Gerard Nkengurutse (right) performs during a cultural event at Dalian Medical University. (Photo/China Daily)
More from the continent are studying medicine at mainland universities, as Zhao Ruinan reports
An increasing number of African students are choosing universities in China to study medicine.
"We had just eight African students in our school in 2006, but 558 last year," said Lei Haixin, executive associate dean of the International Education College at Dalian Medical University in Liaoning province.
African students now account for more than a third of all overseas students at the university, Lei said.
There are more than 60,000 African students in the country, a 20-fold increase from 13 years ago, making China the second most popular destination for students from the continent studying abroad, after France, which hosts more than 95,000.
Gerard Nkengurutse is one of hundreds from Africa studying medicine at Dalian Medical University.
For him, kung fu and the actor Jackie Chan were two of the star attractions when he came to China eight years ago. But when he set off on the 10,000-kilometer journey from his native Burundi to Dalian, he had a much more important matter on his mind.
On arrival, he joined thousands of other students from around the world who were embarking on a path through China to achieve their lifelong dream of becoming medical doctors.
"My country, as well as most others in Africa, lacks professional doctors," Nkengurutse said. "China is so developed in medicine and has helped my country a lot in building schools and hospitals. I appreciated that and thought it might be a good place to learn medicine."
Since the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held in 2000, China has delivered more than $164 million in development aid to Burundi, including $9 million for construction of a hospital in Bubanza province.
One of Nkengurutse's classmates, Nasra Mohamound Ali, from Somalia, also said she came to China because of the country's leading role in medicine and its abundance of resources on medical studies.
She believes that by studying in the country she can realize her dream of becoming a doctor and helping her compatriots.
Ali said that when she was in high school she decided to be a gynecologist because most of the doctors in her country are male, and female patients find it hard to talk to male doctors or to share their problems with them.
"My sister had an abortion and she was bleeding so much that we took her to the hospital. When the doctor came to examine her, he asked her to open her legs and she refused despite the bleeding and pain she was experiencing."
It is not just China's medical expertise and equipment that attract students to the country, but its culture.
Nkengurutse said, "The culture is a lot different to that in Burundi. China has the latest technology and it has world-renowned kung fu stars like Jackie Chan."
With a keen interest in culture, he was soon studying Chinese.
In June, he finished third in a Chinese speech contest for foreign college students organized by the Department of Education in Liaoning after earlier being chosen to compete with other non-Chinese on the TV show Chinese Bridge on China Central Television.
"China offers me a lot and has become a second home for me," Nkengurutse said.
Yet another reason that African students come to China to learn medicine is the affordability.
