I invite you to join me on a virtual visit to China, a country with an ancient culture and a vibrant contemporary society. Learning about China has only intensified my desire to learn more. Teaching in China has been sometimes delightful and sometimes incredibly frustrating but always both challenging and rewarding. Traveling about China has been a source of constant discovery not only about China but also about myself. People who know me and know that my formal study has been in the history of European and American religions and cultures frequently ask, "Why China?" Well, why not?

For those impressed by argument, I suggest eight good reasons for studying, teaching, or traveling in China




• China is the world's most populous country with 1.3 billion people and growing
  

  China is one of the world's largest countries encompassing 3,600,000 square miles
  

  China has a history that can be traced back more than 6,000 years, and its archaeological resources are among the most interesting on earth

  China dominates the Asian land mass

  China's economy is one of the most rapidly growing in the world

  China has a rich cultural history that complements and challenges our own

  Chinese society is one of the most complex societies on the face of the earth

  China is undergoing a process of modernization at a speed far exceeding any similar process in the history of the West

For others, I offer a virtual tour. Consider the possibilities---

We might begin in Beijing at the time of the spring festival or lunar new year, the most festive occasion in the Chinese year.

If you are prepared for the cold, we could then go to the far Northeast to the city of Harbin which is famous for its ice festival. There we can see ice carvings of everything from ancient Confucian temples to modern rockets and space ships.

If the cold becomes too much, we could fly to Hainan
Island and visit the beaches at this southernmost point
in China, a tropical paradise year round.

Along the way, we should certainly want to find time to travel north from Beijing to Datong to see the ancient Buddhist stone carvings, and we might as well take a day trip through the countryside to visit the Hanging Monastery which hangs precariously aside a cliff.

To reach the reclining Buddha at Dazu, we shall have to take the Chengdu--Chongqing train as did my language school classmates and I, shown here in a 1990 photograph (I'm in the center, rear row). Nonetheless, the Buddhist stone carvings and the small town of Dazu are well worth the effort.

Far to the northwest beyond Kashgar lies the Karakorum highway, a ribbon through the mountains on the way to Pakistan. Here in Central Asia we may arrive at beautiful Lake Kalakuli where you may barter with the Kirghiz locals to ride a camel or, as my wife Mary perferred, simply to have a photograph made beside one.

On our way to Shanghai for a flight home, we should certainly want to visit the two famous garden cities of the Yangtze delta, Suzhou (above) and Hangzhou whose magnificent West Lake is pictured to the left.

We have, of course, only touched the surface of this complex and beautiful land. If you are interested in further exploration,

HERE ARE SOME WEBSITES FOR LEARNING MORE ABOUT CHINA

Inside China Today--current China news
China News Digest
Chinese art, calligraphy, poetry, and history
Additional links to Chinese arts sites
Lunar--Solar Calendar Conversion Program
US-China People's Friendship Association--language study and tours
Council on International Educational Exchange--teaching and study
Information for Individuals Interested in Teaching English in China