Delegates and departures: Tong Xirong

"The first time I went abroad was to Australia as part of a delegation authorized by the Ministry of Justice in 1999," said Tong Xirong, former vice-president of East China University of Political Sciences and Law in Shanghai.

The 68-year-old spent about a month with the delegation, visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

"I was curious about everything at the time, even though I had seen what the country looked like in television programs," he said, laughing. "The fruit in Australia was much more expensive than in Shanghai."