Principal Tianyuan Zhu, Michael Wang '13 and Licking Valley Superintendent Dave Hile converse in front of Swasey Chapel after touring Denison's campus.

This week, Denison gave Chinese-American relations a boost as eight students served as interpreters for a Chinese principal as he toured school districts around Licking County. And, on Thursday, Tianyuan Zhu, head of Number 26 Middle School in Wuhan, paid a visit to Denison’s campus.

Zhu’s first stop on the Hill was the Modern Languages Department, where he met with Spanish professor and department chair Bernardita Llanos. Among many topics, the two discussed the importance of language and culture in education. Next, Michael Wang ’13 of Beijing, China, one of Zhu’s interpreters, took him on a brief tour of the college. Through Wang, Zhu offered praise for Denison’s campus. “The school is marvelous. It is really beautiful.”

Wang enjoyed the opportunity to serve as an interpreter. “It was quite demanding because it required me to wake up really early,” he laughed. “But it was a great experience. I had the chance to investigate the American education system on my own and see the differences between the Chinese and American systems.”

During his tour, Zhu observed that, in the U.S. system, there is generally more emphasis on individual learning. “In the American education system, there are a lot of elective courses, and students focus on individual development by exploring [independently], doing research, and working in labs.”

Licking Valley Superintendent Dave Hile, who will travel to China in April, appreciated the exchange of ideas. “They have a lot to learn from us, and we have a great deal to learn from them,” he said. “Wang is a great example of their education system. He is very well educated in the core subject areas and is also bilingual.”

Today is the last day that Denison students will be assisting Zhu, as the Chinese principal heads to Los Angeles to complete his U.S. visit. Still, Denison may well see Zhu again in the future. The principal has a daughter who wants to study in America, and, naturally, his last stop on campus was the admissions office.