Learning advantage

US students get firsthand experience of vibrant Chinese commerce and culture

When a group of students from the United States visited Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the sight of countless rows of containers and distant ships stretching beyond the horizon sparked a flood of thoughts.

For them, China, previously an abstract concept across the ocean, began to take on a clearer image.

"I never could have imagined all the things that I use were being made so far from where I live and the process of them getting to me…It really shows the important role China plays in the world… providing for other countries," said Annaliz Yazici, 18, from Santa Monica College in California.