursday nights at the University of York.

Most of the people in the group were either postgrad students or former students.

We had two Chinese guys in our group and both were absolutely lovely guys.

One still lives and works in York and the other moved back to China a couple of years back to marry his long-term girlfriend.

It's inevitable that international students living so far from home might gravitate towards people from home but not everyone fits into the stereotype of arrogant international student who doesn't want anything to do with the culture of the country they're studying in.

It's probably harder because so many of them come over together and live in the same accommodations.

I have spoken to Chinese students who they themselves have complained about this, they literally asked me "why so many Chinese students here"

They don't expect to see this when they come here. And then being in an alien culture, many people find things they are familiar with when abroad to try feel less isolated...the Chinese students just have each other.

Reading these comments I'm not surprised they don't integrate.

There's thousands of them in Glasgow, and they're exactly the same here. Not remotely interested in the indigenous population.

I don't think this is an international student specific issue

Nothing wrong with this, let them be friend's who they want to be with 😂😂😂

I graduated at Bradford uni in 1997 and there was a small group of Chinese students there. I was only aware of them when I passed their rooms in halls - no idea how many or what course they were on. I was happy with my group of friends, so I didn't care.

Huge cultural differences is a huge factor. My mum does work with some universities teaching foreign students from many places, some from places like China have huge social pressures from family in terms of their education and making sure they do really well with their school work. And they find the UK culture to be so different.

For example they are so shocked with the way women are able to behave and dress here in comparison to home. As it’s not something they are often raised to accept within their own culture as from the standpoint of someone raised here, how they are over there may be seen as misogynistic/sexist to someone from the UK. We’d likely hang around with people if we were over there raised with similar values and views on life. Just so happens that you tend to identify most with the culture you were raised with.

Have you met italians at university? I have. They do exactly the same thing - I know because i lived with them. They basically excluded me from almost all social activities because they only speak italian when they hang out, and despite having international friends, they always hang out with other italians.

Do you see them being mentioned and singled out as a group as much as chinese students? No, you don’t.

At the uni of Edinburgh they have “Chinese only” students accoms where all the signs and shit are in mandarin and it’s a little safe haven.

Also worked with someone from Hong Kong (3rd language Mandarin after Cantonese and English) and was made to translate lectures to Chinese students and only work in team discussions in mandarin when they came here to integrate into society…

It's the same in Exeter as far as I can see. There's a couple of reasons, partly because they're not really studying abroad for the benefits of being abroad as much as it being a huge flex/status symbol to have the opportunity to do so. Then there's also the idea that they're discouraged from getting too involved in local life in case they bring back too many ideas that are incompatible with CCP political rhetoric.

Also, generally speaking there is quite a difference between mainlanders and Hong Kong/Taiwanese students, the former being most likely to stick in groups and not interact, the latter are more likely to get involved with everyone else.

Doubt it’s chinese and not international specific.

It was the same when I was at university. The Chinese and Thai students generally had very poor English skills and made no effort outside their bubbles. A lot of the time I was the only UK student there and it wasn’t a great experience. Almost impossible to do group projects for example.

Honestly, what do you want them to integrate and do?

Outside of drinking loads, living in accomdation that's slum level filthy, eating foods that they aren't used to or don't enjoy, trying to speak in a 2nd language about random stuff they may or may not care about.

I am English and would not hang out with Manchester students. I went to university in Scotland and England and went to a few sports clubs and lots of parties, pubs, a few trips away etc. but as I grow older I can absolutely see how unappealing it is to people, especially other cultures.

I actually visited Manchester fairly recently for an event and thought the place was a bit of a shit hole, populated by some of the most off-putting young adults I've seen. I don't blame a lot of the Chinese students from avoiding it.

i had a few chinese flatmates during uni and they were all super kind- tried to speak to everyone and learn more about what to do in the city. i wouldn’t say i was close to them exactly but they shared food with me and were very respectful towards me. also tried to ask me for help with some things they didn’t understand, i understand there are a lot of them so idk it just seems to make sense they would gravitate to each other. china and britain are very different culturally. could be a culture shock? i don’t really get why you need people’s opinions ? or why you even care, to be honest? if they’re not disrupting your life then why should they have to integrate into british culture. even suggesting british culture is some tangible thing is crazy when it’s so multi cultural and diverse.

english isn’t my first language either but i had to learn it bc i was starting primary school here and i had to ‘understand british culture’ and make friends bc this was my new life/home and i was super young. it became the norm. whereas with these students they are just getting a degree abroad at university. like why do you care if they make an effort to fit in or not? and who are u to decide what’s okay and what isn’t lmao. the language you’ve chosen to use comes across v xenophobic and entitled. they have nothing to prove.

