It a Race, Not a Vlog! A Day in the Life of a Chinese University Student

since it is still a bit dark, we will come back for a full tour once her morning classes are over. Kitty is typically the last person in the dorm to roll out of bed. But with the cameras rolling, she is putting in the extra effort to do her makeup. This is something she rarely bothers with on a normal day. Right now, she looks soft, spoken, and refined. But that is mostly the camera effect. In reality, Kitty is a total free spirit. She is outspoken and candid, and she is someone who always wears her heart on her sleeve. Most of this emotional release is

rooted in the 3 years of high school in China. During that time, life was centered on nothing but studying. There was almost no room for anything else. When they finally enter the university gates, the desires, curiosity, and exhaustion that were suppressed for so long are released all at once. This university consists of two separate campuses. Walking from the dormitories to the classrooms on the old campus takes at least 20 minutes for a round trip. To save time, electric scooters and bicycles have become the primary way to commute. to commute. Every

time a class begins, a striking scene unfolds at the school gate. Hundreds of scooters and bikes rush into the campus all at once like a rising tide. This massive wave of students is a unique sight found only in Chinese universities. There are approximately 500 classrooms spread across these two campuses. Even though Kitty has been here for half a semester, she still gets lost and struggles to find the right room. This is an office software course. The teacher sends a standardized assignment to everyone, and the students must complete the task according

to the requirements. requirements. Since it is the first class of the morning, Kitty is surprisingly alert. While she focuses on her work, let us take a look at what a typical Chinese student carries in their bag. Kitty carries two textbooks. It is clear that her next class is English. is English. There is also a stationary bag, a small snack, and a heat patch. Finally, she has two boxes of hard candy, each with a different flavor. Take a look at the class schedule for this semester. The dense arrangement of courses is quite intense. There are a total of

26 classes every single week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the schedule runs from 8:00 in the morning until 6:30 in the evening. This means that her entire day is filled with a back-to-back schedule of classes. At the start of each semester, graduating students often sell their second-hand electric bikes to incoming freshmen. Even with eight classes every day, the workload is not even 1/10 of what she faced in high school. Usually, within the first 20 minutes of class, Kitty finishes all of her assignments. For the rest of the period, she watches her

favorite historical dramas on her phone. It is not just Kitty, almost freshman feels the same way. For 3 years in high school, mobile phones were strictly forbidden and life was filled with extreme pressure. Now that they are university, those long suppressed desires are finally breaking free. Many students engage in what is called revenge phone use as a way to release their stress. After classes at noon, finding a seat in the cafeteria is almost impossible. Kitty and her roommates rarely eat there. They usually get takeout and bring it back to their

dorm. For Kitty, studying and eating are only minor details. The only thing that can truly earn her full attention is her world of games. As soon as she returns to the dorm, she turns on her computer immediately. She enters the game and becomes completely immersed in her own space. They live in a six-person dormitory. Each person pays approximately $115 per year. per year. On the left, there are two sets of bunk beds. On the right, there are lofts with beds over desks. The desk space is split into three equal parts. Each person has three storage cubes, a

tiny workspace, and a small locker. Because the lockers are too small, they hang their clothes around their beds. The entire room is covered in hanging laundry. laundry. A lack Lack space is a common problem in all Chinese universities. In a previous video on this channel, we visited a male dormitory at a different university. It showed a very similar scene. Roommates are assigned randomly. They will live here together for all four years of university. Whenever they do not have classes or when the weekend arrives, they spend their time playing games

together. By the afternoon, Kitty is clearly running out of energy. Not long after class begins, she starts to doze off. While she's catching a quick nap, let's take a look around the campus. This school is located in Anyang, a small city in central China. It is named after the city itself, Anyang Normal University. Whether in terms of research strength, campus size, or student enrollment, this institution sits right in the middle tier of Chinese higher education. higher education. Depending on the major, the annual tuition fees range from 500 to 1,000

US dollars. With its exceptional value and accessible admission requirements, this university has become a primary choice for students from average families across China. across China. In this mid-tier Chinese university, where everything seems ordinary, the learning environment is split into two extremes. On one side, there is Kitty napping in the classroom and other students who are lost in their mobile phones. On the other side, there are students in the self-study rooms and even in the corridors who are studying with incredible intensity. It is no

exaggeration to say that in every corridor and passage of the school, wherever there's light, there are small desks and chairs. Every suitable corner in the entire university is completely occupied. The occupy stickers and seat transfer notes on the walls are the best evidence of this fierce competition. The most sought-after spots are those by the windows. the windows. These locations offer a wide view and a window sill for books, making them the most prized areas for students. Almost all of the students who are studying in the self-study rooms or by

the windows are in their final year of university. They have only two very clear objectives for staying here. One is to pass the civil service examination, and the other is to be accepted into a graduate program. This phenomenon is a result of the school's position in the rankings top. Tier universities offer better resources and career prospects. And at the same time, students in lower ranked schools often choose to relax or give up completely. Only those caught in the middle, like the students here, feel this intense pressure. They're not satisfied

with an ordinary degree, yet they refuse to give up. For them, these exams are the only way to change their destiny. Usually, it is only on Friday nights that Kitty leaves the campus to go out and have fun. and have fun. To fully capture her nightlife, we have offered to cover the cost of her evening. We do this because we want to show you the complete picture of her life as a student. In China, almost every student who attends a mid-tier or top-tier university has lived through a very painful high school experience. That kind of pain is buried deep

inside and many choose not to mention it. Kitty is no exception. Therefore, we hope to find a quiet moment tonight to see if she will open up. We want to understand what those years were really like for her. Good job, Sean. I'm feeling warm. I'm feeling warm. I don't want to buy a car or buy a car or buy a car. Okay, China. Don't you want to kill her? You want to watch on your phone while you're on call me so cute? I want to copy them down here in my bathroom. bathroom. I want to be sure to go home to your girlfriend. I feel really good. I want to go

home or go home. I am. I am. I can get you a gift. I'm going to go home and go home to your house. You don't go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I just want to know your job. I don't want to go home to your girlfriend. You don't want to go home to your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go I don't want to go

home to your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your I don't I don't I don't want to go home to I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and

your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to go home to I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom. I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom. your mom. I don't want to

go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't want to go home to go home to I don't I don't I don't want to go home to your mom and your mom and your mom. I don't Although she has endured the immense pressure of countless exams and rankings, today Kitty still appears lively and cheerful. The entertainment and freedom that were suppressed during her high school years have slowly been released since the moment she entered university. entered university. For Kitty, the most obvious change in university is that she no longer has to keep herself as

tense as she did in high school. school. She can feel sleepy in class, daydream in her dormitory, or play video games with her roommates. She will even stand up for her roommates when they're treated unfairly in the virtual world. This is Kitty. This is her university life at this very moment.