Chinese-American students talk about visits to China

According to a report by the US's Sing Tao Daily, Shandong-style pancakes sold on the streets of Beijing, busy streets in Shanghai, and cultural and historical scenic spots across China became the Chinese experiences that some American students talked excitedly about during their summer vacation. On September 15, students from the University of Southern California (USC) talked about their unique experiences in China.

According to a report by the US's Sing Tao Daily, Shandong-style pancakes sold on the streets of Beijing, busy streets in Shanghai, and cultural and historical scenic spots across China became the Chinese experiences that some American students talked excitedly about during their summer vacation. On September 15, students from the University of Southern California (USC) talked about their unique experiences in China.

Wang Huili is now a senior pursuing a double-major in USC's department of international and public relations. Her father is from Hong Kong and her mother is from South Korea. According to her school plan, Wang spent two months studying at Beijing-based Capital Normal University during her summer vacation.

Wang said that during the two months, she chatted with local Beijing people to practice Chinese and learn the Beijing dialect. She visited the Bird's Nest, Water Cube and other Olympic venues. She also visited the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province and Qufu, Confucius's hometown in Shandong Province. She felt she lived fully everyday and her Chinese improved a lot. In addition, Wang particularly loves the Shandong-style pancakes sold on the streets of Beijing. When she shared her experiences in China with her classmates, she highly praised these pancakes, saying they are cheap but delicious. She said if there is an opportunity, she wants to visit Beijing again and look for a job after graduation.

Han Lu, a USC student studying film and television program production, was born in China and went to the US when she was nine. She also learned a lot in China during her summer vacation. She worked together with students and teachers from the Communication University of China to shoot a short documentary which is about a soldier who becomes a monk.

Han, who studied Chinese classical literature at Stanford University before, said that every time she returned to China, she feels good, but sometimes she feels herself "Americanized." Then when she returned to the US, she found her ways of thinking very "Chinese." She thinks however that her proficiency in both English and Chinese and experience of living in Europe give her many unique cultural advantages that others do not have. Her documentary is being further perfected and hopefully will be shown during the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.

Annie Gillman, a political science student with blonde hair and blue eyes, studied the Chinese language in Shanghai-based Fudan University during the entire summer. She said that chatting with taxi drivers and talking with classmates in Chinese are good ways of learning the language in China. The busy streets and subway lines being built day and night in Shanghai impressed her a lot.

Jaimee Yellin, a sociology postgraduate, feels strongly about her first experience of a series of "mysterious" traditional Chinese medicine skills, including pulse taking, complexion observation and tongue coat checking. After travelling in north and south China, she was impressed by the diverse cultural features of the country. She thinks Beijingers are talkative and hospitable, but a little sensitive to politics. In contrast, people in Chengdu, Sichuan Province are very candid.

Translated by LOTO