Context: Between 1998 and 2003, 68 e-colleges were established as a result of the Modern Distance Education Project funded by the Chinese government. This research concentrates on the online distance learning degree courses offered by e-colleges in two cities of Guangdong: Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Literature review: Debate around the teacher-centred and learner-centred views of education and major educational influences on contemporary model of Chinese education are examined. Research into students' characteristics and needs are explored. Learner-centred teaching approaches in higher education and distance learning are considered. Lifelong learning, open learning and flexible learning as desirable features of online distance learning are examined. Methodology and methods: The multi-method phenomenological qualitative methodology is chosen because I am interested in the research participants' perspectives. The nature of the research, the suitability of phenomenological perspective to my worldview and the fitness of the selected methods to the phenomenological qualitative methodology are considered. Implications of the methodology for trustworthiness and ethics of the research are examined. The investigation: Conducted in the late summers of 2002/03, 16 individuals were involved: 12 students at three e-colleges; two teachers of English at a senior secondary school in Shenzhen; a teacher of English at an e-college; an officer at the Provincial Educational Bureau of Guangdong. Attention was paid to ethics of the investigation. Primary data were gathered using semi-stractured interviews (supplemented by a questionnaire). Secondary data comprise governmental documents and research papers in Chinese. The use of multiple methods and multiple participants for data collection was intended to help triangulating the research. Findings: Characteristics of the Guangdong online distance learning context are identified. Strengths and problems in educational policies, teaching and learning practices relative to online distance learning in Guangdong are examined. Recommendations are made in relation to policy-making and teaching-learning practices in online distance learning in Guangdong.