Recently, I was able to complete an interview with Thomas Stader, founder of a Chinese charity organization that helps to build libraries. Here are his words about some of the latest work the Library Project has been working on.

Can you tell us a little bit about the Library Project?

The Library Project provides books and libraries to under-financed countryside elementary schools in China.

I founded The Library Project because I found that most countryside elementary schools in China were lacking books that the children could physically read. What I mean by that is, most books in a countryside elementary school were written for university and high school students. They also lack any kind of reading area for the children to curl up with a book. What we do is very simple, we donate colorful, relevant, hi-quallity books to countryside elementary schools, while also ensuring that they have a safe and fun area to read the books in.

I understand that often children’s libraries in China aren’t often stocked with good children’s books and are often cramped or uncomfortable. Can you tell us more about that?

In general, we have found a complete lack of children’s books with PinYin for young learners. A child absolutely needs PinYin to read during grades 1 – 3. So that is our first obstacle that we must overcome. Our second is a complete lack of a comfortable library for the children to gather as a class and read a book. Most schools have a room set aside for a library, but they don’t have the funding to fill the room with furniture.

What we have found is, once we bring books that the children can read, along with tables and chairs for a library, the children love it.

Cool. I understand you’ve made a lot of big developments in the past year, right?

Yes we have. We have provided our first ten libraries, with plans of reaching a goal of over 80 by the end of 2008.

That sounds like a big commitment. Isn’t it costly to build a library?

The cost is quite low. Most libraries will cost between 4,000 and 8,000 RMB. This includes hi-quality Chinese language children’s books, colorful chairs, sturdy tables, globes, plants, posters, and all logistic costs such as trucks.

What all goes into the building of a library? What kind of cost is there in terms of money, time, and other resources?

From beginning to end, it takes about one month. That includes our Pre-Assessment, purchasing of books and furniture, and final delivery of the library. We usually have a group of about 5 – 15 volunteers helping with the final delivery. Once we set up the library, we introduce the children to their new library and play games. It’s a lot of fun for both the children and the volunteers.

I also understand that you cooperate with local charities to create community support and interest for your project. Have you found that local communities and organizations are helpful and willing to be involved?

That is true. We have partnered with the Xi’an Charity Association to provide libraries to the regions of the ShaanXi Province that they are working in. They are a huge help. We also run community based book collections through Aston English of China. They are one of the largest private English language schools in China, with schools in over 40 cities. We hope to hold book drives in each of those cities annually, and then take those Chinese language children’s books and get them into countryside elementary schools. Aston English has made a major commitment to giving back in China.

I understand you recently made a trip to Shanghai and had some exciting opportunities crop up for you there. How exactly did all of that come about?

That is true. The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business in Shanghai has been absolutely amazing. On November 24th, the Smith School of Business hosted a charity fundraiser in Shanghai that raised enough funds to provide twelve schools with full libraries. They got Black and Decker, Microsoft, Storm Case, Grainger, Grace, Under Armour, The Children’s Place, Jaguar, Avon, and Land Rover, among many others, involved.

The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business in Shanghai and their China EMBA program have really made a difference in the lives of thousands of children living in the countryside of China.

Where will the funds you raised in Shanghai go and how will they be used?

The funds raised in Shanghai will go toward providing libraries to the Ba Qiao School District in the ShaanXi Province. Each school will receive 500 Chinese language children’s books, and a comfortable child-safe library for the children to use.

To date, what do you think has been your biggest success?

That’s a tough question to answer. There have been so many successes to date. But if I were to pick on success, it would be the creation of our School District Program. This program makes the kind of impact that we all like to see. True impact is hard to make, and I’m confident that providing every countryside elementary school in a single school districts improves the level of education that each and every child receives.

What are the next big plans for the Library Project? How do you see the project growing? How can people in China and abroad help you and support you?

The Library Project has a very clear plan for our future. We will have over 80 libraries provided to countryside elementary schools by the end of 2008. We’ll have over 200 by the end of 2009. We’ll continue that aggressive growth plan until every elementary school in China has children’s books for every child to read.

