The schools are also getting in the act, literally going out to woo foreign students. A team of Ganquan High School officials last month went to Tokyo and Osaka in Japan to enroll students.

They received a surprisingly warm response. So far, more than 100 Japanese have called, seeking more details, while some 20 parents flew to the city for a campus tour.

"Eight Japanese students enrolled this year, and I estimate the number will increase next year," said Liu Guohua, the school president.

The school's three-story building for overseas students is under construction and will be completed next March.

Matsumoto you, a 13-year-old student whose mother is a local and father Japanese, said, "My mother wanted me to know Chinese culture, so she sent me here. I have some difficulty in communication, though."

Since Matsumoto entered the school in March, she has been learning Chinese, Japanese and English simultaneously.

Elsewhere in the city, the Shanghai High School has recruited more than 800 overseas students from at least 30 countries and regions up to now.

"Students choose our school because of its reputation," said Yu Xiangdi of the school, adding the school has no plans for an overseas road show in the near future as the current enrollment matches its educational resources.

The shanghai Education Commission seems ambivalent about local schools wooing out-of-town or foreign students. But officials worry that in the long run locals may come to resent the out-of-towners for sharing the limited education resources. Also, there is a likelihood of teachers paying more attention to the outsiders since they pay a hefty fee.

At shanghai High School, for instance, a local student pays some 2,200 yuan (US$265) per semester while it is US$4,300 for an overseas student.

(eastday.com December 26, 2002)