Trip with hope

Although this was her first trip to Erdos City, Anna invited more than a dozen businessmen and entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and the U.S. to accompany her.

"My staff told me that Erdos is full of coal, gas and other natural resources. So I brought some of my friends along to see whether there are opportunities," she said.

Two businessmen in her group had already been to the city and planned to invest in local tourism and the hotel industry. "I've already written two recommendation letters and I will personally introduce these two men to city mayors. I hope they can make some agreements," she told China.org.cn.

Kwok Yi-chung, chairman of Chinvest Funds in Hong Kong, plans to open a hotel in Erdos and asked Anna to introduce him to local authorities. He said: "I hope she can set up a bridge between social resources and my company. She is so nice and kind, and also has many friends."

As the plane descended and the airport appeared, Anna looked both nervous and excited. Sitting next to her holding her hands was her best friend Irving Kaufman, who has accompanied her for 20 years and is vice chairman of the Council for International Cooperation. "Everything is great! Your friends want to come and local officials will welcome them," he said.

Irving met Anna in 1970. At the time, he knew nothing about Chinese culture. "She is not only a wonderful person but a wonderful teacher. She is like an encyclopedia. She has a fantastic knowledge in depth since she was a reporter," he told China.org.cn. "She is strong and determined. She does what she believes is correct even if the rest of society didn't agree with her. And she has a deep love of her mother country even though she migrated to United States, became a citizen. And she has transferred that love to me. I'm an American, right? But I have also a deep love for Chinese people."

The plane landed; the door opened; Anna stepped out. Not very far away, a welcoming group including the deputy mayor of Erdos, Wang Fengshan, was waiting with smiles and flowers.