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A view of life for students in China across generations

09:41
Elementary school students waving national flags as they sing a patriotic song on the first day of the new semester in Handan in China's northern Hebei province. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Elementary school students waving national flags as they sing a patriotic song on the first day of the new semester in Handan in China's northern Hebei province. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

We often hear about China in the news in big, broad, geopolitical terms like international trade. We rarely hear about life for students and families in China.

Author Peter Hessler was a teacher in China in the 1990s. He returned about 20 years later to teach again and enroll his own twin daughters in public school there. And he found profound changes.

In just one generation, his students went from more rural to more urban; they were more educated; they grew more wealthy and even grew much taller.

Here & Now's Scott Tong talks with Peter Hessler about his latest book "Other Rivers: A Chinese Education."

The cover of "Other Rivers" beside author Peter Hessler. (Courtesy of Pan Shiyi)
The cover of "Other Rivers" beside author Peter Hessler. (Courtesy of Pan Shiyi)

Book excerpt: 'Other Rivers'

By Peter Hessler 

From "Other Rivers: A Chinese Education" by Peter Hessler. Used with the permission of the publisher, Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2024 by Peter Hessler.

This segment aired on September 6, 2024.

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