Shijiazhuang Performance Troupe

A nine-member performance troupe from the capital city of Shijiazhuang of Hebei
Province, China, visited and performed in the Greater Des Moines area from
February 10 to February 18, 2005. The city of Shijiazhuang is the sister city of
Des Moines, Iowa, and their visit kicked off the year-long celebrations of the 20th
anniversary relationship of the two cities.
The Greater Des Moines Sister City Commission and the Chinese Association
of Iowa co-hosted the shows. The Iowa Sister States was a co-sponsor, and the
ISS Hebei Committee Chair Will Zhang coordinated all the shows during their
stay in Iowa.
The troupe brought to Central Iowa a variety of typical Chinese musical instruments,
such as zheng (a percussion instrument), hulusi (a woodwind instrument), and suona, which is also a woodwind instrument to perform. The program includes solos and an ensemble of those instruments. Some of the music was very appealing to the Iowan audience, as they imitate birds chirping, geese quacking, and horse racing. The show also featured the best singers in the city with male and female solos and baritone solo. The whole program echoed the festive atmosphere during the month-long Chinese Spring Festival in China as well as in the local Chinese communities in Iowa.
All the shows were very successful, drawing about 2,000 people in Central Iowa. They first performed at DMACC Ankeny campus auditorium as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations on February 12. The following night, the Chinese musicians give their wonderful performances at the Civic Center in a fundraising effort for the Tsunami victims. On Monday morning, February 14, over 300 hundred high school students, their teachers, and legislators watched the short program at the Historical Building Atrium. The seemingly intriguing
Chinese musical instruments interested the audience, drawing many questions from them. They also performed at Pioneer, Wells Fargo, and Drake the second week. In the last three days in Des Moines, the Chinese musicians were also invited to visit a Drake music class and the music classes and the campus of Valley High School. Both the visiting troupe and the Iowans had an unforgettable time in those nine days. Many ISS friends and volunteers helped with fundraising, family-hosting guests, and logistics.
-Will Zhang, Hebei Committee Chair

ISS to Hebei, China

From May 17-23, an Official Delegation from ISS visited Hebei , China to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the sister state relationship.  The delegation included Steve Dickinson, former ISS President; Will Zhang, Hebei Committee Chair; Yogesh Shah, MD; Salina Shrofel, Associate Provost at Drake University ; and Phil Latessa, ISS Executive Director.  The delegation focused on plans for upcoming exchanges including cultural, legal and business projects.  Dr. Shrofel confirmed plans for up to 17 recent Drake University graduates to spend one year in Hebei teaching English.  She continued discussions regarding the development of faculty exchanges and joint programming with universities in Hebei .  Dr. Shah visited with officials of Hebei Medical University and the Second Provincial Hospital and discussed the possibility of a medical project and the creation of a study program in Hebei for Des Moines University medical students. Steve Dickinson made a presentation to attorneys from Hebei regarding international business issues and discussed the possibility of an exchange focusing on legal matters. The delegation visited the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School and several industrial sites throughout the province.

 The delegation also made a brief visit to  Tianjin to meet with officials of the Tianjin Children's Palace to complete plans for the visit of over 25 children and teachers to Iowa in August and September.  The children performed some of the acts that they will do when they are in Iowa . 

Chairman Will Zhang will convene the Hebei Committee soon to complete plans for the visit by the Children's Palace and to develop plans for future exchanges with Hebei .

Drake Trip to Hebei

The Drake University Delegation visit to Hebei universities took place October 12-19. The delegation included Dr. David Maxwell, President; Dr. Ronald Troyer, Provost; Dr. Salina Shrofel, Dean of the School of Education; Dr. Susan Smith, Professor of Education and Associate Director of the Drake Center for Global Citizenship; Ms. Elisabeth Spoerl, Director of the Kelley Insurance Center; Dr. Will Zhang, Chair of the ISS Hebei Committee; and Ms. Cyndi Chen, ISS Vice President.
During the trip, Drake University reached agreements with Hebei Normal University and Hebei University of Economics and Business that will enable the institutions to explore faculty and student exchanges and joint programs.
“The agreements are a first step in creating exchanges,” President Maxwell said. “There are lots of operational details to work out, but the initial agreements suggest that we are in complete agreement on what we’re trying to accomplish. We all want to create opportunities for the exchange of faculty, staff, students, academic information and materials in the belief that the research and educational pursuits of all three universities will be enhanced by this endeavor.”
One of the first opportunities to be developed would enable recent Drake graduates, especially those with degrees in education, to teach English for a year in Hebei provincial middle and high schools. Both Hebei Normal University and Hebei University of Economics and Business are willing to consider recent Drake graduates as teachers of English as well.
Drake officials said they hope exchange programs will be developed to enable Drake students learning Chinese in the Drake University Language Acquisition Program to study Chinese in China. “To become fluent in a second language, it’s essential to spend a significant amount of time with native speakers in an immersion environment,” President Maxwell said. “Developing exchange programs with the Hebei universities will enable our students to achieve their goals of communicative competence.”
Hebei University of Economics and Business is interested in developing joint programs that will help train Chinese students for careers in that country’s fledgling insurance industry. The Hebei Provincial Finance Department has also expressed interest in sending some of its employees to Drake to study English, finance and public administration.


Our Towns

A literary exchange between a group of Chinese students from Hebei, China and their American Counterparts from the State of Iowa. The theme of the exchange was "Our Towns." This project was sponsored both by Iowa Sister States and International Programs at the University of Iowa. Click here to read more about this extraordinary exhcange and what it meant to the students involved.