From sadness to success

I was 10 when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949. That same year, I was chosen as a member of the Chinese delegation at an international children's summer camp in what was then the Soviet Union.

Sadly, I missed my chance because my parents were unable to get my official uniform ready in time for the trip. That's still a source of great disappointment, because the children were presented to Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union at the time.

Russian culture, including movies, novels, poetry, music, dance and other art forms influenced me a lot, and helped to form my view of life.