Pan Weilian, a professor at Xiamen University's School of Management, has lived in China for 37 years, knows and loves it, and has traveled around China twice.
In the latest episode of the main station's "Let's Talk" program, Pan Weilian talked about the development and changes he saw in this land through a unique humorous perspective.
An "invitation" that fell from the sky brought him to Xiamen.
Pan Weilian is the first foreigner in Fujian Province to hold a Chinese green card and the first foreign permanent resident. As an American, he said that he has a "foreigner" face and an "insider" heart.
Before the age of 20, Pan Weilian did not know much about China. Later, after learning that Xiamen University accepts foreign students and can provide accommodation for them and their families, Pan Weilian and his family embarked on a journey to Xiamen to study XiChinese at Xiamen University.
Pan Weilian's family.
At the end of the 80s, when there was a big difference in living conditions between China and the United States, Professor Pan Weilian once joked that he always "gritted his teeth and lived his life", and the first thing he exercised was his jaw muscles.
For Pan Weilian's family, life was full of "challenges": water and electricity were frequent, food stamps were not allocated to foreigners, and there were no taxis and only three ......bus lines in Xiamen at that timeBut the warm friendship of the Chinese made the foreign family determined to stay.
In 1988, after studying Chinese at Xiamen University for a semester, Pan Weilian received a job offer from the School of Management. "I thought about it for 10 seconds and said yes, it's a godsend!Pan Weilian said.
After he got the "green card", he continued to tell the Chinese story well.
In 1992, Pan Weilian made a move that shocked his family by applying for permanent residency in China. At that time, there were no foreigners in Fujian who had obtained "green cards".
In the early 90s, most of my students wanted to go abroad. I applied for permanent residency in order to convey to students my determination to stay in China for a long time. I firmly believe that the center of gravity of the world economy will return to Asia and Africa, and that reform and opening up will bring unlimited opportunities to China. ”
As he lived there for a longer time, he found that China was not the same as what was reported by foreign media, and began to tell the world about the real China through letters.
In the 90s, in order to show his family and the Western world what China is really like, Pan Weilian spent three months driving 40,000 kilometers around China twice. The cameras and camcorders he carries with him record the rapid development of China's cities and villages. Along the way, he gained a deeper, more authentic understanding of China.
In 2019, Pan Weilian published a new book, I Don't See Outside: A Letter from Lao Pan's China, which records and presents the historical process and great changes of China's reform and opening up from the unique perspective of a foreigner. When he was awarded the "Moving China 2019 Person of the Year", Pan Weilian said: "It is not that I moved China, but that China moved myself. ”
The world marvels at China's bridge-building technology, and Pan Weilian feels that the Chinese's ability to build roads is more worthy of admiration: "* There are roads!."I have been to more than 40 countries, and none of them are like this. ”
Pan Weilian's experience over the past 37 years has made Pan Weilian full of emotion: "The biggest change in China is that the Chinese have become more confident and love the country, which cannot be bought with money." ”
Aladdin may be a Chinese.
Pan Weilian, who likes to study Chinese history and culture, brought the "magic lamp" props and related storybooks to the show, and the cover and illustrations of the book are full of Chinese style.
He told the students that the earliest version of Aladdin's story appeared more than 300 years ago, and although the author was Syrian, he was set in China. At that time, the author considered China to be the most magical, richest, and most distant country, so Aladdin was probably Chinese. ”
Pan Weilian is also a traveler, and in 2024, he plans to embark on his third trip around China.
I will continue to follow the original route and witness the latest developments and changes in China, I am looking forward to it!”