Yueqing 'Sophy' Liu knew when she enrolled at the University of Newcastle she would be travelling to Australia's sixth biggest city.
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"I felt a bit surprised because in China cities have so many tall buildings - it's a little bit different," she said.
"But the environment is really good, the weather is good and I've already travelled to other places - to Anna Bay for sand boarding and dolphin watching and Sydney last week."
Ms Liu, 19, is one of 565 international students commencing their studies at UON's Callaghan and New Space campuses this semester.
260 are undergraduate students, 91 are post graduate students and 214 are on exchange or study abroad programs.
The students hail from 45 countries, including China, USA, India, Nepal, France, Germany, UK, Japan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Ms Liu said her university, the Anhui University of Finance and Economics, has a program that allows students to spend two years in China and two years in Newcastle and graduate with two Bachelor of Business degrees.
She arrived in June and said she relished the "really good" libraries at both city campuses.
Didarul Sujon, 28, arrived from Bangladesh three months ago for a Master of Business Administration (Global), after completing his Master of Pharmacy at home.
"I want to work as a manager in a pharmaceutical company in Bangladesh," he said.
"I chose Newcastle because they have highly educated teachers and its rankings are good.
"I like places where there is beautiful nature and weather and I can live in peace."
He said he wants to travel, including to Tasmania and Alice Springs, and is considering a PhD and working for two years before returning home.
Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
