I was born in China 1 month aft Mao died. When I was born, China was a desperately poor country. My Grandparents lived thru Warlords, Japanese invasion and Civil War. Parents went thru Great Famine and Cultural Revolution. Transformation of China in last 40 yr is unprecedented.

I lived thru 1980s China including Tiananmen Protest. Then I lived 29 yrs in US, went to high school and Uni there. Yet some Westerners with barely any Chinese language skills think they know China better than me because I’m a brainwashed Chinese? lol

Back in 1st grade in China in 1982, we tried to imagine the future brought by Reform and Opening.

1 classmate: “if by the time we grow up, it’s permissible to kiss a girl in public, would you do it?”

It seemed far fetched back then.

Me and Sis at West Lake in Hangzhou in 1982

To my youngest cousin who was born in China in 1990s, towering over my sis and her mom bc better nutrition, it’s hard to explain life in China in 1980s. Not even gonna bother w my US born niece who btw has recovered from pneumonia. I accidentally wore niece’s shirt in the photo