I have long been fascinated with China, its culture and language. In December 2012, I visited Beijing Normal University for 3 weeks as part of the 'Study China' programme. The experience was unforgettable and truly opened my eyes to all experiences of China. Along with daily rigorous Mandarin lessons, we received a comprehensive course throughout the programme entitled 'China's Economic Development and Current Issues' which focused specifically on China's unique economic and financial structure. In groups, we worked on an independent research project concentrating on inequality which was presented to everyone at the end of the programme. While this was already fairly engaging, a lot of learning came from outside the classroom too where we explored China's marketplace, bargaining, transport systems, and every day learned something new about the Chinese way of life. The introduction to Mandarin inspired me to take up the language seriously, where I passed HSK level 2 in 2013. I'm still regularly engaged in the language and hope to take the HSK level 3 sometime in the near future when I can.

With that very memorable experience, I would very much love to continue my learning of Mandarin and China in general. I believe that Nanjing University will offer me all of that and so much more. Not only does the University have a superb academic reputation, it is so extremely cultured and full of history. I would look forward to learning in such an historic and rooted university, among some of the great academics of China. Whilst I greatly enjoyed exploring Beijing in 2012, visiting Nanjing would be an entirely brand new experience; learning from outside the classroom in such a beautiful city would be incredibly humbling. Getting involved additionally in calligraphy, poetry and philosophy would be a joy.

This programme would allow me to continue knowing more about China and about myself. Spending time in Nanjing would enrich my understanding of its beautiful history and culture. Additionally, I would like to direct my career towards more involvement with China and the use of Mandarin and studying here would be invaluable for that. I believe that each person is the sum of their experiences and learning at Nanjing is something that I'd never regret doing. As such, I would be incredibly humbled to study a language that has so energetically gripped me, in a country that has so easily captivated me from the outset.