Interpreting China

One of the biggest keys to reporting from an international destination is understanding the language.  In China, that’s not easy.  Chinese is a complex language to speak and to read.  At our stops in Shanghai, and now in Beijing, we’ve been paired with a group of Chinese interpreters.  In Beijing, most of our interpreters are journalism students from Peking University.  We’ve also gotten help from nearby Tsinghua University.  They accompany us to many of our interviews, guide us in getting around town and even help direct taxi drivers to our destinations.  You might call ‘em lifesavers.  In Shanghai, we had interpreters from several places, but two of them were UIUC graduate students.  Jessie Chen, a Shanghai native, is a PhD student in educational psychology.  Zhu Chen is a UIUC graduate student in journalism and native of China. 

UIUC PhD student Jessie Chen, Shanghai native, with John Paul on The Bund