The following is one of a series of blog post that were written while I was in China in the spring of 2009 as part of my Eisenhower Fellowship. If you have interest in China’s culture I think you will enjoy this series.

A Subtle Priority

At almost every meeting when the topic of technology entrepreneurship has come up there has been a mention of Tsinghua University.  Whether the impact of the alumni network or research and development it is clear that Tsinghua is the center of the country’s technology development effort. 

After leaving a meeting at the University’s startup incubator which had over 400 companies under 7 million square feet, we decided to walk around the university.  I had heard over and over that the university is the most difficult in the country to get into with only a very small percentage of those that apply receiving admission.  As I walked I noted how that it was a nice yet typical college campus with relatively small three story granite buildings.  The walk ways were lined with trees and there were several grass area to lounge.   

As we strolled through the campus I noticed that large industrial buses were continually coming into the campus.   As I watched the parade of buses and hundreds of people unload from the buses I asked the escort what was going on.  She replied that they were tour buses.  Tsinghua University is one of the largest tourist attractions in the country. 

I was surprised at first.  There were certainly more attractive and historic places within Beijing.  But as I was thinking about the explanation I started to realize that the buses were full of families with young children, many of which were as young as five years old. They had come from all over the country. Often traveled for days in pack buses to see and pay respect to the institution that was educating the country’s best and the brightest. 

The power and implications of this cultural norm is compelling.  It embeds a priority in the nation’s youth while at the same time providing a visual tangible path to success and a better lifestyle.