'You can meet students from all over the world and network with people from many different countries.'

There are also practical reasons for choosing the UK. 'Compared with postgraduate courses in the US or other countries, UK courses are short, and taught courses usually only take one year, so it is good value for money,' Ms Yuan said. 'UK degrees also have a very high standing and give you high employability, particularly back in Hong Kong where there are lots of UK companies. Besides, there is a wide choice of courses in the UK with over 14,000 different subjects, over 37,000 degree courses and great flexibility.'

When the British Council stages education fairs in Hong Kong each February they attract 20,000-30,000 people and more than 100 UK institutions attend. Prospective students can visit the British Council's website to check the ratings and rankings of UK institutions.

But Dominic Scott, chief executive of UKCOSA, the council for international education, which advises students about studying in the UK, said other factors should be considered before choosing a university.

'A lot of students say: 'Just give me the ratings and rankings because I want to go to the best.' But in the UK we think it's more complex than that, because some institutions are very good for research and others are far better at teaching. You've got to decide the sort of course you are doing and see who is good at that,' he said.

The best one-stop shop to answer these questions is your local British Council office or the council's website, which covers every UK institution.

Students must also decide if they want to be in among the fashionable shops and buzzing nightlife of big cities such as London, Manchester or Birmingham, and if so, that they can afford it. Or if they want to be in the less expensive environment of a campus location, say in the middle of rural East Anglia, a big farming arable area criss-crossed by wetland broads and rimmed by windswept beaches. 'These are big lifestyle questions,' said Mr Scott.

Once you have drawn up a shortlist of universities, talk to people who attend or have attended those institutions, because there is no substitute for first-hand recommendations. There are, however, some fundamental questions you should ask each institution directly.

One question is how supportive their orientation and induction programme is, because one of the most important things is how a student from Hong Kong or China adapts to the UK's study style. 'If you are suddenly doing a master's course or a dissertation there are new skills you will need, and the good institutions provide that,' said Mr Scott.

Secondly, what support is there for English language and study skills? 'Good ones will give free English language support and study skills advice,' said Mr Scott.

Students can now have a job for up to 20 hours a week in term time and full-time in vacations, and part-time employment to fund living costs is now the norm. Applicants may wish to ask institutions what services there are to help them find work while they are in the UK.

Perhaps more important is the success rate of graduates leaving those institutions in finding jobs. Ask institutions what support they give to people who want to stay and work in the UK, and will they help them find jobs?

The good news is that from this year on, all postgraduates are entitled to stay on in the UK and work for a year after their studies. But ask also about what help institutions offer to get jobs back in Hong Kong and the mainland. Good institutions now are beginning to give very good careers advice to people going back to major markets such as China, India, Nigeria, and Malaysia.

According to Ms Yuan, about 3, 000 postgraduate students from Hong Kong take up places in the UK each year. The most popular courses are academic studies in education, followed by business studies and clinical medicine. Management studies, law, engineering, other education related subjects, nutrition, pharmacy related subjects and finance are also popular.

The most popular university among Hong Kong postgraduate students is Warwick with 440, followed by Bristol with 285, Leicester with 145 and Cardiff with 140. The historic cathedral cities of Chester and Durham have 85 each and Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University has 80. There are also 80 at Cambridge and 75 at Oxford.

Breaking the statistics down further, among research degree students the most popular is Bristol, followed by Leicester, Cambridge, Durham and Oxford, while for taught degrees Warwick is by far the most popular, followed by Cardiff, Bristol, Chester, Robert Gordon, Middlesex and Surrey.

Whichever institution you choose, there is one classic challenge that students from Hong Kong and the mainland will face, according to Mr Scott. You will have to decide whether to take the easy route of mixing exclusively with each other or try to mix with the international communities at your university.

There is a lot of evidence that Chinese students socialise largely between themselves, he said, and some go home having not improved their English much. 'So to get the most out of an overseas experience, the challenge is be bold, be brave, make as many friends as you can from as many nationalities and see as much of Britain as you can. Otherwise in years to come you might regret it.'

Useful websites

Information about British postgraduate study and research opportunities, including searchable databases to find suitable programmes, can be found at the following: