Written by Cindy Miao from Maryland, USA The sunset filtered through the windows of the diner, painting my grandmother’s face in shades of brightness, each stroke easing away the lines of age on her face. “ Two miles to the market, 孩子 . Two miles on foot! You had to haggle with the merchant there- imagine: 10 yuan for one 葱油饼 . ” My mother, who sat across the booth, gasped in disbelief. Sunlight also flooded her features, adding a defiant glint to her eyes. “ 10 yuan? That’
Written by Iris Zhu from California, USA One blazing summer after the school year ended, I left America and returned to my mother's hometown in Changsha, China. Along the Xiang River and capital of the Hunan Province, Changsha comes from a Mandarin word meaning “a long sandy place,” and it is average-sized. In China, this means around 10 million inhabitants. The city is known for its local, spicy cuisine and small, meandering alleyways teaming with bustling stores and restaur
