Why this international student commutes from CHINA each week to study at an Aussie university – and what it reveals about our cost-of-living crisis

An international student who flew between China and Australia for 11 weeks straight has revealed the airfares were cheaper than paying rent in Melbourne. 

Xu Guangli, 28, travelled from his home in Dezhou, in China’s Shandong province, to Melbourne for 11 weeks between August and October this year.

Mr Xu took the gruelling 8,800km journey each week in order to complete his master’s degree in arts management at RMIT University. 

Each round trip from Dezhou from Melbourne took three days and cost him $1,500. 

‘A round trip takes about 72 hours. One way is about 10 to 13 hours on the plane,’ Mr Xu told SBS Mandarin. 

Shockingly, the 28-year-old discovered the cost of the airfares turned out to be cheaper than having to pay for living expenses in Melbourne. 

‘The overall cost is not much different. But I think the money is better spent [in China] because the overall cost here is lower,’ he said.

Mr Xu slept on a friend’s couch for the one night he was in Melbourne during the week before catching a flight to China the next day. 

He said he did the trips ‘for love’ so he could visit his girlfriend who moved back to Dezhou after she finished her university studies in Australia. 

‘Life in Melbourne on my own is too lonely,’ Mr Xu told local outlet Dazhong Daily. 

Mr Xu said he wanted to spend more time with his loved ones after he came to Australia eight years ago to pursue further studies. 

He completed an undergraduate degree in game design and a management course. 

Before he embarked on his three-month solo journey to and from China, Mr Xu researched whether his degree would be recognised in China. 

He also considered whether he could afford the cost of completing the required course work from China and recruitment timelines. 

Mr Xu said flights flew frequently between China and Australia and that he never had any issues travelling between the two countries. 

His journey started at 7am on a Monday when he would leave his home for the airport in Jinan, around 126km south-east of Dezhou, before flying on to Melbourne. 

Mr Xu took the gruelling 8,800km journey each week for 11 weeks to complete his master’s degree in arts management at RMIT University (stock image)

After spending the night in the city, Mr Xu would fly back to China on Wednesday evenings. 

Mr Xu, who graduated in October, is currently taking a break from his gruelling travel schedule.

He became popular on Chinese social media app Douyin where he posted videos of his solo trips and amassed around 10,000 followers. 

Dozens of viewers were shocked by his commitment to the travel schedule. 

‘I have never seen anyone so devoted to love before,’ one person wrote. 

‘I would not travel such a long distance every week for anything. It is simply too tiring,’ another person wrote.   

Chinese students made up the largest proportion of new international student enrollments in Australia as of August 2024.

International students from China accounted for 22 per cent of the 969,230 new enrollments. 

Student visa holders require around $29,710 a year per person for living expenses, according to figures by the Australian government.