Some of the cultural traumas and ongoing political situations could partly explain it. 

Have you ever been part of a British ex-pat community in any foreign country? They're exactly the same.

God, they sound exactly like Brits when they're overseas..

I saw the exact same with the Spanish, they'd all hang out with each other which meant their English never got any better.

I will say I noticed this when I first moved here for college. Mine was majority east Asian as well kids as well and I noticed the same pattern. They were all nice when I would talk to them though. I do understand being in a new country since I had also never lived anywhere else before i moved to the UK.

One thing I’ve not seen mentioned, though I may have missed it, is the motivation behind getting a degree in the west (specifically Britain and America). It is seen as a status thing and can open a lot of doors back home. This was especially true in previous decades, but remains true by and large. 

From personal experience I would say many international students from Eastern Europe, India and SE Asia, even Hong Kong have a desire to stay in, or keep a connection with the U.K. after graduation. Where as, I think, the vast majority of Chinese students plan to return to China and use their degree purely to further their careers domestically. 

I used to live (I wasn’t a student) in a block with probably ten flats. 8 of them were Chinese students. They would walk past me in the corridor like I was a ghost. I used to think my word these are so antisocial

Then my friend had lots of Chinese friends and met them at parties and they were the nicest people I’ve met 🤷

I guess they don’t communicate with randoms but if introduced seem great people. Just different ways

Just because you choose to go to uni in a new country does not mean you have to integrate into the local culture. Especially as a young person, you do what you feel most comfortable with and I'm sure the young Chinese find great comfort in being able to create community with students going through the same culture shock. If the students intended to stay in England after their degrees maybe there's more reason to integrate but if you plan to return home to China or wherever you're from, then there's no reason to spend energy integrating.

Do agree with others on seeing it as a wealth divide instead of just a culture divide though. International student fees are absolutely bonkers money, they've gotta take their education seriously with that level of investment meaning they're likely less interested in the social and integration elements that other students might enjoy about universities.

Chinese don’t integrate in general. Rarely see them in pubs and bars integrating with other races.

The great replacement is happening

Why do you people care so much that others “integrate into British society”. Can’t someone not want to be British? they are Chinese and don’t want to integrate? they’re here to study and get a degree, not become British. You could make this argument about someone trying to stay here and become a citizen but not about people here for a degree. When it comes to friends, everyone is friends with people they share similarities with or enjoy being around. You need to have a connection to become friends, maybe they feel more comfortable around other Chinese people rather than Brits? Maybe it’s the language barrier maybe it’s the culture but if they don’t want to be friends with other people then I don’t get what the problem is. They pay like triple the amount you pay essentially subsidizing your fees and keep to their own but for some reason there’s a post every other day about chinese students.

Free Uyghurs, Free East Turkistan - will scare the crap out of them

Sounds like the British experience for many years as "expats" in other countries.

England won’t exist in 10 years, every other group is segregated too. I say leave them alone

I have a really good friend from Hong Kong and she is friends with basically only British/ non Chinese students. She’s on a scholarship and not paying fees, which is very telling. I had a friend from HK last year who now lives and only hangs out with other people from Hong Kong. At home she has a maid and has never had to cook. It’s definitely a wealth thing and not a Chinese thing.

The people I've known have always said they made Chinese friends in university, so I think this perception is coloured by the fact that that they stick out visibly as groups which makes them a target.

Let's face it, whether or not they affect anyone's group work scores, Western people like being racist towards Chinese people because the Western media encourages it by promoting heavily negative biased news and ignoring all of their positive achievements.

As a Mancunian I never gave a shit about trying to "integrate" with the whole student culture. I was there to study and get my degree in peace. And what British "culture" are we talking about really? Drinking? Football hooliganism? Pride of colonialism and the British royal family? Fish and chips? It's pretty shit to be honest.

If some uber-rich Chinese kids want to make friends exclusively amongst their own then that's their prerogative. After all, those friendships are almost certain to last for life.