We are a family

Updated:28/07/11 16:24:54 PM CST

Students from the United States learn kungfu during their stay in China. Provided to China Daily

Mark Watson is experiencing a very different China from the one his grandfather discovered as a US marine officer in the late 1950s. The 16-year-old Magnet High School student from South Carolina says he enjoys the "delightful" experience of touching China's "fascinating" culture, during his first trip outside of his motherland.

Watson and 41 other students are touring six cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. They have been riding rickshaws through Beijing's hutong, visiting the Terracotta Warriors in Shaanxi's provincial capital Xi'an and marveling at Kunqu Opera's costumes and music. They also study Chinese calligraphy in Yuyuantan Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Jiangsu province's Suzhou city. Apart from seeing such sceneries as the Great Wall and countryside, and watching pandas at the zoo, Watson believes the trip has promoted him and locals to better understand each other.

This track of the adventure has been particularly broadening for 17-year-old Casey Adams. "I first thought maybe Chinese people don't like us," says the high school student from Virginia. "I don't know why. It's just a kind of feeling that they don't like Americans. But people here are so friendly and want to take pictures with us. It's so amazing!"

Adams says she will explain China's realities to her stepmother who was worried about her taking the trip and other Americans who have negative perceptions about the country.
She says: "Maybe we can change their minds, and maybe we can also ask them to come to China in person."
Volunteer team leader Cindy Enroughty says most of American families have indicated unwillingness to let their children visit China since she started working for the program five years ago. But fewer voice questions now and many parents cherish the “once-in-a-lifetime chance".
"Hopefully, after the trip, these students will take into account that Chinese and Americans are all the same," Enroughty says, “Our hair and skin colors are different, but inside we are all the same. And when these students go back, they're going to tell their friends how wonderful Chinese people are," she continues. "That's how they help advance world peace."

Tag: china