We have a ton of volunteer opportunities, both in China and abroad. The best place to begin is to check out our website at The Library Project.

All donations are greatly appreciated. Small and large donations really do make a difference. Each book that we provide to schools only cost $1 USD, or 8 Yuan. Adopting a school costs only $1,000 USD. Both of these really do make a huge impact on the lives of literally thousands of children.

The Library Project is the easiest charity on the planet to support: They have a clear purpose, a verifiable track-record, a vision for the future and they ask so little with which they accomplish so much.

Make some space on your blog or website and show that you care by placing a visual link to our friends by going here: LIBRARY PROJECT

Their mission is clear, their dedication extraordinary and their cause a most important one. To support the Library Project is one of the most cost-effective ways you will ever have to make a real difference in a lot of young lives….

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I recently received some information from Tom, our friend from the Library Project, sent us some fantastic news about the Library Project and its latest developments.

“The past three months have far exceeded the The Library Project’s goals and expectations. There is so much to share – from our new home in Xi’an, China to an incredible list of schools benefiting from our support – so let’s get started.

“In September, The Library Project donated our first library to a Chinese countryside elementary school. The Xin Xing Elementary School is located an hour outside of Xi’an, in the ShaanXi Province. Over 500 students in grades 1-6 attend the Xin Xing Elementary School. During our pre assessment we discovered the school library’s uninviting environment and general lack of age appropriate books. Most of the books in the existing library were written for high school or university students with a total of less than 50 children’s books for grades 1-3.

“The Library Project provided 500 children’s books for grades 1-3 and a child-safe reading area with comfortable and colorful furniture. We provided a wide range of children’s books including: history, science, short stories, fairy tales, “pinyin” books for very young readers, children’s dictionaries, children’s reference books, and an assortment of comic books. We also provided a full set of children’s encyclopedias for older students. Every book was in full color and of the highest quality. The Library Project provided colorful child-safe tables and chairs, posters and a globe to populate the previously empty room. Once the library was completed, we held a party to celebrate our accomplishments with the children. Twenty “star” students were chosen to participate in arts, crafts and games. One of our activities had the children draw their “dream library”. We learned that most children want a library located outside consisting of colorful books which float in the air. (We’re working on that concept for a future library.)

“Without a doubt The Library Project has improved the level of education that the Xin Xing Elementary School provides to its students.

“We didn’t stop there. In October The Library Project completed a phenomenal feat of donating three libraries in three days. The libraries are located at three different elementary schools in the countryside of Xi’an: the Si Qing Elementary School, Bai Lu Yuan Elementary School and Mi Cun Elementary School. Furthermore, all the items donated were upgraded from our previous library. We provided higher quality books, better seating, sturdy wooden tables and bookshelves custom made at a local factory, and we even found cacti and plants to put on the tables and shelving.

“Providing three libraries in three days pushed us both mentally and physically. We had a team of over 20 volunteers helping with the delivery of the materials, setting up furniture, sorting books, and playing games with the kids in their new library. Through our experiences we learned this one simple fact: that when The Library Project arrives in a countryside school, the students go absolutely crazy. The madness usually begins when we pull up in our large truck and the children come running out of their classrooms.

“For our next goal, I need your help. In the past we have benefited one school at a time and now we are looking to help an entire school district. We want to make a clear IMPACT on the level of education an entire school district will be able to offer its students. Our first school district we would like to help will be the Ba Qiao School District (the same school district where our last three elementary schools were located).

“The Ba Qiao School District is an hour outside of the Xi’an city center. This area was hit very hard by the closure of state run factories over the past twenty years. Because of the closures and the lack of work, the average annual income is less than 2,000 RMB ($266), and there is very little hope that things will change for the better in the future. To learn more about the Ba Qiao School District, please click here.

“If you are interested in Adopting a Library or adopting a group of schools through our Adopting a School District programs, please click here for more information. You can also send me an email at [*tom@library-project.org* ] to ask any questions about the library adoption process.

