After setting up a series of successful fashion and decoration businesses and living abroad for years, Cheng Lan has set up a school in the city of Shanghai to teach foreigners more about Chinese culture.

The Shanghai Shujin Culture Center was set up in reaction to questions foreign friends asked about China when she was living abroad, and a survey that suggested students at local international schools want to learn more about the country's culture, but feel they lack the proper opportunities.

Born in Changzhou, a small city in neighboring Jiangsu Province, Cheng's first job involved designing clothes and decorations in her hometown in 1992.

Her strong business ambition and interest in beauty drove Cheng to head for Taiwan for professional cosmetic training in 1997 and open the first wedding service agency in Changzhou and two beauty salons one year later.

The woman boss of three businesses then moved with her husband, who owns a big trading company, to Canada in 2000.

"Living abroad for a long time made me realize that many foreigners still have a distorted understanding of China and Chinese people," Cheng said, adding that her foreign friends would often ask silly questions, such as whether Chinese people are too poor to afford a separate pair of pants for each child.

The main impetus to set up a school spreading Chinese culture was a report issued last year by the Shanghai American School, where her daughter studies, that said 70 percent of children have no access to genuine Chinese culture, although they desire to learn more about it, Cheng said.

"My biggest wish is to showcase the brilliant traditional Chinese culture to foreigners in the modern perspective, narrow the culture gap and help them form a good understanding of China and Chinese people," said Cheng, 32, who opened the school in January.

Students can learn about traditional Chinese art and folk games. Cheng has hired folk artists to teach paper cutting and pottery. Students will also learn how to bargain at wet markets, and cook Chinese food. Cheng said her dream is to set up branches of her school in Guangzhou, Beijing and other major Chinese cities over the next three years to impress more foreigners with the image of "modern Chinese people."

(Shanghai Daily June 1, 2005)