In 1990s, the TV series A Native of Beijing in New York, also known as Beijinger in New York, became all the rage in China. The story mainly portrayed a Chinese family who went to the United States to pursue the American Dream. Their joys and sorrows of life in a foreign environment evoked wide repercussions among overseas Chinese.

Nowadays, against the backdrop of economic globalization, China has become an integrated member of the international community. Due to China’s success story in recent decades that amazed the whole world, increasing numbers of foreigners choose to work and live in China.

Therefore, many expatriate families are confronted with difficulties in some facets of life and education is no exception. For instance, how does one break down the educational options for their children in China, from local schools, to bilingual schools and to the first-class international schools? How does one raise a child in China? What are the advantages of going to the international schools?

To help expatriate parents better select a dream school for their children, the Beijing International Schools Expo 2015 was held from Jan 24 to 25 at the Kerry Hotel. Sponsored by Beijing-based beijingkids (English) and JingKids (Chinese) magazines, the annual fair gathered nearly 50 different international schools under one roof. Parents could talk to teachers and school officials and hear two inspiring lectures from two speakers.

One was by Michael Wester, CEO of True Run Media and the expo’s organizer. He is a seasoned, Mandarin-speaking media professional with 19 years of experience in China. The other was Nutshell films CEO Caroline Nath, who grew up in France, the USA, India and China. She came to Beijing in the mid-80s as a teenager with her parents and became a long-term Beijing resident.

A teacher plays a game with children at the expo. [Photo by Zhang Xingjian/For chinadaily.com.cn]