Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand 
why the old poets of China went so far
and high 
into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver



The UP Asian Center welcomed last May 2021 a donation of 398 volumes, inclusive of 357 titles, from the China International Book Trading Corporation (CIBTC).

This latest donation features books about China, including 17 brochures that portrays life and heritage in China; a set of postcards entitled The 24 solar terms: Charm of China showcasing the Chinese traditional calendar, and 44 posters—measuring 889 mm x 1194mm—illustrating the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

For details, please check the preliminary inventory list prepared by Jonjon Katigbak and Alessandra Guimba, with the assistance of Andrew Pedrosa. The guide to the collection will follow in due course.

The China Book Center of the UP Asian Center Library was launched on 18 March 2019 thanks to the efforts of Prof. Joefe B. Santarita, who was instrumental in its planning and installation. It complements the existing China collection of the UP Asian Center, which offers a master's degree program in Asian Studies with specialization on China. View MA program outline and admissions process.

The UP Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D.  program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here