Why Chinese students are flocking to Britain for holiday learning

Some camps are hosted by tour operators, meaning they are dominated by tourism experiences with few academic components.

"In China, this market is difficult to regulate. The existence of tourism-based study trips is not a problem because some students may prefer such trips. But these trips should not be marketed under the guise of learning-based camps," said Qian, head of the Wuhan Foreign Languages School.

Students signing up for British summer camps will find the market easier to navigate, as the British Council, a government agency, keeps a list of accredited summer schools, which it monitors regularly for quality.

Summer camps without official accreditation can still operate, but they have a harder task in persuading customers of their quality.

Most students return home with sweet memories and everlasting friendships, but some disappointments are unavoidable.

Zhang Shuji, a Shanghai University student who attended a summer camp hosted by King's College London, said she was disappointed when she realized her classes were not taught by the college's faculty members.

"I was slightly disappointed, because originally I wanted to interact with KCL professors so I could gain a better understanding of whether I wanted to apply to this university for my master's degree," said Zhang.

"It was later that I realized our classes are taught by academics freelanced by the school to teach the summer program. In the end I didn't mind too much, because the teachers were very professional, too," she said.

In most cases, summer school programs in the UK are not taught by the host institute's teachers, because these teachers take breaks in the summer during school holidays.

Another common complaint is the lack of flavor and diversity of British food.

"We ate potatoes almost every day in the school canteen, and I could hardly taste any flavor in the potatoes. In the last week of the camp, we really couldn't endure the boring food anymore, so we ended up going out to a Chinese restaurant everyday," Wu said .