My new Chinese friends (1957)

My new Chinese friends (1957)

We were housed at Beijing University (Beida), a strikingly beautiful western style campus with colorful traditional Chinese architecture.

Learning together in dormitory

Learning together in dormitory (1957)

All buildings belonging to university departments looked to me like Chinese temples of wisdom, red jewels scattered in a huge green park around a lake.

In the evening, I was surprised and scared to find small, inoffensive lizards crawling on windows screen, occasionally finding a way to get inside.

My new Chinese friends (1957)

My new Chinese friends (1957)

I was surrounded by many Chinese friends, warm, kind and helpful.