Bai Da Wei is an American ex-patriate living in Changchun. His real name is David Puckett. Bai Da Wei is not a play on the familiar phrase "by the way" but is a Chinese name given to him when he attended the National University of Taiwan in 1975 and literally means "white big defense." It is also a pun in that the Chinese word "wei" sounds like the word for belly so many people joke with David saying his name really means, "white big belly."

No matter how you translate his name, David's love for China and Chinese children is a deep one that started many years ago when he first went to Taiwan. He spent a year as a student studying Chinese music. That year changed his life and afterwards he spent many years preparing for his return to China. That dream was realized in 1999 when he "semi- retired" early from his musical career to teach English to Chinese children in Changchun, Jilin, China.

David grew up in rural Ohio where his love for music was nurtured. He began his musical career as a soloist with the Columbus Boys Choir now the famed American Boys Choir in Princeton, NJ. He studied singing and piano nearly all his life and graduated with a B.A. in Music from Asbury College in 1977. He then began his professional career working as soloist, choir director, organist and actor in various churches, community choruses, local and off Broadway theatre. He has one master's degrees from Asbury Seminary and three years of study at Yale University where he met Robert Shaw. Mr. Shaw, then the Musical Director of the Atlanta Symphony Chorus invited David to Atlanta in the early nineties where he began working with Mr. Shaw and numerous other professional musical organizations.

Coming to China was a natural move for David not only because of his dream to return to China but because of his love for children and teaching. When the Women's Federation of Changchun invited him to start an English Language School in the Changchun Women's and Children's Activity Center during the summer of 2000, he had no idea of the success of the school. Together with his Chinese partner, Liu Xi Jun, known to all as Yun Ming, they have grown from three foreign teachers with a single office and two classrooms to a faculty of 15 foreign teachers in five locations and a complete Chinese support staff including office managers, receptionists, accountant, foreign affairs assistant, teacher supervisor and many excellent Chinese teacher assistants. The school includes a offices, a restaurant, and resource lab.

David and Yun Ming feel very fortunate to be a part of the Changchun Women's and Children's Activity Center and realize that their success is due to the great talents and efforts of many people. The school's success is also due to over 2000 students who attend the school and give great motivation to provide the best English education as possible.