Member Introductions

──First, could you tell us about elementary school life in China? Is the education system similar to Japan's (6-3-3-4 year system)?

Xie　Yes, the education system is the same as Japan's.

──Did you, as elementary school students, do a lot of extracurricular activities, like Japanese children?

Zhu　My parents were very supportive and encouraged me to attend any classes that I showed interest in. For sports, I did ethnic dance, taekwondo, swimming, and ice skating. For cultural activities, I tried electronic keyboard, violin, guitar, singing, calligraphy, and more. While I only continue some of them as hobbies now, I believe that having the opportunity to try so many different things helped me develop a wide range of interests.

──That's impressive! You all did so many activities!

Xie　Yes! I played the violin from the age of 5 for 13 years. During university, I was a member of the classical music club with proper guidance from a teacher for 4 years. Even now, I enjoy playing the electric violin at home—it's become a lifelong hobby for me.

Chen　In my hometown of Fujian Province, neither I nor my classmates were pushed to do many extracurricular activities. However, I’ve heard that in places like Beijing and Shanghai, where the education level is higher, there are many more options for extracurricular activities. Recently, it seems that more parents are wanting to involve their children in after-school activities as well.

──In Japan, many parents are very enthusiastic about entrance exams for junior high school. Is there a similar system in China?

Xie　In China, there aren't many private junior high schools. Most children attend public schools in their respective regions.

Zhu　That's right. In my hometown, it's the same as Xie said.

Chen　My local school wasn't very high-level, so I took the entrance exam for junior high school. I attended a private school that had a higher level of teachers and curriculum. It attracted talented students from various areas.

──I've heard that romantic relationships are prohibited for middle and high school students in China. Is that true?

Xie　Well, it's not officially prohibited, but it was considered "not allowed."
However, there were still some students who secretly had relationships. When it comes to relationships, it also depended on academic performance. If a student's grades were poor, teachers would intervene, but if the student was doing well academically, their relationships were often overlooked (laughs).

──I'd like to hear from the women. Zhu, what was your experience?

Zhu　In my case, dating was also prohibited, so I didn't even think about romance during high school. However, I do remember that there were around 3 to 4 couples in my class.

──What about the younger generation? Are these customs changing?

Chen　I think it depends more on the region than the generation. In my area, teachers didn’t really intervene much in regular relationships.

──When does preparation for the Gaokao (university entrance exam) typically begin?

Xie　It starts in the third year of high school. Typically, in the second year of high school, students choose between science and liberal arts tracks. By the end of the second year, the regular high school curriculum is finished. In the third year, students focus solely on exam preparation, going through past questions and studying intensively. For us, the Gaokao is the most important exam in our lives, so we just focus all our energy on studying to get into a good university.

──How many hours do you study in a day?

Xie　For me, I studied over 10 hours a day. I had school six days a week. In the mornings, from 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM, then in the afternoon from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM, and in the evening from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. Because I would return home after 9 PM every day, my family and I decided to move near the high school to save time. If you don't make time for studying, your grades drop quickly, and if you don't work hard, you fall behind. At that time, I was completely focused on my studies, doing everything I could.


Zhu　During my high school years, the schedule was similar. Monday to Saturday, we had classes from 7 AM to 9:50 PM, and Sunday afternoons were the only break. On top of that, there was homework, so sometimes I had to study until midnight.

──What did you do on rare days off?

Zhu　I mostly studied (laughs).

── (laughs)

Chen　In my region, school was from Monday to Friday, with hours from 7 AM to 9:30 PM. But, of course, I still studied at home on weekends.

──It's interesting that the high school takes care of all the studying, rather than cram schools or prep schools.

Xie　I haven't really heard of prep schools. Some students may have attended cram schools on weekends in their first or second year of high school. But when it comes to serious exam preparation in the third year, the high school fully supports the students.

──How Do Students Choose Their Desired Universities?

Zhu　The method of choosing a university may vary slightly depending on the region, but in Liaoning Province, where I took the exam, the process went like this: first, we took the exam and did a self-assessment to predict our scores. Based on the predicted score, we selected universities. In China, universities are divided into several tiers, and you can generally choose based on your score. In my case, I selected three universities, and eventually chose one of them to attend.

