Taking it On the Road:  Instructors Open Doors to China 

As a member of the Washington Community College Consortium for Study Abroad, Bellevue College works with academic institutions around the world to create enriching programs for its students. But before those study abroad programs can begin, faculty create partnerships with their international counterparts to create a meaningful experience for their students.  

In the fall of 2024, Bellevue College faculty Li Liu and Deborah Leblang spent two weeks traveling to the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China, to begin working on such a partnership. 

Liu is a full professor in the Communications Studies department and teaches intercultural communication, film history and animation history. She also represents Bellevue College at the study abroad consortium and currently chairs the state consortium. Leblang is an assistant professor in the Art department who teaches topics in art history and architectural history. 

“The trip gave us a chance to be both students and professors,” Leblang said. “We could be collegial… be included in conversations about the academy and at the same time be learners. We were able to make real and tangible connections with our colleagues.” 

The two spent time getting to know the faculty at the China Academy of Art. They attended lectures and classes on topics such as traditional Chinese ink wash painting, called Chinese shuǐ-mò, learning about its history, philosophy, and practice. Other outings included attending art exhibitions, visits to the local stationery market, and touring several of the traditional Chinese gardens located in Suzhou, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. 

From painting traditions and techniques to the ways in which Chinese architecture uses space to reflect the interplay between human activity and water, the professors found inspiration for developing new courses for Bellevue College students and future partnerships with their Chinese colleagues. 

During the trip, Liu collected 360-degree panoramic images of Chinese gardens that she plans to incorporate into her bi-quarterly Intercultural Communication (CMST 280) course.  

Liu says for her what stood out was seeing first-hand the influence of Eastern art and philosophy on the Western world. Being in the “original spot,” discovering the importance of that Eastern influence on the West, gave her real joy. 

Leblang created a new course for the Art department called Global Topic in Art: The Silk Road (ART 209), which examines art across cultures, time and continents from the Han Dynasty to the Renaissance. Leblang also added a new section on historic gardens for her History of Modern Architecture and Design (ART 101) course, which also draws upon some of the 360 garden images from China. She designed new modules on global perspective on cultural heritage for both ART 101 and Art 207. And with the help of Bellevue College’s XR Lab, she is hard at work on an immersive map of the Suzhou Gardens, a continuation of her use of virtual reality to bring history architecture to life for art and interior design students. 

Liu and the XR Lab have also collaborated for an upcoming presentation, “Traditional Chinese Gardens in Immersive Learning Space” that Liu will give at a digital innovation forum, sponsored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, online and live in San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 4-5. 

The trip to China Academy of Art is not the first time Liu has worked on a cross-cultural academic partnership. Last year. Liu, Eva Norling, a Bellevue College French and German instructor, and Bruce Wolcott, the head of Bellevue College’s XR Lab and a Communications Studies instructor, traveled to the University of Caen in Normandy, France. Upon their return, they developed a travel-abroad course focusing on the wartime narratives of Normandy. Using Wolcott’s specific expertise in Extended Reality (XR) technology, they created a 3D interactive map populated with imagery and videos of Normandy. 

Liu points out that these cross-departmental and cross-cultural personal connections not only benefit student travel abroad study programs but also help to support virtual study abroad programs. Bellevue College has recently joined Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), an online learning consortium. Through COIL, professors meet in person and online and then collaborate on classes and projects that can be offered to their students online. This way, students get the benefit of the international connection and curriculum without incurring the expense of a trip. 

Liu mentions that in the state of Washington, Bellevue College is one of the top five colleges statewide that accepts international students. In winter quarter 2025, Bellevue College enrolled nearly 1,000 international students. About 30% of the college’s international student population were from China.  

“These trips show that just as Bellevue College works hard to welcome international students, we are also committed to showing our domestic students the world,” Liu said. “Going places is so critical. It is how we create paths of connection.”  

Liu and Leblang hope a study abroad trip for students to go to China will soon be in the works. In the meantime, there are many Bellevue College study abroad programs already available. Bellevue College students currently have the opportunity to study in Costa Rica, Japan, Australia, Spain, and Germany, to name just a few. Study abroad stays can vary from two weeks to a full academic quarter. For students, class credits are transferable, and costs can be supported through scholarships and financial aid.  

To learn more about the wide range of study abroad programs at Bellevue College, visit bellevuecollege.edu/studyabroad for details and deadlines for the upcoming trips in 2025.