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China Institute in America Presents: A Conversation with Peter Hessler

February 13, 2025

6:00 - 7:30 PM ET

China Institute in America is delighted to host an evening with acclaimed author and journalist Peter Hessler, whose works have illuminated the intricate connections between people, cultures, and history. Hessler will join Susan Yuqing Feng, Director of Programs at the China Institute in America, for an engaging discussion about his latest book, Other Rivers.

In Other Rivers, Hessler delves into the lives and landscapes shaped by the world’s waterways, offering readers a compelling exploration of adaptation, resilience, and transformation. This newest work continues the legacy of his celebrated body of writing, which includes River Town, Oracle Bones, Country Driving, and Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West. Together, these books form a powerful narrative about the intersections of tradition and modernity in both China and the United States.

This special event will feature an in-depth conversation about Hessler’s experiences, inspirations, and the storytelling process that has earned him a global readership. The program will conclude with an audience Q&A and a book signing, offering attendees a unique opportunity to engage with one of today’s most thoughtful literary voices.

Join us for an evening of insight and discovery as Peter Hessler shares his journey through writing and the stories that connect us all.

Copies of Other Rivers will be available for purchase on site and can be signed by the author.

Watch Full Video Here

Speaker & Moderator
Peter Hessler

For more than twenty years, Peter Hessler has been a staff writer at The New Yorker. He first went to live in China as a Peace Corps volunteer, from 1996 to 1998, an experience that became the subject of his book, River Town. With Hessler’s next two books—Oracle Bones and Country Driving—he completed a trilogy of reported works that spanned a decade in China. In 2011, he moved with his family to Cairo, where he lived for five years. His fifth book, The Buried, described his experiences during the Egyptian Arab Spring.

 

In 2019, Hessler moved back to Sichuan province, where he taught writing at Sichuan University. He also covered the pandemic, reporting from Wuhan and other cities during 2020 and 2021. This experience became the subject of his sixth book Other Rivers. In 2011, Hessler was named a MacArthur Fellow. He currently lives with his wife, the writer Leslie T. Chang, and their twin daughters in southwestern Colorado.

Susan Yuqing Feng

Moderator
Director of Programs at China Institute in America

Susan Yuqing Feng joined China Institute in America as Director of Programs in October 2023. Before joining CI, Susan was the Editor in Chief of Bitpush News, a leading block chain media based in New York and a columnist for the Financial Times Chinese Edition.

Throughout her journalism career, Susan conducted interviews with a multitude of world economic and political leaders, including Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Alan Greenspan, Paul Volker, President Clinton, Zbigniew Brzeziński, Michael Bloomberg, Thomas Friedman, and many more.  Susan has also directed the documentary series “World Movers” which was released in March 2018. It illustrated the emerging new world order 70 years after WWII, shedding light on what has changed the U.S. and the world and the forces affecting everyone. It focused on the relationships between technology and globalization, the impact on immigration, and the future of U.S.-China relations.

Susan graduated from Columbia University and got her MA in International Affairs.

This program is made possible through the support of the Chinese International Education Foundation, and generous supporters of China Institute in America.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

China Institute in America’s cultural programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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