My First Impression of China: Washingtonians' Trips to the Middle Kingdom

The year 2014 marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the normalization of the diplomatic relations between the United States and China. Author Wendy Liu chose to honor that relationship by compiling thirty-five essays that detail some Americans' first impressions of their trip to China. presents reflections from a group of prominent Washingtonians, including those who established the Washington-Sichuan friendship-state relationship and the Seattle-Chongqing sister-city relationship. Their first trips to China took place from 1973 to 2008, covering the time the two countries cautiously opened liaison offices in each other's capitals to the time of the Beijing Olympics. provides insight into the changes in American attitudes toward China as well as changes in China's political, cultural, and technological landscape.