Designed to integrate use of technology in the classroom, this site uses China as a focus for the activities. There are four general resource sites and two WebQuests (which are listed separately on TeachersFirst). "Hotlist" takes you to a comprehensive set of resources on China, grouped into categories (e.g. Background, Geography, Culture, Religion, Human Rights, the Environment). This section would be ideal for students to use in tracking down resources for a project. "Exploring China" is designed to be a multimedia activity in which students can find images of China and compile them into a presentation. "The Treasures of China" section begins with 10 questions covering a breadth of information about China, and points students toward resources to find the answers to the questions. Finally, "My China" suggests general topics which might be good sources of inspiration for students looking to plan a project on China. The strength of this site is that students are urged to see China from multiple viewpoints, and to confront, head on, some of the contradictions of China today. There are more than simply the usual "glory of China" type resources; students are given information about the envirnomental crisis that is caused by China's rapid growth, about the impact of China's population explosion and attempts to curb its birthrate, and about human rights issues under China's government. The text accompanying the resources suggests students ask hard questions about what they are reading, and arrive at what the site refers to as statements of "truth" about China today. In these respects, this site is head and shoulders above most resource-heavy sites.
7381

This WebQuest asks students to formulate a position on U.S. foreign policy toward China though an examination of China from six perspectives: Business, Cultural, Religious, Human Rights, Environmental, and Political. Doing justice to this WebQuest would be a significant undertaking best accomplished over two or three weeks. Students are asked to take on roles related to the six perspectives, and are presented with links to "dossiers" of information related to their roles.
7383

This WebQuest asks students to consider "the truth about how children are treated in China" through looking at reports about the conditions in orphanages in China, about China's "one child" policy, and about human rights in general. The site does include a disclaimer on the opening page warning teachers to evaluate if this WebQuest is appropriate for their classroom.

This is a very sensitive subject, and teachers should consider the maturity of their students before proceeding with the activities on this site. In addition, teachers should be sensitive to the fact that there may be Chinese adoptees in their classes for whom this topic might be especially difficult.

At the time of this review, a few of the links were no longer active. We are keeping the listing because of the discussions that the site can produce. You may want to provide students with a corrected resource list without the dead links.
7382

This webquest is an excellent introduction to the time of the Chinese Cultural Revolution through the eyes of a teenage girl. It is fairly compact yet packed with information not typically covered in depth in American classrooms. The quest activities vary from mapping to timeline making to writing from a different perspective, and all are grounded in reading the original novel, A Red Scarf Girl.
7208

In the late 1980s, perfectly preserved 3,000 year old mummies began appearing in a remote desert in China. Surprisingly, they possessed the physical characteristics of Europeans and did not appear to be ancestors of the modern-day Chinese. Where did they come from? How were they preserved? What can linguistics reveal about such ancient people? The site explores these unsolved mysteries and makes connections to similar finds throughout the world.
4995

Created by a photographer, this site offers an interactive tour of one section of China’s Great Wall. The opening image montage leads to a series of 360-degree views taken at various points along the wall. There’s no other text or information, but the images are great.
4796

The San Diego Zoo’s panda pages offer a plethora of photos and other information about China’s most reclusive citizens. Besides being undeniably cute, pandas make a great preservation study with some interesting international overtones. It now includes a live webcam stream of the pandas 24 hours a day
3856

This site is part of a set of detailed cultural, political, and historical summaries created by the Library's Federal Research Service. The emphasis is on less commonly studied nations, and the material will be challenging for some students.
2469

On line site for one of China's prominent newspapers
396

China Online is a business-oriented site providing information on matters, including politics, which affect economic relations. Content is written at an adult level, but would be suited to students doing research on present-day Chinese issues.
399

This site is a photojournal of a tour through the Chinese countryside, noting the ways in which local "farmers' markets" contribute to the vitality of an otherwise centralized Chinese economy. Interesting for its purely local and village focus, as well as for the photos showing what life in small Chinese villages really looks like.
400

This is actually a set of several web activities dealing with China from the PacBell site. All are designed as instructional tools to be used on-line by students. They approach China in an interdisciplinary format.  The site contains a lot of information. It is complete with vocabulary words, dictionary and news articles. It involves students working as teams to research and discuss using high level thinking skills. It also encourages free exploration.
404

This site from the Chinese National Tourism Office provides very general information on the features of China's various regions, paying particular note to places interesting to tourists. Despite the lack of detail, there's more than enough here to get a sense of the variations in China's geography, cultures, and history.
407

This site from CNN offers a look at internal and international issues affecting China, considering everything from the rise of a new middle class to the ecological impact of a new dam to the future of relations with the United States. While there's plenty of history here, the focus is clearly on how China fits into the current world order. Beautiful design and artwork!
408

This time line from the Web Chron series offers a succinct, events-only chronology of Chinese and east Asian development. Many entries have links which lead to additional information. The site can be useful in providing context for studying China.
2327

BBC's report on the 50th anniversary of Communism in China
398

Learn about Chinese inventors and deflate erroneous stereotypes about Chinese technology. From the Ask Asia series.
1432

On line site for one of China's prominent newspapers
397