Shenzhan Liao 廖申展

Shenzhan Liao is an educator, writer, and longtime New Yorker whose life has unfolded between China and the United States.

Born and raised in Rongchang, a small town in Chongqing, southwestern China, she graduated from Beijing Normal University and came to New York in 2002 as a young student. She went on to study anthropology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University — and gradually discovered New York as a place of possibility, challenge, belonging, and home.

Since 2008 she has worked at China Institute of America, where she is Senior Vice President of Education and Head of the School of Chinese Studies. Her work in language, culture, and education has brought her into close contact with generations of students, teachers, artists, and communities across New York, and has made her a longtime participant in educational and cultural exchange between the United States and China.

In 我与纽约 (My New York: An Ordinary Person’s Twenty Years in America), Shenzhan turns from her professional life to a more personal journey, sharing the people, places, encounters, and everyday moments that have shaped her relationship with the city. For her, New York is not simply a place on a map — it is a city continually being discovered, interpreted, and made one’s own.

She lives in Astoria, Queens.

A journey in brief

1. Rongchang, ChongqingGrows up in a small town in southwestern China.
2. BeijingStudies at Beijing Normal University.
3. 2002Arrives in New York on August 27 as a student.
4. Teachers College, Columbia UniversityStudies anthropology and education.
5. 2008Joins China Institute of America, beginning a career in education and cultural exchange.
6. 2026Publishes 我与纽约：一个普通人的留美二十年 with MullStar Press.
7. 2027English edition of the book expected.