Connecting with China's Story

In 1997, ISC's leadership made its first foray into international outreach by leading a delegation of 60 American storytellers (and story listeners) to China for a series of cultural exchanges. In addition to stops in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the group traveled to the village of Gengcun, a tiny farming community in Central China with an extraordinary population of storytellers (134 in a population of just 1,100). After forming a bond with the villagers, who organized special storytelling concerts in their own homes, the American delegation raised funds to help the village build a new school and refurbish its public storytelling hall. In 2001, the International Storytelling Center asked Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo of Eth-Noh-Tec to continue the advancement of this ongoing international storytelling inter-cultural exchange.