With revised textbooks focusing more on Chinese culture, critics worry students are losing sight of the broader world
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenMeredith ChenPublished: 12:00pm, 14 Sep 2026For generations of Chinese schoolchildren, English textbooks offered a glimpse of an unfamiliar world, from London’s Tower Bridge and Big Ben to American school life and Halloween traditions.
These changes are part of a nationwide overhaul of China’s primary and middle-school textbooks, which have shifted their focus towards Chinese culture and “telling China’s story” of national achievements, sparking debate over the purpose of English education in China.
Integrating Chinese cultural content into English courses was a growing education trend, state news agency Xinhua wrote in April 2025.
