The expansion of the Fulbright Program in China since 2004 represents a larger pool of Chinese intellectuals who have been enlightened in America and are expected to put their enhanced human capital to good use back home. While the Chinese scholars generally perceive the professional and personal effects of their Fulbright experience as tremendous, they have significantly underutilized these effects, largely due to the institutional and sociocultural constraints within China. The study concludes that given the institutional incompatibility between China and America, and laden with cultural baggage, the “enlightened” Chinese intellectuals could hardly live up to the U.S. government’s expectations.