My Life as a Chinese-American: A Cross-Cultural Adventure

Hello, everyone. My name is Yu Zhongmei—that’s right, Zhongmei, Yu Zhongmei, Zhongmei Zhongmei. My name is a living, breathing bridge between China and the U.S. I’m an American woman born in Dalian and raised in the U.S. My dad was a former White House correspondent for *The New York Times*, and my mom is an English teacher. They hoped I would become a bridge between China and the U.S. But what about me? I was actually more drawn to the arts. In the 1980s, my parents came from the U.S. to Dalian, China, and that’s where I was born. When I was six, our whole family moved back to the U.S.—just as China’s Reform and Opening-Up was getting underway. My parents didn’t want me to forget Chinese, so I became a regular at Chinese cultural events. After returning to the U.S., my parents posted notices at bus stops in Madison to reach out to family members of visiting scholars from China, asking them to come teach me Chinese. My older sister was born in the U.S. but came back to Dalian with us to attend school. They named her “Dalian,” saying it was a beautiful name in English. As for me, they felt I should lead a different kind of life, so they named me “Zhongmei.” After returning to the U.S. at age six, I attended school there all the way through my senior year of high school. My parents thought it was time to settle down, but I wanted to go back to China to make my mark. I was captivated by Beijing’s skyscrapers and the Forbidden City’s red walls and blue tiles. But having grown up in the U.S., I realized that returning to China to study Chinese was the most natural thing for me to do. Before I became an adult, I’d visited China once or twice—not to study, but to travel. I especially loved Beijing and that feeling of familiarity mixed with strangeness. So I decided to study in Beijing, though my parents worried I wouldn’t be content with the status quo. But I thought that in China, I could communicate in Chinese more naturally. Why go to the U.S. to learn Chinese, then? It’s just too much trouble. I earned my bachelor’s degree at Beijing Normal University, where I studied Chinese classical dance. With 56 ethnic groups and seven or eight major dynasties—each with its own distinct dances and costumes—it was this diversity that captivated me most. Later, I began to consider studying broadcasting at the Communication University of China. The reason was simple: I learned Chinese by watching *Xinwen Lianbo* (the national news broadcast), and I was so impressed by the anchors’ eloquence. When I asked around, I found out they were all graduates of the Communication University of China. I realized that studying there would allow me to gain a deeper understanding of China—not just through dance, but also through history and culture. In college, I participated in the “Chinese Bridge” competition. That competition changed the course of my life. From then on, I began expressing myself through social media. I watch my videos every day, constantly making adjustments in the hope of improving. But honestly, I’m never quite good enough. When I look at other people’s work, I always feel like something is missing. After graduating from the Communication University, I first worked in children’s English content before gradually transitioning to becoming a social media blogger. Every day, I ask myself: What exactly do I want to say? I’ve discovered that the comment sections on social media are like a stage filled with a mix of emotions. I’ve started collecting others’ comments and analyzing them. Perhaps this holds more value than my own expressions. Now, every day I think about how I can bridge the cultural gap between China and the U.S. through my social media content. I hope to become the link that connects these two worlds. Although it’s not easy, I’m willing to give it a try. After all, life is an adventure, isn’t it?