“Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement,” is the definition of the American Dream over the past hundred years. Now, there is also a dream about China, which has a new charm and characteristic and attracts people from around the world. Some of them have found an ideal job in China; some of them gained a happy marriage and some of them saw a promising future. Chinese just is the bridge to their dreams.
Chinese is an opportunity
At the beginning of reform and opening up, no one knew what China will develop into in the future and foreign students at that time came to China just for learning Chinese. However, with the rising of China, they encountered numerous opportunities and challenges here and Chinese has become a stepping stone for them to China.
In 1979, Han Cheng and seven American students came to China as the first batch of overseas students. In the last two years before he came to China, Han pursued his postgraduate degree in the United States, majoring in Chinese politics and economy. Han began to study Chinese for the convenience of study and research. In 1980, Han began engaging in business in China and his Chinese name was gotten at that time. "Cheng" means being honest and trustworthy, which is his expectation to himself.
When the author asked Han why he came to China, Han said that English and Chinese are different languages and it needs a pure Chinese learning atmosphere to learn it well.
Chinese is their matchmaker
In 1990s, some foreigners came to China to study Chinese, develop their business and build Chinese families.
When talking about why he came to China, Wang Yuanyuan said that he learnt Chinese so he wanted to use it. Wang paused and grinned shyly and added that his girlfriend is a Chinese.
Majoring in East Asian studies in his university days, Wang took part in the Chinese language training program in Beijing Normal University in the summer vacation of 1999.
Studying in China was not common to the people of the United States in 1997. With curiosity, Wang came to China at that year. Wang found that he really did not understand China during the short training program and he hoped to know China more deeply and thoroughly. Wang said that the best way to understand China is to study Chinese.
Thanks to this training program, Wang met his wife, Liu Lan. After this training, Wang returned to the United States. Then, he found that he had lost motive power and pressure to study Chinese since he left China.
In 2001, Wang came to Tsinghua University to continue his study in Chinese and Liu Lan became his girlfriend since then. In 2004, they got married and in the same year Wang joined the New Channel International Education Group Limited and began his business in China. Now, Wang was the vice president of the New Channel.
