Ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅ ｔｈｅ Ｃｈａｒｍ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎａ Ｗｅｓｔ

The Aba Teachers’ College in Sichuan Province successively had three foreign volunteers teaching English conversation in 2003. They were retired Canadian government official Martin Padgett， German teacher Ms. Schickedanz Petra and Australian teacher Peter Hogan. Another German woman teacher Inge Dahm taught at Guangya School in Dujiangyan. They came from afar to teach at an unfamiliar place， passed on their knowledge and skills to the young students of China and returned home after completing their work and feeling satisfied. Ms. Inge Dahm remained at her teaching post even during the period when the SARS epidemic swept the country. She took on more teaching load after other foreign teachers left Sichuan for home， freeing those foreign technicians working in China on cooperation projects from the worries of their children’s education. Thanks to the Internet， I have kept rather close contact with them. I have learned about their work and life in China and experienced the charm of China’s west together with them.

As the chief liaison officer of CPAFFC’s programme to recruit international volunteers， the biggest worry I have when recommending foreigners to work in China’s western region is whether those intellectuals from economically developed countries with good ecological environment can adapt themselves to the relatively hard living conditions of China’s western region. In the spring of 2003， taking the opportunity of my visit to Jiuzhaigou， I stopped at Wenchuan County where the Aba Teachers’ College was located on my way back. To me， a woman born and brought up in a city in the eastern region， the range of mountains with high rising sharp peaks there gave me the feeling that I had entered an isolated enclave. My heart was heavy with worries and doubts. But when I saw Martin and the happy expression on his face， and heard him say that the best gift that I had given him was to let him teach in Aba， I felt relieved， for he neither thought that life was hard there， nor felt isolated in the high mountains. On her way back to Germany， Petra and I got together in Beijing. Beaming with smiles， she talked about her love for the beautiful landscape of China’s west and the commercial street in the valley of Wenchuan， and the unforgettable days she had spent climbing the mountains together with her students. Even taking a walk in the compound of the college at the foot of the mountains has remained fresh in her memories. I wonder whether it is the extensive application of electronic and web technology that has eliminated the distance of time and space and linked hundreds of thousands of households in this small global village close together. Foreigners who have come here can chat with and send pictures they have taken here to their families back home through the Internet. The convenient communication between the minds has made geographic barriers ignorable. It is obvious that China’s western region is no longer ill informed and out of the way. The high mountains and sharp cliffs have become natural beauty and unique scenery， attracting people from all corners of the earth with their special charm.

The foreign teachers told me about their lovely students， a new generation of youth growing up in the mountains. Simple and honest like their fathers， they yearn for knowledge and new things， and a bright future. Quite a number of them are offspring of ethnic groups， who are good at singing and dancing and have strong interest in learning a foreign language and foreign songs. They are also good at surfing on the net， telling their foreign teachers the stories of their lives. The foreign teachers also talked about their Chinese colleagues who work hard and devote themselves to the education of future teachers for the ethnic groups. They are well educated， qualified and dedicated to their work. They are intimate friends of the foreign teachers. Thanks to their warm reception， the foreign teachers felt at home the first day they arrived at the school. Their meticulous care has minimized the differences in culture and customs between China and other countries. Due to their understanding of the foreigners’ wishes， the foreign teachers have the opportunities to go into ethnic villages to learn about the life and customs there and get out of the mountains to see the grandeur of the natural scenery， and experience the profound ancient Chinese culture. They have fallen in love with this marvelous land of the west where the relations among people are so sincere and natural. A warm greeting， an expression in the eyes， a family get-together and a pot of flower from the president of the college would make them feel the sincerity. Watching the students performing an ethnic dance together， they could feel the harmony among the ethnic groups in the big family of China. A song from their home country sung by the students would make thoughts throng in their minds. Upon receiving e-mails from their students， their hearts are filled with the joy of harvest. These seemingly common and small things have converged into a stream of beautiful memories， nourishing their minds. Martin has decided to come back. Pestra said in a recent letter to me that teaching in Aba Teachers’ College was an experience she loved most. Why? I think that the simple and hospitable people of the west have moved them and the social environment people in the west with a strong sense of opening up have created magnetism. I remember that a Chinese State leader meeting with a foreign delegation in the 1980s predicted that the first world in China in the 21st century would be its western region. What he meant was that the rich natural resources of the west once incorporated with high technologies would produce incomparable productivity. I believe that man is the most important factor in the productive forces. Having experienced the charm of the people in the western region， one can foresee the brilliant and attractive future of the region.