Riding on a train that whistled 217 miles per hour, sitting in a car that solely relied on solar power, wandering in a bookstore that had no cashiers on site, and viewing a trading system without currency and government involvement. Those were some of the adventures 13 students from DePaul experienced this winter break in a study abroad course called “Imagining the Future with China.”
Pairing “China” with “the Future” is an interesting idea. For a long time, China had been characterized by its ancient history and deeply rooted culture. It is one of the four most ancient civilizations in the world. It has a history of over five thousand years. Its cultural heritage has descended through eleven dynasties. It was not until two decades ago that China started to catch up on economic development. There are plenty of data to show its growth, but as a non-economist and someone who cannot handle numbers, I would use this GDP graph to demonstrate China’s astonishing takeoff:
Like any mom of teens, I am trying to pull my 13-year-old son away from his game console and get him to try something that I think would benefit him for his growth—something like reading!