China’s Open Door

Editor's note: This article was originally published in the Spring 2000 issue of International Educator. In celebration of NAFSA's 75th anniversary, IE is taking a look back at the topics and moments that have defined the field since the magazine began publication 33 years ago.

Who can deny that China has made a dramatic leap over the last century from imperial underdog to major world player? In the four years since I was last in China, billboards have sprouted in major cities attracting Chinese to the latest Internet technologies—despite government efforts to screen content—and China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization (WTO) promises to speed the already rapid change.

Last November I was thrilled to be awarded two weeks of work time and a Bedrosian-NAFSA travel grant to pursue a self-designed study tour to investigate international education in China. After a whirlwind couple of weeks of preparation, I gathered my gear and spent from late November through late December traversing the Middle Kingdom.

China holds a special place in my heart. In 1995, my husband and I left the hills of Charlottesville, VA, for the flat rice paddies of Guandong, where we taught English for one year at “Ultrafunction” International School, one of the first hundred private schools in China, that had just opened its doors.

Did I mention the doors? In our first week as English teachers of this bilingual preK-12 school, we were asked to provide a pun to be posted for safety on the glass doors at the