0:00:21 > 0:00:24At the start of the new academic year,
0:00:24 > 0:00:29students pour into Beijing from all over China.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32In this programme, the ups and downs of life on campus,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36a look at Beijing's booming business world,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38plus the fortunes of factory workers,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42and what to say when you're formally introduced.
0:00:48 > 0:00:49University.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54Beijing University is the Oxbridge of China,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56with over 35,000 students.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Graduating here is the ultimate passport to success.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09For new students, it's just the beginning.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12As soon as they arrive, they must sign up for their courses
0:01:12 > 0:01:14and move into their dormitories.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Students are from many different provinces.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Literally - I'm a Shandong person.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38I come from Hunan.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46Since the 1990s,
0:01:46 > 0:01:50the number of students studying at university has tripled.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Competition for places is fierce
0:01:53 > 0:01:56and, since the government cut back on subsidies,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59most students have to pay towards their courses.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03The better off you are, the more likely you are to get to university.
0:02:03 > 0:02:08Your behaviour and moral conduct will also be taken into account.
0:02:09 > 0:02:15There's none of the political fervour that existed back in the 1980s.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Getting involved in green issues is as militant as it gets.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28For most, what's important is having a good social life
0:02:28 > 0:02:29and making new friends.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32If people ask you how you are,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34you can say -
0:02:35 > 0:02:37I'm fine.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51The word for friend is -
0:02:57 > 0:02:59This is my friend.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18He is called... or she is called...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Her surname is...
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Her full name is...
0:03:33 > 0:03:36With families pinning all their hopes on their sons and daughters,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38often only children,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41the pressure to succeed is enormous.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45To study.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49I'm studying finance.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I'm studying law.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I'm studying philosophy.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06I'm studying Chinese literature.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Chinese universities produce
0:04:11 > 0:04:15some of the finest engineers and mathematicians in the world.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Even so, many students still dream of studying in the West
0:04:18 > 0:04:21with the benefits that this can bring.
0:05:06 > 0:05:1120 years ago, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously said,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13"To get rich is glorious."
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Like a true Chinese sage, he foresaw the transformation that would happen
0:05:18 > 0:05:21when China opened its doors to the West.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Now foreign capital is pouring in,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29joint ventures are taking off
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and state-run businesses are struggling to keep up.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36As more and more foreign companies establish themselves,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38the international community is growing.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42These ex-pats are French, Canadian and British.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I'm British.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58I'm Chinese.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02The word for the Chinese language is -
0:06:07 > 0:06:10I can speak Chinese.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Shuo means to speak.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23A little.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I can speak a little Chinese.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Mr Yang and Miss Li have an appointment
0:06:35 > 0:06:36to meet Mr Gao.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40When you are formally introduced to someone, use the polite term.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43Hello.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47If you're speaking to more than one person.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Mr Gao, this is Miss Li.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Beijing's Grand Capital seafood restaurant.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20A group of business people have arranged to meet for dinner.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23This is my wife.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29This is my colleague.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Very pleased to meet you.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Very pleased.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Jobs in private companies are what many Beijingers now aspire to.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02Work.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07I work for a company.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12I work for the Bank of China.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17I'm an accountant.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22I'm a company manager.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30Ying is typical of a new breed of Chinese entrepreneurs,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33ambitious and highly motivated.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38She's studied and worked abroad and has just completed an MBA.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44As well as running an interior design business
0:08:44 > 0:08:47in Beijing's prestigious World Trade Centre,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50she's a partner in a highly successful restaurant.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56How does she see women's chances in the Chinese business world?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19China's vast supply of cheap labour
0:09:19 > 0:09:22and the strength of foreign investment
0:09:22 > 0:09:26is rapidly turning it into the workshop of the world.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Clothing manufacture is one of the biggest earners.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34With this kind of style and quality, it's hard to recall
0:09:34 > 0:09:36that this is a nation once identified
0:09:36 > 0:09:39with Chairman Mao's blue cotton suits.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Miss Chang is late for her business meeting
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and makes her apologies.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51I'm sorry.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55It doesn't matter.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Name card.
0:10:16 > 0:10:21Smart Garments is a joint venture between China and Singapore.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25The company has recently invested in computer-aided design
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and training up their staff,
0:10:28 > 0:10:32even sending them to Japan, the firm's main customer.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38The factory's in the industrial outskirts of Beijing
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and workers come from local villages.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Most are glad to get jobs here
0:10:43 > 0:10:46despite the pressures of doing piece work.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48To earn around £100 a month,
0:10:48 > 0:10:53they have to produce up to 500 pieces a day.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Lunch is nutritious and free.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00But gone are the days of the iron rice bowl
0:11:00 > 0:11:04when workers could expect not just food but a home provided by the firm
0:11:04 > 0:11:06and a job for life.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Shufang comes from a peasant family and used to work on the land.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17She learned to sew on a local training scheme
0:11:17 > 0:11:22and since joining the firm has been promoted to unit manager.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47Managing director of the firm is Dorothy Seet from Singapore.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49She started the company 16 years ago
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and it's been a tough learning curve.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58Working in China is like an acrobat performing an act on a tightrope.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00You have to always keep a balance.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04You have to adapt to the conditions here.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07One cannot set very high expectations
0:12:07 > 0:12:12and come in and say, "These are my rules and these are my principles."
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Depending on circumstances, you have to bend a little.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Over the years that I'm here, I've learned a lot.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22And with that, I think things have smoothed out
0:12:22 > 0:12:25a lot more than what they used to be.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33At Beijing's university for teacher training it's an important day -
0:12:33 > 0:12:36the celebration of their 100th anniversary.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44New libraries, lecture theatres and social facilities have been finished
0:12:44 > 0:12:46for the centenary.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Education is now universally valued
0:12:49 > 0:12:52as China's fastest route to first-world status.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58BAND PLAYS Within China,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02you never look to the future without honouring the ancestors.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06A new statue of Confucius is about to be unveiled.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32Confucian thinking is the bedrock of the Chinese education system
0:13:32 > 0:13:37and learning's long been regarded as the passport to a better life.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39This theme is played out later
0:13:39 > 0:13:43in a centenary dance spectacular by the students.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45In the 20th century,
0:13:45 > 0:13:50millions of Chinese got their first real taste of education.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55Today's generation have their sights set on even greater achievements.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing by Red Bee Media Ltd