“Furthermore, our website has been updated and improved to help both large and small donors have a better idea of exactly how their financial contributions are put to work. We also added an Adopt a Library page for those who would like to provide an entire elementary school with a library. The page also contains information on the Ba Qiao School District. Everyone who donates to the Adopt a School or Adopt a School District programs will receive a Library Completion Report for the specific library that you supported, along with a beautiful hardcover book celebrating our past libraries and the communities and schools we have worked in.

“I am very happy to announce two new additions to The Library Project’s team. Jenny Wang is our first full time employee in China. Jenny is from Hunan Province and has lived in Xi’an for the past ten years. A short list of some of her accomplishments these past few months have been getting us a 20 – 65% discount on children’s books at the country’s largest chain of bookstores, managing our growing list of partners in China, spearheading the completion of our first four libraries in Chinese countryside elementary schools, and doing non-stop assessments of schools and orphanages. Welcome aboard Jenny!

“I am also very happy to announce that Kevin Kruse has joined our Board of Directors. Kevin Kruse joined in August and has been an incredible addition to the team. Kevin has been instrumental in helping create a solid business foundation for The Library Project. He was also our first donor to support our Adopt a School District program. To learn more about Kevin, please check out his bio by clicking here. Welcome Kevin!

“Lastly, please check out some of our new products for the holiday season. We created 50 book, 100 book, 250 book and 500 book gift cards available at $1 a book. Each card also has a beautiful picture of a past library we have donated. The gift cards are a perfect holiday gift idea. To check out our new online store, please click here.

“Your help is greatly appreciated. Click here to make a donation and help give the gift of education and opportunity to a child in Asia. As a result of your donation you will receive photos and a Library Completion Report on the library you helped make a reality. Your donation truly does make a difference.

“The Library Project is a non-profit organization. Your donation is 100% tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your kind support of our efforts.”

Sincerely,
Thomas Stader
The Library Project
Founder

In a series of articles about our sponsors, we’ve decided to begin with The China Business Network, a website devoted to helping entrepreneurs in China make important business connections and create exciting opportunities here in China. Created by Christine Lu, The China Business Network has a large media, podcast and content network it uses to promote businesses seeking to operate in China. Now that network can help our sponsors, too.

The China Dreamblogue has partnered with The China Business Network, and now our sponsors will have the opportunity to enjoy an interview on their networks, and readers can look forward to regular updates about the Dreamblogue on CBN.

Interested in helping to sponsor the Dreamblogue? There are several things you can do.

First, WE DO NOT ACCEPT DONATIONS. If you are interested in donating money, please contact one of the charities we support, The Library Project (run through the 501(c)3 charity Nomadic Marketing) or The Reading Tub. The China Dreamblogue offers services-for-fee and service-for-service exchanges with sponsors. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, we are looking for the following things:

• Individuals and Businesses: Link to us and favorite is on Technorati by clicking on the tab in our sidebar!

• We badly need 2 laptop computers–One of the current computers running the Blog of Dreams, Yanzhi’s prized Macbook, suffered a cracked screen and our second laptop caught a fatal virus, SO we are searching for laptop computers that will help us continue to create the Dreamblogue and maintain its content and projects for you while we travel.

• 2 high quality cameras to help us document the beauty of the people and places in China we encounter.
• 1 high quality digital movie camera to help us record the stories of the dreamers we meet along the way
• audio and video editing software to help us present the dreamers’ stories to you
• Educational institutions in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand interested in attracting talented Chinese students to their universities
• Travel insurance to help keep us and the dreams we carry safe as we travel
• Airplane flights and acomodations from a travel company willing to help us arrange the legs of our journey
• Quality English-language training centers to help students prepare for their journeys to study abroad
• Other businesses willing to help individual dreamers achieve their dreams

Please note that we will give away all of the equipment and extra supplies at the end of the China Dreamblogue travels to our supporters and dreamers.

