Twelve Days in China: More Similarities Than Differences

This is the best article we've seen to give a planner, or really, any potential visiting academic, a visitor's eye view of what higher education in China looks like right now. It was written by Diana Oblinger, new EDUCAUSE president, as a result of a trip to several institutions last June and was published in EDUCAUSE Review.

"All the universities we visited are cities in their own right. Beyond classrooms, faculty offices, labs, and gymnasiums, there is a complete infrastructure for the students, faculty, and children who live on campus. All students live in residence halls; there are separate residence halls for undergraduate and graduate students. The universities also have international dorms (in one case, a four-star hotel) for students from outside China. In most cases, there is a guest house for visitors. Huge dining halls feed the students, faculty, and the families of faculty. But students have other needs as well, so campuses are dotted with small shops for sewing, laundry, dry cleaning, and bicycles. On many campuses, schools for the children of faculty are also provided. Tsinghua University, for example, has elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as housing and dining for a large number of faculty and their families.

The campuses are large due to the numbers of students and faculty. But they are also extraordinarily beautiful, with green spaces and well-manicured gardens. For example, the campus of Tsinghua University occupies a former royal garden; the architecture is a blend of ancient, traditional, and modern. The agricultural campus of Zhejiang University (above), located in the middle of Hangzhou, is spectacular, with graceful bridges arching over a lake and streams. The lotus ponds were just beginning to bloom when we visited. At the new campus of Zhejiang University, historic buildings—a seven-hundred-year-old temple and house—have been relocated to the new campus in a garden of their own. The remainder of the campus is ultra-modern but landscaped with trees, flowers, fountains, streams, and sculpture. Even campuses in dense urban settings (e.g., Shanghai, Beijing) have the feel of being in a world apart."