It was great being back in Hangzhou, where I spent half a year in 2004. Already, Hangzhou was known as one of the most beautiful cities in China, and the local citizens were very proud of it. Coming back this time, my friend told me of many small changes that in different ways improved the […]

Below is a brief report I wrote for Rural China Education Foundation, based on my visits to two field sites, where they are experimenting with starting rural school libraries. This report was written for RCEF and based on their needs, and my observations. I am releasing it publicly, because it might offer interesting ideas or […]

The first batch of pictures has been posted, here and here.

I have quite a few more, especially from the village and the primary school, that I will try to post soon.
Stian

I thought I’d write a little more about my last travels. The last time I wrote, I was in Wuhan, and much has happened since that. In China, the 1st of May is celebrated as the workers’ holiday - not with parades and marches of workers demanding their rights like is common in Europe - […]

One of the most striking things in China, and a very important feature for foreigners, is the ubiquitous cybercafes. I made heavy use of them the first time I was living in China, in 2000-2001, when I had no internet at “home” (in the student dormitory). The second time, when I was living in Hangzhou, […]

I absolutely love Chinese bookstores. They are often huge, and buzzing with activity. The biggest are often called “book cities”, and the one I visited in Shenzhen a year ago was about six huge floors. On the Sunday that I visited it, it was packed with people, sitting on everywhere voraciously reading. A big difference […]

While being back in mainland China is already a great experience, and I really enjoyed all my time in Dalian and the few hours in Beijing–coming back to Wuhan is still a special event. I spent a year teaching in Wuhan Scientific and Technical University in 2000-2001, and it’s the city where I first got […]

My last week in Toronto was quite hectic, with finishing up a thesis, grading 80 exams, moving out of my apartment and temporarily suspending my life in Toronto. I watched some great movies on the plane over, although it was a long trip, and it made me think again that people who fly across the […]

Just a quick update on my plans for the summer. I am leaving on Monday for Beijing and Dalian, to participate in the OpenCourseWare Consortium conference on Open Educational Resources, organized by CORE and Dalian Technical University. Then I will visit some old friends and ex-students from the time I taught in China, and spend […]

Weng Diedie is a Chinese filmmaker who has spent several years visiting the matrilineal Mosuo tribe in South-Western China, and filmed a fascinating and beautiful tale of how their traditional music is threatened by tourism and modernization. She has already shown it to full houses at many different venues in the US, and now she […]