As the 2008 Laurence Liu Scholar from Guangzhou, I was invited by Jeffrey Cheung, President of the Los Angeles – Guangzhou Sister City Association to represent Guangzhou to participate in the Hollywood Christmas Parade on November 30th. The Parade, the second largest one in Los Angeles area, took place on the Sunday of the Thanksgiving week. Having had just spent my first Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I was excited to have this opportunity to experience a sister city program in Los Angeles.

When we finally entered the Parade route, we all got off. Walking beside the float, we waved our hands and handed out brochures to the audience. “Merry Christmas”, we greeted them as loudly as we could. People responded to us very friendly. All of sudden, one man in the audience pointed at me and started shouting, “Guangzhou, Guangzhou, I have been to Guangzhou!” He waved his hands to me enthusiastically. I felt so touched that I waved back to him and said, “Welcome to Guangzhou again”. ...

Click our newsletter to read full story: Our Newsletter