Interested parties can read more about sponsorship details here: Travel China Blog Proposal. Contact or if you or your organization are interested.

Keep Dreaming.

A few weeks ago, we mentioned the Library Project here on the Dreamblogue. Now, we want to mention them again. They have begun their expansion into China, and we want to bring you news about their latest happenings. From the Library Project’s press release:

“Everyone at The Library Project are very excited to announce a partnership with Aston English in China. Over the next year The Library Project will conduct ‘The Aston Library Project’ within each of the Aston English schools in China.

“The Aston Library Project will hold book drives at each of their English schools. These book drives should net about 50,000 Chinese language children’s books donated to schools and orphanages in China. The Library Project with the help of Aston English volunteers will then source the donated books to local orphanages and schools. These libraries will be outfitted with tables, chairs, mats and lighting when appropriate for the location.

“Aston operates more than 40 English schools in China and the US. In 1996 Aston opened its first English language school in China and is now operating in more than 26 Chinese cities.

“Because of Aston English’s footprint in China, The Libarary Project has an opportunity to make a huge difference in a very short period of time. A list of cities that are up for libraries are: Beijing, Dalian, Xian, Weinan, Xianyang, Xingping, Yanliang, Chengdu, Kunming, Guiyang, Chongqing, Jinan, Wuhan, Hanzhong, Baoji, Tongchuan, Yanan, Yulin, Dandong, Dongying, Xuzhou, Quingdao and Lianyungang.”

“Thomas Stader, Chinese Country Director said, ‘This partnership is a great example of Aston English’s commitment to education and the betterment of each community that they work within. We are all very excited about this partnership.’”

We will continue to place regular updates here on The Library Project. You can donate directly to the Library Project by clicking here:

Online Donations

You may use our secure online credit card donation form to donate to The Library Project using your Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card.

Give a one-time donation: $

Monthly Donations

Set up reoccuring monthly donation for The Library Project. Five dollars a month can make a huge difference in the lives of many children in Asia.

Monthly donation: $   for   months.

As some of our loyal readers have noticed, there haven’t been a lot of posts on the Dreamblogue lately. Much of this has been because we’ve been preparing for the trip, hustling back and forth between Shanghai, Guangzhou, Macau, and Hong Kong to find sponsors, dreamers, and others who believe that dreaming can make the world a better place.

As part of our journey, we’ll spend the next few days talking about preparing for our journey, introducing our sponsors, and talking about th experiences we’ve had getting ready for this journey.

The first thing I want to share is an old story from Yanzhi’s life. As we prepare to travel around China, I was reminded of this story we’ve told before about what to bring to China:

THINGS TO BRING TO CHINA These are things that you may want to consider bringing and items that you do not want to carry along regardless of what your mother, or neighbor stuck in the cold war, says:

