China Intl Education Exhibition Tour opens in Beijing

China's largest overseas study event, the China International Education Exhibition Tour, opened its doors on Saturday in Beijing.

Students across the country are making the last sprint towards their college entrance exams in June, and a growing number are preparing for overseas study. The country's largest overseas study event, the China International Education Exhibition Tour, opened its doors on Saturday in Beijing.

Approved by China's Ministry of Culture, the China International Education Exhibition Tour is the country's most influential education event to feature overseas study.

This year, more than 400 overseas learning institutions from 23 countries are looking for a share of the world's largest recruitment market.

China continues to hold its position as the largest source country for people studying abroad. And at this year's China International Education Exhibition Tour, overseas learning institutions are battling it out with each other, offering new and tempting terms to attract more Chinese talents.

A latecomer to the market, France is gradually gaining popularity, as recent statistics show that China has become the largest source of overseas students to France.

"The year 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the China-France diplomatic ties. Actually Laurent Fabius, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs came to China last month offering new propositions that encourage more Chinese students to pursue higher education in France. For example, students who have a master's degree in France can get a one-year residence permit which allows them to start a profession," said Laure Castin, attache of university cooperation, Campus France.

Apart from France's propositions, many of the foreign institutions also offer one-on-one interviews with the students so they can get immediate feedback.

In China, it's hard to get into top schools and study the majors you want, and that's one of the reasons why parents are turning to foreign institutions.

"My daughter prefers this school over Beijing Film Academy, so she gets to learn what she wants," said a visitor.

"We'll have a one-on-one interview with the school at 1 pm, so we can get direct feedback. If things go smoothly, she could start studying in France this September," said a parent.

Along with China's booming economy, studying abroad is becoming less of a luxury, and more of a reality. And it's not just for higher education, but secondary education as well.

"High schools in China can be really stressful, and since we can afford to send our daughter to study abroad, I want to give her a good head start," said another parent.

For the past four years, China has been the country sending the largest number of students to the US.

Chinese students account for almost a quarter of international students there, and that number is still growing.

"Last year it's approximately 20% and it's also true that it's the largest contingent. So we're working with the Ministry of Education to help the students be trusted by US universities. We provide the opportunities for the students to attach their credentials electronically to the admission application. So this is an improvement in terms of trust, not just for the students and universities but also for our two countries," said Jim Wolfston, CEO of Collegenet.

Beijing is just the first leg of the 2014 China International Education Exhibition Tour. It will open in six other cities, including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan, before wrapping up on March 30th.