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QC11122015

for breaking news visit www.qns.com november 12, 2015 • The QUEENS CourieR 77 VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS vschneps@gmail.com Thomas Chen, CEO of Crystal Windows and fellow Queens Museum board member, invited me to visit China with a delegation from the states. After two years of preparation, I was delighted that the trip finally came together. Following a long 17-hour flight, I arrived in Beijing to begin my sojourn, and to go from there to Shanghai and then Guangzhou, further south. I had fond memories of my last trip to Beijing with former Borough President Claire Shulman and CBS’s Marsha Kramer. On that trip, we were hosted by the Xian Tourist Bureau to visit the site of the w o r l d - f a m o u s , incredible terracotta soldiers buried for centuries and unearthed decades ago. So, returning to Beijing was filled with powerful, positive memories. This trip brings together the U.S. Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the America- China Hotel Association, international business leaders and entrepreneurs. We met with the head of the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce. Assemblyman Felix Ortiz was one of the elected officials at the event, whose goal is to extend hospitality and encourage American companies to do business in China. During our stay, we had a Mongolian dinner show at our own little building. We were seated at an enormous round table with a lazy Susan to bring 15 different dishes to all 30 of us. I had the opportunity to speak at one of the sessions about the state of media in the United States but I was compelled to share with the large Chinese audience (yes, they had translators) my love of China and its people. I even expressed my belief that I must have been Chinese in my past life! I found time to explore the five floors of the silk market selling everything from shoes to clothes to jewelry to electronic equipment! I encountered people from around the world and got tons of compliments from the vendors calling out from their tiny stall/stores, ‘Come in, my beautiful lady!’ And I certainly did. What fun it was! About three-fourths of the delegation had been born in China and came to America, where they built enormous success. I was impressed by people like John Lam, who created what is now the 14th largest hotel group in the U.S.A., and Long Deng, who was one of our Kings of Queens a few weeks ago and heads a company he created that is now owner of a supermarket chain, property developments, a food importer and even a farmland producer that supplies his stores! The two men chaired and hosted the 2015 US political and business friendship delegation of which I was one of the 29 people from the states! These self-made men, enormously successful, both expressed their wish to follow their dream of better relations on multiple levels. They have begun and I was honored to be a part of it. The visit included a bus ride to where one of the hosts was building a factory to build modular housing. We were part of the ribbon cutting. The ceremony was interestingly done indoors at a hotel. Richard Chuk and his smart, savvy businesswoman wife Marilyn had invited us to the city an hour and half from Beijing. One of his building projects is in Brooklyn near the Barclays Center. He’s also been building modular units at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As I leave the wondrous city of Beijing anear the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City sites I visited on my last trip, I’m off to Shanghai, a city I never visited that is a two-hour flight from Beijing - usually. But traveling entails delays, long walks in terminals and this flight was no different. We sat on the runway for over an hour. But all the troubles melt away as the beautiful people I meet and the unique sites I see make up for the hassles of travel. victoria’s secrets tweet me @vschneps Dynamic $1000 off Lumineers $500 off Invisalign DENTAL WORK Free Whitening included the inViSiBle WAy to Some excluSionS Apply StrAighten teeth third generation dentist 175-15 Jamaica avenue, Jamaica 718-297-4100 • 718-297-4106 Off to China Check out the whole roasted lamb served at a Mongolian dinner show. Assemblyman Felix Ortiz helped cut the ribbon at the ground-breaking ceremony for Richard and Marilyn Chuk’s modular building factory. A Mongolian performer presented me with ribbon and whiskey at the dinner show.


QC11122015
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