As for choosing a major, it is mainly divided into Humanities and Sciences. I chose the Science track in high school, so when it came time to select a major, I went for something related to physics or chemistry. Ultimately, I decided to pursue a degree in pharmacy at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, considering my interest in the field as well.


Xie　In Jiangxi Province, the process was similar. After taking the exam, our scores were predicted and we selected universities based on that. However, I was allowed to prioritize up to six universities in terms of preference. Like Zhu, I also chose the Science track, so I aimed for a university that offered a strong program in the sciences, which led me to China University of Petroleum, where I was successfully admitted.

One of the challenges of the Gaokao system is that the difficulty and competition of the exam can vary based on the year and region, which makes the process even more complex.

──What is campus life like at universities in China?

Xie　In Chinese universities, living in dormitories is quite common for students. Typically, the rooms are shared by four or six people. In my case, I lived in a six-person room for four years. In the evenings, my dormmates and I would go out to eat skewered meat and make lots of fun memories together. Even five years after graduation, I still keep in touch with my dormmates.

Zhu　I also lived in a dorm, but it was a four-person room. We shared everything—living, eating, and attending classes together. After graduation, I really missed those times because such opportunities to live with others like that don’t come around again.

Chen　At Tianjin University, there are multiple campuses, and some dormitories are for four people while others are for six. I lived in a four-person room. The campus is very self-sufficient with everything you need, including dorms and cafeterias, so you could live your whole life on campus without leaving.

Xie　The cost of living in the dorms is incredibly cheap. In my case, my tuition, rent, and utilities combined amounted to roughly 200,000 yen per year per person. It’s really affordable compared to other countries.

──Is that the price including tuition? That's really cheap!

Chen　The cost of my dorm was about 1,200 yuan (approximately 25,000 yen) per year.


──What is the job search process like?

Chen　We start in the first half of the 4th year and finish in the latter half. The main difference from Japan is that students don’t visit companies; rather, many companies hold information sessions at the university.

──Are internships commonly done?

Xie　I participated in an internship at HighChem in my 4th year of university, and then I applied to HighChem and joined the company.

Chen　 I saw HighChem’s recruitment information at my university and applied for an interview. Since it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no on-campus information sessions, but I applied through the internet.

──It seems that many Chinese university students go on to master's or doctoral programs.

Xie　At my university, which was a technical university, many students had a clear goal of working in the petrochemical industry and chose to enter the workforce after completing their undergraduate studies. However, some students who felt unsure about their competitiveness during the job search chose to pursue a master's degree.

In my view, especially in the sciences, the general trend is: "Master’s degree → Enhance competitiveness for job search," and "Doctorate → Aiming for a career in research or academic pursuit."

Chen　That’s right. In my case, as my major was biotechnology, many of my classmates aimed for further studies, with some even planning to study abroad in the U.S. I do believe the difficulty of finding a job depends on the chosen major. For example, many IT-related students, like those in software engineering, go directly into the workforce after graduation. In contrast, those majoring in biology, physics, or chemical engineering tend to aim for a master’s degree.

──Finally, what do you think about the differences in the educational environments between Japan and China?

Xie　 In China, during high school, it's all about studying and focusing on grades. But since the situations in both countries are completely different, I think it’s hard to make a direct comparison.

Zhu　 I’m not very familiar with the high school situation in Japan, but I’ve heard that in addition to studying, there are extracurricular activities. I think it would be a great experience to be able to pursue your hobbies during high school.

Chen　Japanese anime and movies often take high school as the setting. For example, Slam Dunk is set in high school, and the summer Koshien (high school baseball tournament) feels very much like青春 (youth) in Japan.

──Indeed, in Japan, it seems that both love and sports are often seen as parts of youth that are experienced mostly during high school.

Chen　China doesn’t have Koshien, but in some areas, basketball and soccer clubs are quite popular. After sweating it out on the school field, there are still moments of chatting with friends in the classroom during the afternoon breeze. Even in China, there are memories of青春 (youth) beyond just studying.

Xie　Yes, exactly. I don't think one is better than the other; it’s just different.