To home and back.

I should have written about China a long time ago, but since I am a procrastinator--here you have it, three weeks later. What's there to say about this experience? It's not like I haven't been to China before. I was born there and lived there for 6 years until I came to the U.S. But going back this time was different. I'm 17 now and I understand things a little better than I did when I was 14.

Let me just start with the places I briefly visited: Beijing and Hong Kong.

Beijing is simply magnificent. I didn't know I had such a strong liking to this history stuff, but I was blown away when I saw the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. The buildings are still so beautiful and intact--it's amazing how emperors used to live there thousands of years ago. I now understand what my dad means when he brags about China's glory. We could have been number one, you know.

The Roast Peking Duck wasn't as good as I expected. The sauce was all there is to is. I'm not used to the light taste of Northern Chinese foods; I prefer flavorful Cantonese dishes. But it was something worth trying.

Another thing worth noting from my trip to Beijing was the obvious poverty. While walking through the Summer Palace, I had an unfinished bottle of water in my hand. It was probably 1/3 full. This old woman, with a tired expression yet soulful eyes, looked at me desperately. She pointed to her bag of empty water bottles and asked me if I could give her mine. I wasn't too thirsty then but I just chugged down my water. I dropped the water bottle in her bag with a faint smile but couldn't look her in the eye. Sometimes I hate facing reality.

I want to write more about China but this post is long overdue. In short, leaving Zhanjiang was bittersweet. There was that classic waving-from-a-train scene except it was a coach bus, not a train. My eyes get teary every single time I have to say goodbye to my beloved family over there. But I am so glad I got to spend three weeks with my family. They're probably all rooting for me here in America.

View my China photos through this public Facebook link here.