Living with China's wealth gap on campus
Source: Xinhua |
September 2, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ARRIVING at Beijing's Communication University of China, freshman Wang Xiaoyan lugged a small suitcase to queue for a welcome package of daily necessities and subsidies from her university.
One of her fellow freshmen, Zhu Ling, meanwhile got out of a nearby Mercedes-Benz, took out 12 suitcases and proceeded to hire three porters to carry all the stuff to her dormitory.
Such a scene has been common in the past few days, as new and returning students from across the wealth spectrum set down at university. Interviews with young scholars in Beijing highlight a contrast in economic status among peers that will be playing out on campuses nationwide.
According to a 2011 survey of 1,700 students by China Campus, a magazine for Chinese university students, most of its target readers spend 800 to 1,200 yuan per month (US$126 to US$189).
Chen Zhijian, a student from Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said that one of his well-off friends once treated him to a French buffet costing 1,000 yuan per person.
Media reports in 2005 also showed students' monthly expenditures ranged from 300 to over 10,000 yuan.
Gaps in income between the poorest and richest of Chinese have got much wider in the past few decades, and the economic difference in campuses is but a reflection of the wider phenomenon in society, according to Zheng Lu, associate professor of sociology at Tsinghua University.
Despite the wealth gap, a Xinhua straw poll of students found 80 percent felt the differences in family backgrounds during campus life but believed it would not affect them.
Fang Li, studying at the China University of Geosciences, said that although the girls in her dormitory came from disparate backgrounds, they got on well with each other.
"For birthday celebrations, girls from richer families invite us to a feast, while the poorer ones cook a meal for us. We enjoy both!" Fang said.
Peking University student Liu Haiyang, said poorer students were often more focused. "Rich students live with less pressure, but they are also less motivated," and adding that poor students earned respect in supporting themselves through hard work, such as doing part-time jobs.
Chinese universities and authorities have been working on programs to offer financial help to less advantaged students.
Chinese students received nearly 98.6 billion yuan in subsidies in 2011, figures from the Ministry of Education show.
One of her fellow freshmen, Zhu Ling, meanwhile got out of a nearby Mercedes-Benz, took out 12 suitcases and proceeded to hire three porters to carry all the stuff to her dormitory.
Such a scene has been common in the past few days, as new and returning students from across the wealth spectrum set down at university. Interviews with young scholars in Beijing highlight a contrast in economic status among peers that will be playing out on campuses nationwide.
According to a 2011 survey of 1,700 students by China Campus, a magazine for Chinese university students, most of its target readers spend 800 to 1,200 yuan per month (US$126 to US$189).
Chen Zhijian, a student from Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said that one of his well-off friends once treated him to a French buffet costing 1,000 yuan per person.
Media reports in 2005 also showed students' monthly expenditures ranged from 300 to over 10,000 yuan.
Gaps in income between the poorest and richest of Chinese have got much wider in the past few decades, and the economic difference in campuses is but a reflection of the wider phenomenon in society, according to Zheng Lu, associate professor of sociology at Tsinghua University.
Despite the wealth gap, a Xinhua straw poll of students found 80 percent felt the differences in family backgrounds during campus life but believed it would not affect them.
Fang Li, studying at the China University of Geosciences, said that although the girls in her dormitory came from disparate backgrounds, they got on well with each other.
"For birthday celebrations, girls from richer families invite us to a feast, while the poorer ones cook a meal for us. We enjoy both!" Fang said.
Peking University student Liu Haiyang, said poorer students were often more focused. "Rich students live with less pressure, but they are also less motivated," and adding that poor students earned respect in supporting themselves through hard work, such as doing part-time jobs.
Chinese universities and authorities have been working on programs to offer financial help to less advantaged students.
Chinese students received nearly 98.6 billion yuan in subsidies in 2011, figures from the Ministry of Education show.
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