Visiting Student Programs

A visiting student program in China is a non-degree stay you apply for yourself, usually a semester or a year of language or courses, without your home university nominating you under an exchange agreement. The dated prices below are Peking University’s, on a page stamped 2024-04-01. DragonTrail has no visiting seats.

Information checked 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai).

We are not updating those 18,000 and 24,000 RMB figures to “2026” without a newer page. The application months are written as if they repeat, which is not the same as a confirmed invoice. Senior visiting and research-scholar tracks on the hub do not print a fee at all. A fee-exempt summer lab earns no credits. Do not blend them.

At a Glance

Status	Non-degree. Order No. 42’s advanced-study and research categories are the legal neighborhood. This is not a bachelor’s or a master’s admission.
Length	The general visiting page says mostly one semester or one academic year. Senior visiting is described as usually one year. The summer lab is a short research stay.
Eligibility	Non-Chinese citizen, valid ordinary passport, healthy, and at least one undergraduate year already completed at the home university for the general program.
Chinese courses	No basic Chinese requirement on that page. Tuition listed: 18,000 RMB a semester. Choose the School of Chinese as a Second Language in the form.
Credit courses	Chinese-taught credit courses need the new HSK 6 above 180. Tuition listed: 24,000 RMB a semester. The page does not say how many 学分 that buys.
Application fee	400 RMB, cash, UnionPay, or online. Non-refundable. Traveler’s cheques and other currencies are refused. Unpaid forms are not accepted.
Windows as written	Fall, usually September to January: apply 1 March to 30 April. Spring, usually late February to June: apply 1 to 30 November. Confirm the year before you pay.
Visa	Over six months: JW202 and X1, then a residence permit within 30 days. Under six months: X2. The admission notice carries the dates.
DragonTrail	No application portal and no dormitory booking. The system named on the page is the university’s.

Visiting Means You Apply, the University Decides

Visiting student programs in China are the route for someone who already studies elsewhere and wants a semester or a year on a Chinese campus without a degree and without an exchange nomination. Peking University’s general visiting page says you need a valid foreign passport, good health, and at least one completed undergraduate year at your home university. You then choose Chinese courses or credit courses. The form path is the university’s own system, admission code GVS3, under non-degree students. Paper copies still have to be mailed, and the postmark is what they count against the deadline.

That is not an exchange. University Exchange Programs starts when your home office nominates you under an agreement. Fudan’s summer waiver exists only for that nomination. If you do not have it, do not describe a visiting invoice as a waiver. DragonTrail cannot file GVS3 for you or mail the signed form. Find a Suitable Program does not list visiting vacancies.

Two Semester Prices, One Old Stamp

The fee block is short enough to quote exactly and careful enough to date. Chinese courses are 18,000 RMB a semester. Credit courses are 24,000 RMB a semester. The application fee is 400 RMB and is not returned. The page time is 2024-04-01. Fall applications are written as 1 March to 30 April, with the semester usually from September into January. Spring applications are written as 1 to 30 November, with the semester usually from late February into June. The page says the admission notice sets the real registration day and the year’s calendar sets the semester.

A stamp from April 2024 plus the words “each year” is why this guide will not call the prices current as of 29 October 2026. Offices leave old HTML up. Before you pay, compare the live page with this paragraph. If the numbers have moved, the live page wins. Scholarship visitors were given a different window on a 2026 Type A note, 1 December 2025 to 15 February 2026, and that window is closed. It does not replace the self-funded months, and it does not refresh the 2024 fee.

Language Rules Depend on the Courses

Chinese-language visiting students are told there is no basic Chinese requirement. They select the School of Chinese as a Second Language. Credit-course students who take Chinese-taught classes must hold the new HSK 6 above 180. That score is lower than the HSK 6 above 210 on Peking University’s Type A note for Chinese-taught bachelor’s applicants, and higher than level 4 on a vocational brochure. The course catalog is the academic affairs site the visiting page links. Nothing there promises that a foreign registrar will accept the class.

The page also mentions PKU Global Open Courses as a way the university shares classes. Sharing a catalog is not a promise that every class is open to visitors, taught in English, or inside the 24,000 RMB. Ask the department whether the course you need is offered to general visiting students in the term you want, in the language you can use. Chinese-Taught University Programs keeps the HSK lines apart so a visiting rule is not used to enter a degree.

Senior Visiting, Research Scholars, and the Summer Lab

The visiting hub lists more than the general semester. Senior visiting students study or research with professors, usually for one year. Research scholars apply all year and are told the library and electronic resources are open to them. The international summer lab, for science and engineering, says students and researchers do short research, take no courses, earn no credits, and pay no application or tuition fee. Three products, three outcomes. Only the general page prints 18,000 and 24,000 RMB. We will not assign those numbers to a senior year or a research scholar.

