I've never had a professor who was more knowledgable on the lecture material. This course is fantastic for anyone interested in the history of the US and China. Professor Liu makes himself available outside of class every week for office hours and responds to emails very quickly. His lectures are always engaging and his sense of humor doesn't go unnoticed. One of the best history classes I have ever taken at UVA.

Incredibly intelligent professor that lectures all you need to know for the class. His class is very entertaining and he is very motivated/knowledgeable in the subject matter. If you are thinking of taking any HIEA class, TAKE THIS ONE. you wont regret it.

There is no homework in this class. Power point presentations are purely informative and are necessary for the research paper and exam essays that your grades will be based off of. I would not characterize this class as easy because it is not even for Chinese natives. However, it is engaging and if you have a genuine interest in learning something non-Western, this is a great class to gain insights into China and its transformations. Moreover, I am grateful for the opportunity to learn it from an indigenous Chinese scholar professor who will give a more profound and relateable experience.

If you have issues with writing and reading, you may want to be careful when selecting this class (or frankly, any history classes). Our research paper, while the topic was of our own choices, was mandated to be 12-15 pages long. After awhile, I feel like I am just rambling. Nevertheless, this class does boost students' writing, analytic, and information processing skills.

To get a real sense of what Chinese history spanned, take this class for sure.