The first Chinese textbook titled My Chinese Classroom, which targets foreigners and their families working in Shanghai, was recently released. Chinese teachers for foreigners said that the textbook filled a gap in Chinese teaching for both foreigners and their families.

Currently there are 40,000 foreigners living in Shanghai. A survey shows that Shanghai is chosen by them as the most suitable city to live in. According to the Shanghai government's plan, the population of permanent resident aliens will reach 1.5 million by 2010.

At the beginning of 2004, the I Mandarin Training Center and the Shanghai Translation Publishing House began jointly compiling a set of textbooks, targeting foreigners working in Shanghai and their families. A year later, the new textbook My Chinese Classroom was finally completed. It is reported that this textbook, as the fruit of painstaking work by many professionals, will participate in the national book exhibition and will be released overseas. Some experts regard this practical textbook as China's first for foreign housewives.
 
(Chinanews.com February 22, 2005)