ASA meets China’s university students
Hangzhou, China

In December 2005, the Adventist Students Association (ASA) organised a tour by a team of 22 university students, graduates and professionals to Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, to build an interactive relationship with university students in China.
This was the first UniCo team to travel to an overseas university for an international exchange trip, with team members coming from many locations, including Brisbane, Christchurch, Cooranbong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and as far away as New York, USA.
The team visited three universities in China, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University and Beijing Normal University, which comprises a combined student population of more than 100,000 students.
The UniCo exchange trip was primarily centred at Zhejiang University, which is located in the garden city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. As the hosting institution, Zhejiang University introduced the Adventist student group to many cultural and historical aspects of Chinese life.
The team had a number of opportunities to interact with Chinese university students, including a basketball competition and panel discussions on the topics of relationships, Australian culture and basic health principles. The Adventist students also joined the so-called “English corner” at the university, where they were able to assist Chinese students by providing opportunities to practise their conversational English.
These opportunities allowed friendships to be formed between the Chinese university students and the UniCo team members. Sun Lin, who is the International Programs Coordinator at Zhejiang University, said the concept of developing highly interactive programs between international students and local Chinese students had not been explored by the university before, and that the university was very interested in extending these ideas to other international student groups who visit the university. A number of the local university students were interested in the Christian beliefs held by UniCo team members and appreciated receiving Chinese Bibles as gifts.
Due to the significant proportion of medical students and professionals in the UniCo team, Dr Celia Clifford from the Yarra Valley church in Victoria, arranged for medical team members to meet with doctors working at two of the major university hospitals in Hangzhou. At her workplace in Melbourne, Dr Clifford had met a Chinese doctor who refered to himself as “Dr Smile,” and he was interested in showing the medical team members around Hangzhou. His hospital expressed an interest in Adventist medical professionals from Australia teaching professional English to local Chinese doctors at the hospital.
Dr Smile invited Dr Carl Welsh, an Adventist medical administrative consultant based at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, to give a presentation on Christianity to all the surgeons at the hospital. Dr Clifford said, “God opened doors that we could never have imagined.”
During their stay in Hangzhou, the UniCo team worshipped at one of the local Adventist churches, and were particularly inspired with the fervour and gospel-centredness of the worship of the Chinese Christians.
They participated in the worship at the church through music, drama, testimonies and talks on relationships and health. A number of the Chinese university students expressed an interest in attending the Adventist church for their first time with the UniCo team.
The team also visited the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, which was constructed with the assistance of Loma Linda Hospital in California; the Hangzhou Chong Yi church, which traces its roots back to the missionary work of Hudson Taylor, and is the largest Chinese church in the world; and the Zhejiang Theological Seminary.
Tim Shelton, the UniCo team chaplain, said, “God is moving powerfully in China, and it was an honour to see Him move and at the same time be used by Him. This trip was truly a blessing and a challenge for me to live mission not only in China but also at home here in Australia.”—Sven Ostring

Sven is the president of the Adventist Students Association.