Once I became interested in China, I flew to Beijing in 1996 to spend half a year studying Mandarin. The city stunned me.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I wanted to do something far from my intellectual and physical home, so I went to live in Beijing for eight months and took Mandarin Chinese.
I went to China for a brief working visit, and I thought that Shanghai was interesting, but Beijing totally grabbed me.
I've been going to China every year now for more than a decade.
Growing up in Singapore, I wasn't allowed to visit China. So when I was finally able to go there after the country began opening up to tourism in the 1990s, I found it to be utterly astounding.
Six months after that, I left Taiwan, first for Hong Kong and then for mainland China, where I spent another three months studying still more Chinese and generally kicking around the country.
I certainly gained a lot by reading about Shanghai.
Beijing was a huge slap in the face, and it forced me to look at myself. I have to realise that this is my life.
My major in college was Chinese Studies. It was very intentional.
I first came to China as a child on a visit with my family in 1978.
In order for me to write a scene, it's very important for me to see and experience everything with my own eyes, so yes, I was able to visit some remarkable houses and destinations while I was in China.
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