Tingting’s Letter To All

This is a letter from Zhang Tingting to all through Tony Shi (Zenghu). We are thankful to Tingting for her generous permission to let us publish it here. We are glad that we have managed to collect some of the photos of our schoolmates metioned in Tingting’s letter. These photos were all taken at our recent reunion. Thanks to Juliet Zhao (Lijuan) and Ruby Zhao (Changhong) for the photos.

Dear Tony,

I am suffering from an IT breakdown for the moment. As a result, my China Links address is not working. And my Chinese software has all disappeared somehow. I am therefore hoping to reach all our friends through you, particularly those who might have emailed me after the fantastic Shanghai gathering and the dreadful London bombing.

Yes, we have survived the suicide bombings. Life goes on pretty much as normal now.

My toddler twins and I left Shanghai on 3rd July. We took about five days to overcome the jetlag. But I have been thinking about our reunion and all the old class/schoolmates who turned up. It is such a wonderful time that we have had. Even better than 20 years ago when we were studying together. Just think how many conversations I ever had with Li Guoming then? Or Chen Wei for that matter? I honestly can think of none. But we shared jokes and laughters on Friday 1st July like long lost friends. It is a great feeling.

I am also amazed how some of us don’t seem to have changed at all physically after 20 years. Mo Li looks no more than 25; Wang Dong still looks like a teenager pretending to be a grown-up! More importantly, almost all of us seem to have come through life’s ups and downs as positive, caring and strong characters. I will always remember Wu Xiaoyuan’s moving speech. And I hope you have enough time to enjoy your baby, Wang Fang. Each of you will in your own way be my inspiration for many years to come.

I regret that I was unable to attend the second day’s gathering due to a very important appointment. I do feel that two to three days give us the time to know each other better. For anyone who is thinking of attending the next reunion, I recommend it, strongly.

So much for now, If you are visiting this part of the world some day, give us a shout.

All the best,

Tingting