Wu Yubo, a junior student from Hong Kong majoring in engineering management at Huaqiao University, is with other students from Hong Kong. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 500 students from Hong Kong recently started university life in Huaqiao University in Quanzhou, a southeast coastal city in Fujian province, representing a 17 percent increase in students from the region.

Wu Yubo, a junior student majoring in engineering management at the university, is busy these days helping freshmen to settle down.

Wu, also from Hong Kong, enjoys helping freshmen shop for daily necessities in supermarkets and assisting them getting phone cards.

After coming to the university, teachers and other students had helped him a lot, Wu said, adding that he has received many scholarships since his sophomore year.

He also wants to provide help for new students.

To help them adapt quickly, Wu often organizes interactive communication activities, which also promote interactions between students from all over the world.

He also serves as a "tour guide" when his friends from Hong Kong travel to Xiamen in Fujian, sharing his knowledge about the province.

He said he got the idea studying and living on the mainland when he was a child and his family took him to visit cities and schools in mainland.

"Many students in Hong Kong like me would like to choose to study in mainland universities," he said.

Huaqiao University was established in 1960 and began recruiting students from Hong Kong in 1978.

Till now, over 8,000 students from Hong Kong have studied and graduated from the university.

Lu Ruoxuan contributed to the story.