Chinese students Tony Lu (L), from Anhui and Henry Li (R) from Wuhan, spend their free time connected to China on their internet devices at their host family's home in Murrieta, California on March 23, 2016. Known as 'Parachute Kids', the two boys attending high school and living with Joseph and Josephine Allen in their suburban California lifestyle are part of the increasing wave of Chinese students attending US schools and colleges. [Photo/VCG]

In cities such as Murrieta, a rural community about 130 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles, the number of Chinese students has ballooned in recent years, bringing welcome cash to the school district as well as the host families who care for the teens.

"It costs about $50,000 a year for the parents, who are mostly middle class, to send their kids here, but they consider it an investment," Lim said.

"Three years ago, we had about 40 Chinese students enrolled in high schools in Murrieta and today we have more than 300, and the number keeps growing."

The town of about 105,000 residents is a far cry from China's polluted mega-cities, but most of the teens adjust well to US life, said Renate Jefferson, who oversees the exchange program for the public school district.

"What they notice first is the blue sky," she said. "They just walk around in awe at the blue sky. They think it's beautiful."

The students are also baffled by the freedom they enjoy academically — a welcome change from the rigorous, rote-learning system in China.

"You have a lot of choices and much more freedom to study what you're interested in," said Li Junheng, 19, who is graduating this year from a Catholic school in Murrieta.

But many of the "parachute kids", whose parents rely on intermediaries to help them through the bewildering application process, are in for a hard landing in the United States, ill-equipped to navigate the cultural transition and their newfound independence.

Last month, three Chinese teens enrolled at a private school in Rowland Heights, a neighborhood east of Los Angeles, were given prison sentences ranging from six to 13 years for attacking a classmate.

The incident attracted widespread attention in China and prompted soul-searching on the wisdom of sending teenagers to a foreign country with no close parental supervision.

"You don't send your child 6,000 miles before verifying the school and who they are staying with," Lim said. "Too often, these kids are thrown into a completely foreign environment and are not prepared to fend for themselves."

Chinese student Helen Zhou, from Chengdu, heads to Choir practice on campus at Linfield Christian School in Temecula, California on March 23, 2016.  [Photo/VCG]