“Strength in Numbers”

June 7, 2015

Since the 2013-2014 school year, the Confucius Institute has been recruiting and encouraging TSU students to take advantage of the yearly opportunity to study abroad in Beijing, China. In conjunction with Beijing Jiaotong University, the Confucius Institute’s focal point is to expand student’s educational knowledge outside the classroom by way of traveling abroad.

When traveling abroad, students gain first hand knowledge and experience of a different culture. Majority of TSU students have never toured outside of the United States, therefore we provide students with their first experience in global travel. Our foreign exchange program contains a two-week experience in the two cities of Beijing and Shanghai, China. Students will take Mandarin and Chinese culture classes at Beijing Jiaotong University. While in Beijing, students visit famous historical sites across Beijing including the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Beijing Olympic Park, and the Great Wall of China to name a few. After finishing classes and sightseeing in Beijing, students travel to Shanghai, China via twelve-hour train ride. Upon arrival in Shanghai, students visit the World Financial Center, Pearl TV Tower, and the Bund. Following the completion of the Shanghai experience, students return to Beijing on China’s fascinating high-speed rail.

The Confucius Institute has recorded the highest number of students studying abroad amongst all other foreign exchange programs on campus. In two years of existence, TSUCI has sent 35 students to study abroad and has played a key role in arranging visits for the Men’s basketball team and Heritage of Zion singers of Texas Southern University traveling to China. In all, the Confucius Institute has guided over 60 TSU students into China, cultivating new life experiences and educational knowledge.