In 1996, when Peter Hessler taught at a small college in Sichuan Province, 90 percent of his students came from villages. Mr. Hessler, 5 feet 9 inches, towered over them by about half a head. Mr. Hessler returned to China in 2019 to teach at Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute. This time, all his nonfiction writing students came from cities, and some of the women in his class were even taller than him. But the political system that defined society had not changed one bit, Mr. Hessler writes in his new book, “Other Rivers: A Chinese Education.”

---

Persons: Peter Hessler, Hessler, ” Organizations: Chicago Bulls, Sichuan University, Pittsburgh Institute, World Bank Locations: Sichuan Province, China