A laboratory that charges nothing and issues no transcript will disappoint a student who needed credit, and a 24,000 RMB semester will disappoint a student who thought the summer lab’s waiver applied to courses. Say which of the three you mean in the first message to the university. DragonTrail will not contact professors to create a research-scholar invitation. If the invitation never becomes an admission notice, there is no JW form to take to a consulate.

Documents, Housing, and Insurance

The general page asks for proof of enrollment or the highest degree, official transcripts, a study plan of 500 to 1,000 words in Chinese or English, two signed recommendations from professors or people with an academic title, any Chinese-proficiency certificate, and the passport identity page. Incomplete files are not processed. Originals or certified copies must be in Chinese or English. You print the online form, sign it, add a photo, and mail the packet. Materials are not returned.

Housing is not inside the semester fee. The page points to a housing site and a telephone for Peking University’s international residences, and it says self-funded students may live on or off campus. You receive a campus card at registration for canteens and the library. Insurance must be bought in China; the page says the university will not register you without it, and that the education ministry requires cover. Buy it on the timetable they give you, not after classes have started. Plan Your Study Stay is the arrival side once the notice exists.

Visa Length and Home Credit

The page is unusually clear about the visa hinge. More than six months: letter of admission, JW202, X1 valid only 30 days after arrival, then a residence permit through the international students division within 30 days. Less than six months: X2. A fall semester “usually from September to January” can cross six months. Count the dates on the notice, not the word semester. The Beijing municipal guide uses 180 days for the same X1 and X2 split. Consular officers apply the rule to your passport, not to this summary.

Credit is the other hinge. The 24,000 RMB line is for credit courses, but the page never states a credit load. Your home university can refuse the transcript, cap the credits, or demand a grade conversion you do not have yet. Ask for pre-approval. Academic Credits and Transcripts explains the scale problem. How To Apply is a general order of documents. The mailing address on the visiting page is the one that receives this particular packet.

Sources

These pages were read on 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai). Tuition, language thresholds, and application windows change, and several 2026-entry dates on them have already passed. Use the current page from the university or ministry that sets the rule.

Peking University — General Visiting Student Program (page time 2024-04-01) — retrieved 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai)
Peking University — visiting, senior visiting, research scholar, and summer lab list — retrieved 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai)
Peking University — Chinese Government Scholarship bilateral program (Type A), 2026 — retrieved 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai)
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Public Security — Order No. 42 (2017) — retrieved 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai)
Beijing municipal English guide — X1 and X2 student visa materials — retrieved 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai)
Fudan University — International Summer Session tuition and fees — retrieved 29 October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai)

FAQ

Is a visiting program an exchange?

No. You apply to the host yourself. An exchange needs your home university’s nomination under an agreement. Fudan’s tuition waiver for summer exchange students does not apply to Peking University’s visiting fees. Use the document in your hand to choose the word.

Should I pay 24,000 RMB based on this guide?

Not yet. That figure, and 18,000 RMB for Chinese courses, is printed on a Peking University page stamped 2024-04-01. Open the live page and see if the invoice changed. The 400 RMB application fee on that page is non-refundable, so confirm the window is actually open.

Can a first-year student apply?

The general visiting page requires at least one year of undergraduate study already completed at the home university, for both Chinese courses and credit courses. If you have not finished that year, this product is not the one described. A degree application has its own entry rules.

What HSK score do credit courses need?

Chinese-taught credit courses on the visiting page need the new HSK 6 above 180. Chinese-language courses on the same page do not set a basic Chinese level. Degree programs at the same university print other scores. Do not reuse 180 for a bachelor’s application.

Does the summer lab cost the same as a semester?

No. The visiting hub says the summer lab exempts application and tuition fees and does not award credits or courses. The 18,000 and 24,000 RMB lines belong to the general visiting semester. A senior year and a research-scholar stay do not show a fee on that hub.

When are applications due?

As the 2024 page writes them: 1 March to 30 April for a fall semester, and 1 to 30 November for a spring semester. It also says the notice and the calendar control the real dates. A 2026 scholarship window in December and February was a different path and is closed. Check the year on the form before you mail papers.

Will I get a degree?

Not from the general visiting program. You are a non-degree student. You may get a transcript if you take credit courses. The summer lab says you will not. A degree requires a degree admission. Do not describe a visiting semester as a Chinese diploma.

What should I send for a visiting comparison?

Send the host URL, whether you need Chinese classes or credit, and whether your home university has pre-approved transfer. Mention if you expected an exchange waiver. We will not pay the 400 RMB or tell you a 2024 price is still billed.

Compare study routes, or tell us the credential, the teaching language, and the city. Neither button admits you to a university.

Find a Suitable Program Request Guidance