Personal File
Name： Hussein IsmailNationality： EgyptianOccupation： Senior Editor， Reporter
Time in China： 15 yearsAbout 15 years ago， there was a particulartrend among young Egyptians — to goabroad and seek out a personal path. One suchyoungster， unsure about where to go （most ofhis friends chose Europe or the US）， suddenlyrecalled the prophet Mohamed’s saying， “Seekknowledge， even in China.” The young man’sdecision was made. His name is Hussein Ismail.
256 A New Movie Every Day“Living in China is like watching a different movie every day， says Hussein， with a twinkle in his eye. “I never get tired of the changestaking place here. He is the Arabic editor of China Today （China International PublishingGroup）， where he’s worked for 15 years.
“One of my hobbies is just looking at Beijing： the streets， buildings，neon lights… Everything in China is changing.” What attractsHussein most is the people. He says he likes to look at the eyes， ears，mouths of the Chinese. This might sound strange， until you realize thathe just wants to know the differences in features between the Chineseand the Arabs， to find out why China has undergone such rapid economicdevelopment in the past 20 years.
“Many Chinese people have left a deep impression on me， fromtop leaders of the state to the common people I’ve met on the streets， he says. “I was impressed by Deng Xiaoping’s theory， and the personalitiesof the former premier， Zhu Rongji， and the current premier， WenJiabao. “China’s reform and opening-up policy is driven by internal aswell as external factors，” he continues. “That is to say， the Chinese have a strong willingness to make changes.” He points to the door andsays， “For instance， it was as if people were locked up in this room.
One day， the door opened and the people inside rushed out， with theirheady desires and aspirations.” This is his metaphor for China.
“Where did this strong will come from?” This is what Husseinhas been pondering for a long time. Recently he read the Book ofChanges， a classic work of philosophy that was composed 3，000 yearsago by a student of Taoism， and influenced philosophers such as LaoZi （Lao Tzu） and Confucius. Hussein was pleasantly surprised to discoverthat there was such magnificent work done thousands of yearsago in China. He also found that “the concept of poverty gives riseto a desire for change” and this was already deeply rooted in Chinesepeople’s minds even then.
“Present-day China is a result of its long cultural history，” hesays， now satisfied that he’s found the answer.
Muslim commandment： Seek Knowledge， Even in ChinaBefore he came to China， Hussein knew very little about thecountry. Now he is almost an expert. In fact he almost seems embarrassedto recall his first visit in 1992.
When Hussein graduated in 1987 from the Department of PoliticalScience， Cairo University， he only knew about China from textbooks.
He had read about China’s foreign policy and its leaders， MaoTse-tung and Zhou Enlai， for example; his grandfather had also toldhim of legends： Chinese women had long necks because they sleptface-up on pillows; Chinese women had extraordinarily small feetbecause they put their feet in specially-made porcelain bottles to keepthem from growing. Hussein learned later that cloth-binding was responsiblefor the size of their feet.
“At the time， I knew very little about China， and had no ideawhether what I learned was true or wrong，” he says.
258 Despite working at the Egyptian State Information Bureau aftergraduating， he had little knowledge of China.
So why did he come to China?
“Many Egyptian students were planning to go abroad after graduation.
Most of my friends chose Western countries， and I was thinkingof going to France. Very few people considered China， a country totallyunfamiliar to them. While he was deciding where to go， his grandfather said， “Youshould go to China！ Mohamed said， ‘Seek knowledge， even in China，’
meaning that China is far away， but it is still a place where you couldfind knowledge. “So， after thinking about it for a year， I finally decided to go toChina. This was definitely a choice different from the others，” saysHussein.
At 12 noon on September 30， 1992， Hussein arrived at BeijingAirport.
“Why do I still remember this day so accurately? Because it wasthe most important turning point in my life. I came to China！” Husseinsays excitedly， his face shining.
China has been an integral aspect of his life from then on. One ofhis proudest moments came when he had the privilege of witnessingthe gradual process of China’s opening up.
“I Was Taken Aback by Their Diligence As an editor and reporter， Hussein has visited many places inChina. In 1998 when Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region celebratedits 40th anniversary， he was invited to attend the ceremony. He wasthrilled.
“What attracted me to the place was its poverty， and the Hui Muslims， he says.
After arriving in Ningxia， he found that the communication facilitiesthere were as good as those in Beijing. “You can communicatewith any part of the world，” he adds. “When I walked into the TelecommunicationCenter， I felt as if I was in a hotel. I was taken abackby the superb service of the staff there. The whole place was as if oncehidden behind history.
“However， the poverty in the region was obvious. How to reduce poverty became one of his preoccupations. HuaxiVillage of Ningxia presented him with the best model of cooperationbetween the eastern and western regions in China， for a common distributionof wealth.
“Before visiting Huaxi Village in Ningxia， I had a chance to visitHuaxi Village in Jiangsu Province， the first village in China to achievecommon wealth since the reform and opening-up，” he says. “In fact， it’