In spring 1989, the United States watched intently as televised reports relayed the events unfolding in Beijing's (China) Tiananmen Square. This concern for a people whose culture and political institutions are significantly different reflects a continuing and compelling interest in China. Although historians and journalists in the United States long have observed a "special relationship" between the two countries, which has included periods of optimistic friendship as well as tragic conflict, China studies have been neglected in U.S. classrooms. Where it is not overlooked, China is too often the victim of stereotyping or specious generalizations. To encourage effective teaching about China, this ERIC Digest examines: (1) the political status of China; (2) reasons for teaching about China; (3) approaches to teaching about China; and (4) China's place in the pre-collegiate curriculum. (DB)