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The first Chinese students in the United States
Three male students, Yung Wing, Wong Shing and Wong Foon from the Morrison School in Hong Kong, first set sail to America. Yung Wing became the first Chinese who graduated from an American university (Yale College) in 1854. Source: https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/chinesestudents/history/historytext.swf -
Thirty students from the Qing government
Yung Wing sponsored a project to select students and send them to America to study, which was approved by Zeng Guofan in 1871. The first thirty Chinese boys arrived in San Francisco in 1872. Source: https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/chinesestudents/history/historytext.swf -
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Yung Wing and his Chinese Educational Mission
Through the nine-year span, the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM) sent 129 Chinese students to the United States to acquire Western expertise and on their return would help to direct China's efforts to strengthen itself and repel foreign aggression. Source: http://www.cemconnections.org/ -
Second wave of government-sponsored students
At the turn of the 20th century, the US and Qing government agreed to establish the Tsinghua School in 1909 to send 100 Chinese students per year to America. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tsinghua_University -
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Study-abroad during the Nationalist government period
China enjoyed a period of relative peace during this period. The temporary stability allowed China to resume sending students to study overseas. Source: https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/chinesestudents/history/historytext.swf -
People's Republic of China established
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U.S. students visited China
Forty-one U.S. students who participated in the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students visited People’s Republic of China. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/China/fullpage?id=5444365 -
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The emptiness of Cultural Revolution
During the Cultural Revolution period, many schools and colleges were closed and the study abroad programs stayed static in Mainland China. Source: https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/chinesestudents/history/historytext.swf -
Nixon's visit to China
First American President set foot on Mainland China. Nixon arrived in Beijing and signed the Shanghai Communique. This began the process of full normalization of relations between the United States and the PRC. Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/china/sfeature/nixon.html -
Deng Xiaoping proposed the "Open Door Policy"
Deng Xiaoping not only suggested to open doors for foreign business but also for study-abroad programs. Source: https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/chinesestudents/history/historytext.swf -
China-U.S. exchange program revived
First dispatch of fifty Chinese scholars arrived in America in 30 years after the Cultural Revolution. Liu Baicheng of Tsinghua University, one of the first such visiting scholars, arrived in the spring of 1979 to work with UW-Madison Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering professor Carl Loper on casting research. Source (s): http://wisconsinintheworld.wisc.edu/?p=295; http://china.wisc.edu/news/ShainDelegationFeature.html -
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Steady increasing Chinese students in the U.S.
Since1978, the number of Chinese students studying abroad has increased dramatically, and the countries that they go to have expanded from America and Western Europe to all over the world. Source (s): https://www.burkemuseum.org/static/chinesestudents/history/historytext.swf; http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/International-Students/Leading-Places-of-Origin -
First appearance on UW-Madison enrollment report
Foreign students appeared on UW-Madison's enrollment report after it adopted a new style of reporting, Total of 383 students from People's Republic of China attended UW-Madison in fall 1983. Source: https://registrar.wisc.edu/semester_enrollments.htm -
2008 Summer Olympics opens in Beijing
The preparation of the grand opening and the proceedings of the Summer Olympics in 2008 not only displayed China's potential as well as encouraged many Chinese students to further study English and study abroad. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/China/fullpage?id=5444365 -
Chinese students make up almost 30% of all international population
During the academic year of 2012-2013, 235,597 Chinese students studied in America, which is 28.7% of the total number of international students, increased by 21.4% from the previous year. China remains the leading place of origin for students coming to the United States. Source: Institution of International Education