1. A camera. But, unless you are the next Ansel Adams or have a need for a fancy rig, leave the big bucks at home. Bring a digital or film camera (there are tons of places that will put your pic’s on disk for little of nothing) that will take decent pictures. Use one that you are not afraid to lose or have lifted at a train station.
2. Bring an extra battery for any of your cameras. And pop for a a 220V charger while you are here. Anything you have that is 110V is liable to fry like an egg.
3. Medical Travel and Baggage Loss Insurance. Pay the few extra bucks! I have lost my luggage three times enroute to China (the U.S. carrier lost them all) and, even with insurance, only recovered about half of my losses. Medical insurance will ensure your evacuation to the U.S. shoud it be needed.
4. No-Doz if you are a coffee addict. Coffee is incredibly expensive and often not available in restaurants. Except fot the Thai restaurants the stuff you buy in the Jiffy Marts here is not very strong. You WILL get a case of Mao’s Revenge and it will be because of withdrawal, not the water.
5. I guess that #4 means bring some anti-diarrheal medicine as well….
6. Deodorant.
7. Dental Floss. Toothpicks are available at every restaurant.
8. Aspirin, if you prefer it to Tylenol, as it is hard to come by in other than miniscule doses.
9. Yuan/RMB. Two reasons: The dollar is free-falling against the Yuan and you will wait until retirement age in line to change money at most banks.
10. English Novels, Magazines or anything you want to read to pass the time. Hong Kong is about the only place with anything. Most stuff in China that looks English will really be Chinglish or government approved news and commentary–get over it: we have spin too.
11. The phone numbers for the English speaking/Western Medicine Doctors residing in the towns you will visit. You do not have time to be hand-signaling a Chinese physician no matter how good he is. The U.S. Consulate in those areas can provide these numbers. There are plenty of them but, they charge Western rates so:
12. Bring your credit card. China is 85% a cash economy but, the physicians do take plastic.
13. The numbers for your Embassy or Consulate. If you strangle a street vendor and get arrested the U.S. State Department can pretty much only come visit you (they are worse than useless) but, you will at least get a visitor. Keep the number in case you need a document notarized or need your friends interrogated by Homeland Security, prior to a visa, if you invite them to come visit you in the U.S..
14. It is better to bring the contact email and phone numbers of your government representives. Your Embassy may act more on your behalf if you call home first. Diplomats hate extra paperwork.
15. A couple of pens. The pens here are not the ones they export.
16. A muzzle on your need to spread the word for any religious or political views. It is against the law. And you SHOULD be spending your time learning about the culture you want them to replace before you preach about yours. The climate is changing but, don’t push the river.

Forget About:

1. Toilet paper. They use it here too. BUT, do buy packs of tissue at a local store or you may be, uh, cleansing yourself with currency: most of the toilets in public areas do not have T.P..
2. Antibiotics. They sell them at local pharmacies and besides: unless you are a physician you shouldn’t be self medicating! If you do have medications that you take regularly bring plenty and bring it in the prescription or OTC container or you will need the phone number for #13 above.
3. Stationery. They are literate. And they make 90% of the cutsie stuff they sell at Walmart.
4. Mailing envelopes. And don’t do anything dumb like send valuables. The postal guys in your country will steal it because it is easy to blame on the Chinese.
5. Clothes that need Ironing or lots of clothes. They do not have dryers and you can buy anything you need here at a fraction of the cost in your homeland.
6. Any pre-concieved notions about this country. It will shock, bewilder, and wonderfully amaze you daily.

The China Dreamblogue is a project undertaken by two American teachers to provide educational opportunities for people in China. We are doing this because we want to help people to achieve the dreams that they haven’t been able to. Hence our name is The China Dreamblogue.

中国载梦博客一个由两位美国教师为了给中国穷人提供教育机会的计划。我们这样做是为了帮助人们实现他们如今还没有实现的愿望。因此我们的名字叫中国载梦博客.

Our project has 4 major parts:
我们的计划由个主要部分组成：

1. Traveling: First, Yanzhi Liu and I will be traveling to the 22 provinces of mainland China over the course of the next 12-16 months. We will visit and interview at least one person from every ethnic group and from every province to find out about their lifestyle, their beliefs, and their hopes and ambitions for themselves and others. We will post these interviews on the Dreamblogue for you to read.
2. Free Scholarships: Yanzhi and I are giving away scholarships that will allow students to study abroad in the UK and the US.
3. China information: Yanzhi and I will be posting regular information about China on this blog. Yanzhi and I have found that Westerners’ understanding of China is often darkened by news reports that focus on the negative parts of China. We will be putting up information here on the blog that seeks to find the interesting, curious, good parts of Chinese culture and highlight them here.
4. Money for Charity: Yanzhi and I are raising money for two charities, Thomas Stader’s Library Project and Terry Dougherty’s Reading Tub. We will be raising money by selling advertising on the Blog of Dreams and giving away the advertising money to Thomas and Terry directly through a Feedburner account. Yanzhi and I will never touch the money.

