China has been mainly a sending country for students for the past three decades. As the Chinese economy developed, the rapid internationalisation of its higher education sector emerged accordingly. China is increasingly becoming a popular destination for international students, which are now even exceeding outgoing Chinese students in numbers. While the majority of foreign students in China still come from Asian neighboring countries, the flow of European students represents a growing group. Namely, 16.79% of the total number of foreign students were from European countries in 2015, a mere tenfold of its number in 2002. This paper reviews the recent inflows of European incoming students in China by mapping out their background, motivation, study experience in China, as well as their career prospects. The paper is based on the results of an online survey, completed with focus groups and in-depth interviews in Europe and China.