Crowd-sourced guidance and additional resources

Academic travel to China looks and feels different from a decade ago, and those differences do not show up clearly in official guidance alone. This section brings together testimonials from scholars about the importance of on-the-ground experience in China, as well as reflections from others who have recently studied, researched, worked, or visited China so that future travelers can learn from real experiences.

Why crowd-sourced guidance matters

The Hub was designed to respond directly to student and scholar needs, including the lack of clear, consolidated guidance about conducting fieldwork or study in China today. Hearing from both leaders in the field and peers helps demystify current conditions, highlight city- and program-level variation, highlight what preparation is actually useful, and reduce unnecessary fear while still encouraging caution. It also strengthens the broader community of travelers committed to responsible, ethical engagement.

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Recent traveler reflections

Below you’ll find short, anonymized snapshots from travelers who have recently spent time in China. These aren’t meant to generalize for everyone; they highlight patterns, surprises, and lessons that may help future travelers prepare thoughtfully.

Delegation visit across four cities:

“I led a small delegation of U.S. school board members across Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. Our hosts were welcoming and organized, but the logistics that tripped people up were surprisingly small: digital payments, app setup, and knowing what to expect day-to-day. We advised participants to set up WeChat Pay and Alipay ahead of time, even then, linking cards sometimes failed, so I often helped cover costs until we sorted it out. The biggest takeaway was how different each city felt. Beijing was more formal and structured; provincial stops felt more relaxed. For many first-time travelers, the trip challenged stereotypes and showed just how varied China is.” (January 2026)

Share Your Experience

If you have traveled to China recently, as a student, researcher, educator, delegate, or family visitor, we invite you to contribute. Short reflections about what surprised you, what you found challenging, and what you would tell the next traveler are invaluable.

What do scholars and researchers say?

What do scholars say academics gain from being in-country?

Researchers with long-term experience in China describe the present environment as more constrained, but not devoid of scholarly or educational value. Some archives are harder to access, approvals can take longer, and sensitive subject matter research may require greater care.

Despite these constraints, being in China still provides forms of understanding that remote engagement cannot replicate: exposure to institutions as they function in practice, everyday social and professional interactions, and the ability to refine questions based on lived context.

Voices from the field

“There is so much one can learn about China today without actually setting foot on the ground there. Data, documents, and websites offer more information than one can assess in a lifetime. Social media platforms offer insights into what Chinese are watching, discussing, debating, and denouncing. This information can be aggregated, scraped, translated, and analyzed with increasing accuracy and ease.  

So why spend time on the ground? The screen is a substitute for reality. It is a filter that rarely challenges your assumptions. Spending time in China allows you to talk to more people, conduct interviews, and meet with officials. But it will also prompt questions that you didn’t know to ask.  

Following a recent trip to China, I came back asking questions like: What does Beijing’s lack of street addresses suggest about the nature of its urbanization? Were the hundreds of Meituan delivery drivers that I observed idle in the underground food malls migrants who were part of a shift from construction work to gig work after COVID? How do the many layers of airport-like security through which I had to walk to access China’s National History Museum on Tiananmen Square change the nature of that space which has been so central to China’s 20^th century history? Desk research, data analysis, and even Agentic AI can help answer these questions, but it is hard to imagine that it would inspire them.”  

— Amy E. Gadsden
Associate Vice Provost, Penn Global
Executive Director, Penn China Initiatives

“I am encountering a growing number of young people these days who are developing expertise in China without ever having been to China or studying the language. This is a curious trend. Would you trust a doctor that had never seen a patient? A scientist with only theoretical knowledge but no hands-on experience? An architect with no experience working with building materials? Travel and study in China requires more preparation and precaution than does travel to some other places, but it is important for anyone hoping to understand the country.”

— Naima Green-Riley
Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs
School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

“There is no substitute for direct engagement with China to achieve the kind of accurate understanding that people and institutions need to navigate the US-China relationship. The geopolitical friction between the United States and China has not diminished the benefits of studying about China (and in China) — it has raised them. When institutions and investors are making decisions about diplomacy, supply chains, technology partnerships, regulatory exposure, and long-term strategy, they need analysts who have spent real time on the ground. People who understand not just official policy positions, but also the texture of how decisions are really made, how institutions truly function, and how people actually live.

Academic exchange is the pipeline for that expertise. It produces the scholars, analysts, and practitioners who can translate China’s complexity into actionable insight. At a moment when misperception between Washington and Beijing carries historically high costs, the case for sustaining that pipeline, for students and institutions willing to engage seriously with China, could not be more urgent.”

— David Meale
Head, China Practice, Eurasia Group
Former Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Beijing

“Having spent much of the last decade living and working in China, I feel confident in recommending that interested students and researchers pay this country an extended visit—as long as they understand that life and work here entail a few restrictions. Once a visitor has adjusted to the minor irritants of China life (such as VPN-only access to some familiar apps and websites), the overall experience can be quite satisfying. 

