(ECNS) - Nearly 80 percent of young foreigners in Beijing are interested in Chinese culture, especially the food, holidays and operas, and over 60 percent are fond of Beijing, according to a survey by the Beijing Committee of the Communist Youth League.
The survey sampled foreigners who had lived in Beijing for over six months and were aged between 18 and 35. Nine-hundred questionnaires were distributed and 60 in-depth interviews were conducted.
About 34 percent of the group say the capital city's most attractive aspect is its cultural environment, followed by work opportunities (21.7 percent) and friendly people (20.2 percent).
Language is not a problem for foreigners in Beijing, with 78.9 percent managing to speak Chinese, of whom 43.7 percent are fluent. In addition, 61.6 percent of them get along well with Chinese people.
One-third of foreigners have been in Beijing for less than a year. Another 39.5 percent have spent over 8 years in Beijing and hope to stay even longer.
The majority of foreigners in Beijing come from one of 86 countries or regions, according to the survey. The most common nationalities are Korean (18.6 percent), American (12.0 percent), Japanese (6.4 percent) and Canadian (6.1 percent).
Europeans and Americans generally find Chinese culture attractive and are open to experiencing it, while Japanese, Koreans and Singaporeans share a deeper recognition of and sense of connection with Chinese values.
Young foreigners cluster in areas according to their purposes for being in the city. Industry employees are active in Zhongguancun and Yizhuang, foreign public officials mostly live and work around Jianguomen and Sanlitun, and most foreign students are concentrated in Haidian District, which is home to a large number of universities.
