Xingyue is an American girl who became a well-known blogger while studying at Peking University. She speaks fluent Chinese and often "corrects" others in fluent Chinese — netizens call her a "China expert".
Her videos feature street interviews: asking Chinese passersby about foreign cultures, and foreigners about their China experiences. Her topics are light and fun: "Who works harder, Chinese or American students?" "What surprises foreigners most in China?"
She also shares her life as a PKU student: canteens, dorms, clubs, exam weeks. She shows foreign friends what real Chinese university life looks like, and Chinese students how they appear from an international perspective.
She says studying abroad taught her the real meaning of "read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles". From Michigan to Beijing, Xingyue documents the commonalities and differences between young people of two countries.
Star (b. late 1990s), American, Peking University student, became famous for fluent Chinese and deep knowledge of Chinese culture - the "PKU China hand".
Her road to PKU: after high school she applied to Peking University, was admitted, and studied Chinese language and culture there. She films campus life - an American girl "PKU diary".
Her Chinese level: fluent, standard pronunciation, comfortable with idioms and internet slang - good enough that Chinese netizens admire her.
Content: "a day at PKU", "foreign students studying in China", "Chinese vs American university life" - fresh campus life plus informative cultural comparison.
Significance: she represents international transmission by "academic" students - not only learning Chinese culture but showing the world the real face of Chinese higher education through videos.
Lesson: her story shows studying abroad is the deepest cross-cultural experience. Her PKU years are a microcosm of Sino-American youth exchange.
She also founded a "foreign student mutual help" project helping newcomers adapt - from bank cards to food delivery, everything. She says "I received lots of help when I came; now it is my turn." The kindness an American girl planted at PKU is passing through generations of students - the most beautiful meaning of studying abroad.
Finally: her PKU story continues. She makes us believe the meaning of studying abroad is carrying kindness to farther places.
She also uses holidays to teach English in rural China. The Chinese she learned at PKU and the English she brought from America both became tools to help others. She says "in my years studying in China I learned the phrase zhī ēn tú bào (return kindness); now I want to live it." A foreign student China story is all the more moving for this giving back.
She is about to graduate and says she wants to stay in Beijing to continue Sino-American cultural work. "PKU gave me knowledge and China gave me friends; I want to give both back." The story between an American girl and China continues.
