Asuka Nishijima does not know much of the Chinese language, but that has not stopped the 20-year-old Japanese from pursuing her dream of learning traditional Chinese medicine.
"I'm very excited about learning Chinese and its traditional medicine here," said Nishijima, who recently completed her courses at Tianjin Foreign Studies University.
Just like Nishijima, more than 100 Japanese students from the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at Japan's Hokuriku University have joined the program since 2012.
The program, jointly launched by the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, aims to provide foreign students with the opportunity to promote their capabilities in the discipline.
The subject spans five decades of Tianjin Foreign Studies University's history and has involved about 12,400 foreign students in various programs.
"Our stellar reputation comes from word of mouth, not from advertisements," said Tianjin Foreign Studies University president Xiu Gang, whose institution celebrated its 50th anniversary on Oct 25.
"Many international students in my university come from Asian countries including Japan, South Korea and Vietnam but in recent years, our programs have also attracted applications from Western countries," he said.
Students from the West actually formed 60 percent of the total number of foreign students this year, university figures showed.
 
