A capacity crowd of several hundred diplomats, financiers, academics, and entertainment celebrities packed the Cipriani 42nd Street ballroom last Friday to welcome the Year of the Monkey with the China Institute, the nation’s leading nonprofit devoted to fostering closer ties between China and the United States.
Banker and philanthropist Ted Wang, who serves on the board of trustees at the China Institute, noted that education is central to the organization’s mission, saying, “support for students is one important way to advance deeper understanding of America’s involvement in China.” The Institute, which recently moved to a new Lower Manhattan headquarters, also offers professional development training for teachers, and is the only organization that provides New York City public schools with free, interactive Chinese history and cultural programs. Mr. Wang added that, “one special opportunity that China Institute offers is the Summer Study in China program, which makes it possible for American teens, specifically high school students in the tri-state area, to experience China first-hand.”
“For many of these students, it is their first time in China. And for some, it is their first time on an airplane,” Mr. Wang noted. “They travel, study, and stay with Chinese families to strengthen their language skills and develop a deeper understanding about China.” Mr. Wang concluded, “these young people are our future, as we face a 21st century in which the most important bilateral relationship in the world is between the United States and China. Programs like Summer Study in China create a cultural bridge and give our students experiences that will last a lifetime.” But rather than ask the assembled guests to take his word about these observations, Mr. Wang introduced Julian Rubinfien, a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School and Tribeca resident who spent four weeks last summer in Beijing, as part of the Summer Study in China program.
Mr. Rubinfien began with an observation about the China Institute’s new headquarters, at 100 Washington Street. “The new building Downtown is beautiful, but my favorite thing is that when you walk in, there is this gray brick wall in front of you,” he said. “And those bricks come from the Hutongs, the alleyways southwest of Beijing.”
The Hutongs (a word that originally referred to water wells, but has come to mean roughly “old lane”) are an 800-year-old maze of narrow, tree-lined streets that run through neighborhoods of bungalows and courtyards. Often missed by foreign visitors, they are a central strand in the fabric of China’s traditional urban culture.
“The fact that China Institute chose to decorate their office with a wall of bricks from Hutongs,” Mr. Rubinfein continued, “instead of a conventional picture of the Forbidden City or the Great Wall, says something about my summer.” He recalled that, “we spent mornings learning the language and afternoons exploring the city and nights in the apartment of the local Beijing family we stayed with.”
“The tourist attractions in China are easy to see,” Mr. Rubinfien reflected, “but they are no more accurate a representation of China than a fortune cookie. The China Institute’s summer program exposed me to a side of China that is nearly impossible for a foreigner to see. In my first week, I had explored enough to make friends with local shop owners, who recognized me and started to give me discounts.”
“The afternoons that my friends and I spent talking to construction workers who were repairing the bricks walls of the Hutongs, or to old men playing games in the alleys, who raised crickets and pigeons as a hobby, these gave me an understanding of Chinese people and culture,” he said.
In thanking Mr. Rubinfien, Mr. Wang also noted that, “each year, China Institute’s education programs serve thousands of children and adults through high quality language classes and workshops.”
Parents of younger children who would like to get better acquainted with the offerings at China Institute are invited to participate in the Year of the Monkey Family Celebration tomorrow (Saturday, February 13), from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Free programming includes a Lion Dance and Kung Fu performance, traditional Chinese New Year foods, face painting, interactive storytelling about the Legend of the Monkey King, and an educational presentation about Chinese New Year. Ticketed events (priced at $5 for children and $15 for adults) include workshops in making dumplings, the art of paper cutting, and creating paper lanterns. Children aged two though 17 are invited, along with their families.
Parents and teenagers who are interested in learning more about the China Institute’s 2016 Summer Study program (which will take place from July 10 through August 7) are invited to any of three upcoming information sessions, which will be held on three upcoming Saturdays (February 20, March 19, and April 6), from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
All programs described above will take place at the China Institute (100 Washington Street, near the corner of Rector Street). For more information, browse ChinaInstitute.org, or call 212-744-8181.