Street life is vibrant, eating and drinking options are plentiful, and the nation’s history and culture are all around you. Day or night, China’s cities are among the safest in the world. Urban transportation networks are modern, clean, safe, and cheap, and the largest high-speed rail network in the world will take you to most any major city. 

And while it is true that the space for researchers has narrowed, including some limits on archival access, one can still do plenty of in-person investigations here, including interviews, observations of urban and village life, oral histories, and studies of public history and memory (i.e., museums, memorials)—to say nothing of the unparalleled opportunity to study Chinese language, literature, philosophy, religion, art, music, history, and drama in the land of their creation.”

— Joe Renouard
HNC Resident Professor of History and American Studies
Fei Yi-Ming Journalism Foundation Chair of American Government and Comparative Politics
Johns Hopkins University

“Students, scholars, and institutions weigh complex issues–from practical to ethical to political variables–in deciding whether to pursue academic work in China. But that they have the ability to consider going at all should be remembered as the privileged opportunity it is. Far too many academics in China are imprisoned for their work or are otherwise prevented from leaving; far too many people with urgent reasons to go to China, ranging from Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong people, Han diaspora members who cannot return to see family to scholars seeking rare texts, are systematically denied. Hopefully those who can go will carry this knowledge with them and deploy it in service of a broader community’s needs and knowledge.”

— Sophie Richardson
Co-Executive Director, Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)

“Scholarly exchange in the policy field, first and foremost, provides firsthand information critical for a reality check. Sitting in the offices in the U.S. does not afford us the true understanding of what is going on in China. What we assume is China’s priority or calculus is many times shaped and influenced by our biases and prior experience. Without direct exchanges, policy professionals are left in the dark. Changing geopolitics elevates, rather than decreases, the need for such authenticity and credible assessment. Scholars do not make policy, but their relatively independent status gives them the luxury not to be led or confined by short-term priorities. And they serve as important channels of communication between the U.S. and China.”

— Yun Sun
Senior Fellow and Director, China
Stimson Center

“Sustained academic engagement with China remains indispensable, not despite current geopolitical tensions, but because of them. While more than 15,000 American students were studying in China before COVID-19, I hardly saw any American students when I visited Chinese universities in recent years. The number of Chinese students at U.S. universities has also declined significantly. The Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs at the University of Denver, where I am a professor, has hardly recruited any Chinese graduate students in the past two years. This scholarly exchange crisis may lead to a critical shortage of China specialists in the U.S. and American specialists in China with on-the-ground experience if the trend continues. As a Chinese American scholar of China studies, I am very concerned. 

Direct study and research in China and America provide scholars with grounded knowledge that cannot be fully replicated through remote analysis or secondary sources. Immersion in local contexts sharpens our understanding of how policies are interpreted, implemented, and contested on the ground, often in ways that challenge prevailing assumptions. Equally important, scholarly exchange fosters intellectual openness and professional trust across borders. These relationships, built over time through shared inquiry and dialogue, create channels for nuanced communication that are especially valuable when official interactions become strained. Academic collaboration thus serves both epistemic and societal functions: it advances knowledge while helping to sustain a minimum level of mutual understanding. At a moment when simplification and misperception can easily dominate discourse, firsthand experience and continued engagement are critical. The study of China in China and the study of the U.S. in the U.S. not only deepens expertise but also contributes to a more informed, balanced, and constructive global conversation.”

— Suisheng Zhao
Professor and Director, Center for China-US Cooperation
Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver
Editor, Journal of Contemporary China

Additional resources

This hub is one of several resources available to support your planning. Depending on your needs, you may also find useful guidance from other organizations:

• From IIE (Institute of International Education): IIE’s Open Doors data portal provides the most comprehensive annual data on U.S. students studying abroad and international scholars in the United States — including the China-specific figures cited in USCET’s Working Group Report. IIE also maintains a study abroad resource hub with practical guidance for students and advisers planning international academic experiences.
• From Ithaka S+R: Ithaka S+R tracks how shifting funding landscapes, federal policy changes, and geopolitical pressures are affecting international research collaboration, with specific attention to the U.S.-China academic relationship. You can find more up-to-date details on U.S. government policy affecting U.S.-China research collaboration by visiting this policy tracker here. Their China archives also include in-depth analyses of issues such as restricted access to Chinese research databases and the implications of a growing science-and-technology split between the two countries.
• From NAFSA (Association of International Educators): NAFSA maintains a dedicated page tracking U.S. government actions affecting Chinese students and scholars, including visa policy, research security measures, and related regulatory developments. Their broader policy digest offers regularly updated analysis of federal actions — including cuts to the Fulbright and Critical Language Scholarship programs — that directly affect Americans seeking to study in China.
• From NSF (National Science Foundation): NSF provides a growing suite of research security resources designed to help institutions and researchers navigate federal requirements related to international collaboration. Through its SECURE Center and related initiatives, NSF offers guidance on disclosure requirements, risk assessment, and safeguarding federally funded research, alongside training materials and best practices for compliance. These resources are especially valuable for institutions seeking to balance open scientific collaboration with evolving expectations around research integrity, foreign influence, and national security.