In this paper, the authors outline the development of ELT in the PRC in the last 10 years or so as seen in the wider context of educational reform in the country and the new direction towards quality education. Despite the influence of communicative language teaching and other language teaching approaches from outside the country, ELT in China has retained some of its essentially “Chinese characteristics”. As for the future of ELT in the PRC, the authors feel that, given the growing importance of English and the enormous energy and enthusiasm in the PRC for learning the language in both the formal and informal contexts, ELT will continue to flourish. After all, for many individuals and for the country itself, English is a bridge to the future.