1. 行程:在接下来的12-16个月中刘彦志和我将会游历中国大陆个省份。在去到每一个民族的地区的时候我们将会最少采访一个该民族的人，了解他们的生活方式、信仰、愿望、理想等等。我们将会将这些采访刊登在“载梦博客”上供大家阅读参考。
2. 免费奖学金：彦志和我将会发放奖学金供同学们去英国和美国留学。
3. 中国信息：彦志和我将会定期发布关于中国的信息在这个网站上。我们发现西方人对中国的理解经常遭到新闻报纸的误导，因为它们专注于报导中国消极的方面的信息。我们将会把中国有趣的、奇特的事物或事件或中国文化积极的方面和它们最精彩的方面的信息放上这个博客。
4. 慈善基金：我们将为两个慈善机构筹集基金：Thomas Stader的图书馆计划和Terry Dougherty的读书俱乐部。我们将把载梦博客的广告收入通过账户直接捐给Thomas和Terry.

How you can help (and don’t worry, none of these cost you a dime):
你们怎样帮助我们呢？（放心，不需花费你们分钱）

1. Blog your dreams. It’s simple. Go the form the the bottom of this page (and at the end of most posts, and fill out your dream. You can send your dream as a photo, video, text, or any other medium you can imagine. It can be a big dream or a small one. We are currently looking for sponsors who will be able to help fund your dream.
2. Visit the site often. The more people visit, the more hits and pageviews the site gets, and the more money we can charge advertisers. More money will go to charity. We’ll be sure to have fresh content for you to come back to every day.
3. Send us your photos. Over the course of the Dreamblogue journey, we’ll be sponsoring a photo contest for both professionals and amateurs, with prizes for the photos who get the most votes.
4. Favorite us on Technorati. There is a little green button you can click on that says, “fave this blog technorati.” We are trying to generate publicity for our project by becoming the most favorited blog in the world on Technorati. Click on the button, register as a member (don’t worry, it’s free and spam-free), and click on the button one more time on our site to move us one step closer to our goal.

1. 将你们梦醒写在我们的博客上。非常简单，只要写在博客下方的方框里就行了（在每篇文章的尾部写上你们的梦想。你们可以把你们的图片、视频或其他媒体发送给我们。它可以是大的梦想或小的梦想。我们会寻找赞助商来帮助你们实现你们的梦想）
2. 经常登陆这个网站。越多人登陆这个网站，我们网站就会有更多的点击率和读者，然后我们就可以向登广告的人索取更多的广告费，那么我们就有更多的钱资助慈善机构。为了使大家每天都来浏览我们的网站，我们保证每天都有新鲜的内容提供给大家。
3. 把你们的照片发给我们。在这个“载梦博客”的旅途上，我们将举行专业级和业余级的摄影大赛，得到最高票数的相片将会得到丰富的奖品。
4. 在Technorati 上投我们一票。点击那个写着“fabe this blog technorati.”的绿色按钮。我们正在尝试通过使我们的网站在Technorati 上全球出名进而推广我们的这个计划。点击这个按钮，注册一个账户（别担心，它是免费的）然后在Technorati里点击我的网站，使我们更快地接近我们的目标。

Blog your Dream/把博客写在博客上:

In preparing for the dreamblogue project David and I applied for a grant from Global Voices Online via their new Rising Voices initiative. Rising Voices is the outreach arm of Global Voices.

The recipients have already been chosen (no, I don’t know) and will be announced on Monday. Over 140 applications from 40 countries came in from what appears to be a true “Who’s Who in Global Citizen Journalism.”

According to their website, “Global Voices aggregates, curates, and amplifies the global conversation online – shining light on places and people other media often ignore. Global Voices Online is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a research think-tank focused on the Internet’s impact on society.”

Ethan Zuckerman and Rebecca McKinnon were the driving forces at Harvard behind the formation of Global Voices. It has become one of the most respected news and reporting endeavors on the net and recently won the Knight-Batten Grand Prize for Innovations in Journalism.

