Chinese and international students from Jiangsu University in Zhenjiang on Feb 8 show their calligraphy works of the Chinese character fu to celebrate Lunar New Year. [Photo by Shi Yucheng/jschina.com.cn]

Istudy International Information Technology Co, a company set up by Rao Sha in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, has become a leader in helping international students study in China, local media outlets reported.

Rao's connections with the study-abroad business started in 2003, when she focused on helping Chinese students study overseas. She has since also worked as an admissions officer for colleges and universities in countries like Australia and Hungary.

She gradually felt foreigners' growing interest in China, which saw a significant rise after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"I felt it was the right time to do something as more and more foreign students asked me about Chinese schools and China's educational conditions," Rao said.

The same year, she turned down the opportunity to migrate to Canada as a skilled worker and decided to build up her own brand of helping foreign students study in China.

"Only when you are in a foreign country will you truly understand how much you love your home country. I hope that more and more foreigners can learn Mandarin, get to know Chinese culture, and love our country," Rao said.

These words have inspired her to keep progressing on her entrepreneurial path.

Rao's company is located in Jiangbei New Area, where she has benefited from a friendly business environment, several preferential policies, as well as pragmatic suggestions from local officials.

"We are thankful to local officials as they have helped evaluate the development prospect of our company and encouraged us to develop digital technology and enrich business patterns," Rao said.

"Their ideas have motivated us to keep innovating, which helped us survive and even realize profit amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year."

In Rao's eyes, the core of education is building bridges, with international education building a cultural bridge between China and different countries.

"I hope that with my efforts, our cultural bridge will be longer and wider so that it can provide more foreign students with access to China," Rao said.