Sightseeing in China: new books for Chinese language students

One of the reasons for studying Chinese for many students is that it is a tool for learning Chinese culture and history. They have a dream to visit China and explore as more as possible about the Chinese civilization that emerged otherwise than Western societies did. Visiting tourist attractions helps to expand vocabulary, understand idiomatic expressions, and enlarge an array of discussable topics. Everyday language classes and textbooks cannot provide enough information on history and cultural background of sight-seeing.. Most thematic books are just references similar to guidebooks. Keeping in mind that visiting historical and natural places of interest is helping students to improve their language abilities, Confucius Class at NSU prepared to edit the second book about important sight-seeing of China written by professional sinologists and addressed to non-academic public. The first one, published in 2014, introduces Beijing as a unique ancient architectural and cultural complex, while the second one includes more than 20 articles on World Heritage List objects scattered around the country.