For aspiring actors and the schools they hope will launch them, spring is a season of infinite hope.
"Where the Chinese and the world's dreams begin." That is boldly blazed on a banner outside the main building of the Beijing Film Academy, one of China's most prestigious colleges for performing arts. That may sound like an overstatement to some, but others find a common note. The college is now recruiting students for the new semester, and there is no lack of eager applicants. Acting has always been the most popular major - only 75 of 4,569 applicants will get in - and all hope to follow star graduates like Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei.
The competition in another major college for performing arts, the Central Academy of Drama, is no less fierce. About 9,000 aspirants applied to enter the acting faculty; only 50 will win a place.
Entering such schools fits many of the criteria of dreams: glamorous, mysterious and tough to achieve. The competition even starts before the real tests begin.
Most of China's colleges for performing arts start their recruitment (yikao in Chinese) around February, four months before the entrance exams at most universities.
The feverish ambitions of young Chinese seeking entry to the prosperous film industry also infects foreigners, especially those with Asian roots.
This year, the Beijing Film Academy, regarded as the cradle for film stars in China, received 25 applications from across the world, up from last year's 18.
"There are more opportunities for Asian faces in China than in the United States," says 17-year-old Chinese-American Grace Lee Grant, who has applied to two Chinese film institutions.
The 2012 Miss California's Outstanding Teen has been impressive as a ballerina, but due to an ankle injury, she decided to focus on acting just one month ago and flew to China directly to take the entrance exams and interviews required by film institutions.
It's her fourth visit to the country.
"I can speak Chinese well but can only read a little," says Grant, adding that she still has difficulty understanding Chinese culture despite her ethnic-Chinese family.
Before she flew to China, Grant's father helped her practice Chinese for one month.
"I had heard Chinese applicants trained a long time for the entrance exam, but I believe my ballet will help me stand out," says Grant, who played a role in the San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker.
For Mia Thayer, it was an incredible experience to stand with 30 applicants in a room to read poems one by one during an initial test held by the Central Academy of Drama.