Soon after applying for the grant we were informed by David Sasaki, GVOL’s Outreach Director, that there would be a online group created for all applicants to share their wishes, resources and dreams. In combing the bios of the members thus far I am awed by the creativity, courage and commitment of everyone I have read about: Nasim Fekrat, one of the winners of the Freedom of Expression Blog Awards from Reporters without Borders; Kathleen Gerahty, who co-created Picure Us, a photo exchange program for kids 8-12 aimed at increasing self esteem through photography, storytelling and art; Marnie Gustavson, who now lives in Kabul, Afghanistan and is the executive director of PARSA, (Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Services for Afghanistan); Yuanzhou Qu with the imaginative and much needed China based 1 KG program that brings inspiration and supplies to rural villages; Our own China-sphere’s Tenement Palm with a Blogger Watch group proposal (I am all for this one!) and more….

The list of participants is long and inspiring. David and I are truly grateful to Global Voices for the chance to meet Internet Chance-takers and the Good Samaritans of many faiths and background. Only 4-6 of the projects will initially be funded and I do not envy Mr. Sasaki. I would like to see everyone able to further global connections via this group….We hope to bring you stories on the dreamblogue and here at OMBW about some of these programs. Caution: It could positively change your world-view….

Update on the China Dreamblogue: more than 100 people have visited one of the intended beneficiaries of our group, The Library Project, and have offered services and financing. California Polytechnic will be weighing in with scholarship/educational support for the students we meet along the way and we are firming up a few more such relationships we hope to announce to you by early next week.

I am still nearly bedridden with a fractured ankle, but in high spirits….Regular blogging resumes tomorrow….

If you could save lives and provide needed educational opportunities to rural and orphaned children for a few minutes of your time and for free, would you do it?

The dream is to travel in 2007 to every mainland province in China. During this journey, the China Dreamblogue will chronicle the everyday lives of ordinary Chinese citizens. The motivation for this trip came from a group of women known as the League of Extraordinary Chinese Women. The LOECW was comprised of 5 women from various walks of Chinese life—wives, semi-professional women, a bookkeeper, and a student. The one thing they had in common was advanced-stage cancer. These women, with little access to formal education and less information from outside sources about the disease they had contracted, naturally and courageously combated their disease with friendship, enthusiasm, meditation, and the medical care they could afford.

Around this time, Yanzhi and Dawei also met Thomas Stader, an expat who has devoted his time, talents, and treasures to Chinese people educationally and economically left behind by giving them access to life-changing education. The Dreamblogue is an attempt to unite the strength, courage, and stories of people around China and channel it into a force that will help realize the dreams everyone carries.

All of the money generated from the advertising on this site will go directly from Feedburner and Blogads to the charities we support, The Library Project and The Reading Tub. No one at the Dreamblogue will never directly handle the money.

The Blog of Dreams will have videocasts, podcasts, a China picture contest (to be turned into a coffee table book) , a weekly Chinese horoscope, weekly Chinese recipes (also to be a book), and most importantly, the daily dreams of people from around the world. The Dreamblogue has been created to be a tool of understanding and a place where dreams can be spoken into reality.

To help:

1. Use the logo here or on the blog’s sidebar and click on the little green box that says “favorite this blog.”



2. Follow the instructions on Technorati. This will take you less than one minute.
3. The Technorati favoriting website may send you back to the blog of dreams. Click the “favorite this blog” button one more time to finish.
4. Link to us on your blog.
5. Let us know that you helped by e-mailing me or sending a comment. We’ll return the favor by favoriting your blog. Invite your friends to favorite and link to this blog. We will be creating a Dreamblogue blogroll in the future and will include you.

The other part of the journey is about creating a space on The Dreamblogue where people can blog their dream—they can write about a dream they have for themselves, a dream they have for someone else, or an educational dream they want to fill. There is a Chinese superstition that if you talk about bad things, they will come true. Instead, the Dreamblogue’s vision says that if you share your dream with others, you are willing it into being. Send your dreams to the blog of dreams, and we will post dreams other people want to share with the world.

Help change lives. As Yanzhi and Dawei travel throughout the year, the blog will able to give away a variety of products from different corporate sponsors as well as scholarships to study in China.

Read on »