Zhou Zulin, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Business and Economics, could not sleep on his first night's stay at the school's dormitory on August 28.

He has never travelled so far in his life, away from his hometown in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Although Beijing's weather has already cooled down a little to 32 degrees Celsius, he still felt too hot to fall asleep. Besides, there is only an electric fan, but no air conditioner in the dormitory, which he shares with six other new classmates.

He remembered how his grandfather, a tough retired soldier, cried when Zhou left home for Beijing.

Raised in a honeycomb environment, Zhou never felt such strong affection as he felt now. "When my father, who escorted me to Beijing, left for home, I felt a little empty and lonely at first. But then my teachers and fellow students are so nice that I think I've already become used to the life here."

"There is a sharp difference between Beijing and home," said Zhou. "Climate, weather and living habits"

Beijing is too dry for him and he has already developed a throat inflammation. He found the foods in the canteen "OK" but the chilli not as spicy and fragrant as at home.

Unlike Zhou, his schoolmate Wang Xue, an 18-year-old girl from Northeast China's Jilin Province, does not find so much difference between the food and climate in Beijing and her home. She is rather excited to be on her own.

"My biggest wish is to take good care of myself and not let my family worry about me," she declared. "I want to prove that I have grown up."

Wang has been sending a lot of text messages home. Zhou has also been calling home daily to talk to his grandfather and mother.

Like most of the other 1,300 new undergraduate students in the college, Wang and Zhou are the only children at their home as a result of the family planning policy in China. They were little "emperors" and "empresses" at home. They did little housework, concentrating on achieving good scores in their studies.

Two months ago, they were studying until the small hours of the night to prepare for the national entrance examination. They did no housework at all.

Today, they live in a dormitory accommodating seven students. They do their own washing and cleaning. They arrange their own lives. When Wang started to wash her own clothes, and made her own bed in the dormitory, she even discovered a sense of satisfaction, happy that she could take care of herself now.

Both look at college life as a chance to practice social skills and personality building. Although they are a little disappointed about their spartan living conditions, they have come to like the school and have adapted well.

Best of all, they think Beijing is a capital city with both traditional and modern cultures, an ideal place for study.

"When I stood in the high CCTV Radio and Broadcast Tower and had a bird's eye view of Beijing, I knew it was time for me spread my wings and fly high!" said Zhou.

(China Daily September 9, 2005)