Time for the new semester and new comers. The arrival of 16 freshmen brings life and vitality to this quiet and obscure corner of the campus.

The Manchu Language and Culture Research Centre, which is affiliated to Heilongjiang University in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is embracing its first ever batch of undergraduates majoring in Manchu language and history.

"I hope they can become a major force for saving and preserving the Manchu culture which is in peril," Zhao Aping, director of the centre and a Manchu herself, told China Daily.

Founded in 1983, the centre is the country's only academic institute that works exclusively on Manchu studies.

But the course has only begun to attract students this year.

"We feel it is necessary for our students to get acquainted with the Manchu language in their undergraduate education before they begin research work," Zhao added.

According to the curriculum, the 16 newly enrolled students will have to complete 33 courses within four years, including Manchu language, Chinese history and world history.

The Manchu ethnic group, with a population of 10.5 million, is China's third largest ethnic group, after the Han and Zhuang ethnic groups.

The Manchus founded the Qing Dynasty (1664-1911), whose emperors consolidated the frontiers and borders of what would become modern China.

Though the Manchu tried to protect their own language and culture, amalgamation with the Han people, who account for more than 90 per cent of China's population, was unavoidable.

To date the number of Manchu language speakers has shrunk markedly as most have adopted the Chinese language spoken by the Han people, according to Zhao.

(China Daily September 14, 2005)