Abstract: Beyond Distance Education: Cutting-edge Perspectives on the Future of Global Open Universities is initiated by the Open University of China. It is an outstanding contribution and a first valuable collection by the leaders of 16 higher education institutions worldwide and the majority of them are open universities. The volume is an accurate and a clear reflection of the futures of open and distance education from an international perspective. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 created unprecedent-ed disruption in the field of education. Higher education institutions in the world, such as colleges and universities, have all migrated to online education, which unlocks the door for open universities, but with challenges. The volume not only presents a regional landscape of open and distance education, but also demonstrates historical contributions made by open universities as a special mode in higher education system. It is of great significance to the future development of global open universities.