Joann Pittman

Joann Pittman

Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs.

Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).

Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).

She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.

Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."

You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.

She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.

Latest

Recommended Read—Shanghai Faithful

When a Catholic Chinese-American journalist discovers that her grandfather was a prominent Anglican church leader in China in the 1940s and that her granduncle was none other than the famous house church leader, Watchman Nee, she did what every good journalist does—she set out to tell the story.

Pinyin—Writing the Sound

Pinyin is a system of writing the sounds of Chinese using English letters—an indispensable tool for learning to speak Chinese.

Urbanization Visualized

We talk a lot about the massive urbanization that has taken place in China since the 1980s but what does it look like?

Recent Articles on Islam in China

Last week Brent wrote about a Christian serving among China’s Muslims who joined in the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. Given the fact that we are now at the halfway point of the month of fasting, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some recent articles and resources about Islam in China.

China’s God-Shaped Vacuum

Our friends at The Gospel Coalition recently asked me to review Ian Johnson’s book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion after Mao. Last week, it was published under the title "China’s God-Shaped Vacuum." 

Missio Nexus China Ministries Cohort

This week ChinaSource is launching a China ministries cohort at Missio Nexus. It will be a place where those serving in China-related ministries can gather to discuss issues relevant to our work. Come join us!

Who’s In? An Update

An update on successful registrations under the new Overseas NGO Law and an invitation to join us at the Reformation 500 conference in Hong Kong. 

The Chinese Internet–by the Numbers

Recently China Internet Watch produced a white paper on the Chinese Internet, titled “China Internet Statistics 2017.” The information and charts are based on the semi-annual report published in December 2016 by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

Urumqi!

I have been to Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region twice. The first time was in 1992; a teammate and I took the train. Back then it was a journey that took two days and three nights; today the fastest train makes the journey in 30 hours. On my second visit to Urumqi (in 2004) I also travelled by train, but from the southern Xinjiang city of Kashgar. That was a 24-hour run along the edge of the Taklimakan Desert.