William N. Brown cycling on campus Brown with his family in Xiamen, 1988 Brown performing his original song "A Xiamener from Afar" at his home in the Xiamen University staff residential quarter William N. Brown  A professor from the United States at Xiamen University. In 1992, he became the first American to obtain permanent residency in China in Fujian Province; in 1993, he was awarded the "Chinese Government Friendship Award"; in 2001, he was honored with the title of "Honorary Citizen of Fujian Province"; in 2020, he was recognized as one of the "Touching China 2019 Annual Figures" by CCTV.  At the appointed time for the photography and videography reporters of this newspaper to conduct the interview, someone knocked on the door. Pan Weilian opened the door. There were two people at the door, one holding a camera and the other holding a video camera.  Pan Weilian stared at them expressionlessly and said, "Sorry, I'm not buying anything!" As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed the door shut with incredible speed!  Was he experiencing a brief period of amnesia? Before the reporters could explain, Pan Weilian quickly opened the door again, beaming with a smile and saying, "I was just joking!"  After living in Xiamen for 36 years, this might be the most "American" aspect of Americaner Pan Willem apart from his appearance: the sudden and unobtrusive humor. Besides, this professor of American origin from Xiamen University's School of Management fits seamlessly into the Chinese population - he speaks fluent Mandarin and occasionally interjects a few common Minnan dialects; he understands many of the Chinese social customs and can get along amicably with some cultures that foreigners might find unacceptable; he tells Chinese stories in English and has earned the title of "Unfamiliar Professor".  The 68-year-old American, Pan Weilian, has been in Xiamen for 36 years. He has witnessed the unprecedented changes in Xiamen and even in China over the past 30 to 40 years. From a certain perspective, he has also been involved in some of these changes. Miracle From Knowing Nothing to Seeking Understanding He sold his company and crossed the oceans to Xiamen with his wife and children.  In 1988, Pan Weilian and his wife Susan, along with their two sons who were lying in a two-seater baby carriage, first flew from the United States to Hong Kong, and then boarded the "Jimei" cruise ship. Their destination was Xiamen.  Since then until now, every Chinese person that Pan Wilian has met for the first time has asked him the same question: Why China? Why Xiamen?  Pan Weilian believes it was fate. In theory, he was an unlikely American to visit China. His father was an American soldier who fought in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Before the age of 20, Pan Weilian knew nothing about China. He joined the US Air Force, and the Air Force sent him to Taiwan. This was not his choice. His superior comforted him: In today's world, one out of every four people is Chinese. But he retorted, "Sir, there are four people in my family, but not a single one is Chinese."  This American first learned about the mainland of China across the sea from the promotional materials dropped by the balloons floating over Xiamen. However, he was told: Don't look at those things!  Pan Wilian said, "What did you tell a 20-year-old young person not to do?" ！ At the US military base in Taiwan, 20-year-old Pan Weilian locked the door and drew the curtains. From his pocket, he pulled out those "prohibited items". He noticed that the people from the mainland looked just like the people around him. He also made up his mind that one day he would go to the other side to investigate, but he didn't know that the other side was Xiamen.  However, by the time Pan Weilian decided to come to China, several years had passed. By then, he had returned to the United States, completed his university studies and obtained a doctorate, got married, and his wife Susan was an American. They had two children and owned a profitable company.  However, he and Susan still decided to go to China. Even then, Pan Weilian still didn't know about Xiamen.  One day, he received a call from a stranger in Thailand: "I heard that you are coming to China. Have you heard of Xiamen?"  Pan Weilian said, "What is Xiamen?"  A week later, he received another call from a stranger in California: "I heard you're planning to move to China? Have you heard of Xiamen?"  Pan Weilian said, "Yes! I just heard about it last week!"  Pan Weilian then began to learn about Xiamen. He learned that Xiamen University had an overseas college that offered Chinese language education. Moreover, at that time, among all the universities in China, only Xiamen University provided accommodation for international students and their families.  This American's 37-year connection with Xiamen began rather uneventfully.  In 1988, Pan Weilian sold his company and together with his wife and their two children, he set off for Xiamen. What he didn't expect was that he never left Xiamen again. One of his sons married the daughter of a local fisherman in Zhongcuizhan. Challenge The foreign professor who is new here  To buy a tricycle, one has to get a certificate from someone.  From a certain perspective, this American remembers the changes that took place in Xiamen and throughout China much more clearly than many Chinese people do - 36 years ago, the contrast between China and the United States was too stark.  The challenge began when the entire family boarded the "Jimei" ship. Not long after boarding, Pan Wilian heard Susan screaming: "Cockroaches!" But soon, the cockroaches were nothing compared to what was to come - the family spent 18 hours on the ship and arrived in Xiamen. They had to go through all kinds of cumbersome procedures, and the immigration officers were highly suspicious and had a stiff attitude towards foreigners.  All of this is just the beginning. The traffic in Xiamen made it extremely difficult for the Pan Wil-liam family to move around. This American still clearly remembers the routes of the three buses on the island of Xiamen. Therefore, he took a liking to tricycles. Pan Wil-liam excitedly went to a small shop at the intersection of Zhongshan Road and Simei South Road to buy a tricycle. The shopkeeper wouldn't sell it to him because she heard that "the American economy is not doing well" and was worried that this American would use the tricycle to earn money by transporting passengers in China.  Finally, the leaders of Xiamen University wrote a certificate: Professor Pan Wilian would never use the tricycle to make money by carrying passengers. Pan Wilian had just bought the tricycle. However, he quickly understood the concerns of the landlady - when he rode the newly bought tricycle back to Xiamen University, someone on the roadside waved at him and asked: "How much does it cost to go to Zhongshan Park?"  The issue of electricity also once troubled the Pan Wilian family - in the 1980s and 1990s, not only were water and power outages common occurrences, but the voltage was also unstable. It seemed that within an hour, the voltage could drop from 220 volts to 100 volts, and then spike to 280 volts. Every now and then, Pan Wilian had to go to Hong Kong to repair the burnt-out electrical appliances.  Pan Weilian bought two transformers to save his electrical appliances. His two sons learned how to switch the voltage by observing the brightness of the lights from a young age.  However, looking back now, it was precisely these differences that made Pan Weilian fall deeply in love with Xiamen and China - he saw the pace of change was simply too rapid.  Pan Weilian said that for a while, he thought he had a complete understanding of everything in Xiamen. When the news of the construction of Haicang Bridge came, Pan Weilian felt that Xiamen was really crazy! He had been to Haicang and knew exactly what it had. He privately said that it would be a bridge leading to nothing.  Similarly, there were the development of the Ring Road and the commencement of construction at the SM Commercial City. Pan Wilian was worried about the future of these projects, but very soon, he realized that he had been completely wrong.  Pan Weilian said more than once: "I thought it would take China 50 or 60 years, or even 70 or 80 years to bring about these changes. But I never expected that many of these changes occurred in just a few years or even just a few decades."  As these kinds of changes became more and more frequent, this American felt that China was full of vitality.  Of course, there were also some objective factors. Less than two months into studying Chinese at Xiamen University, the only foreign teacher for the MBA (Business Administration) program at the Xiamen University School of Management left Xiamen prematurely. Dr. Pan Weilian, who has a background in business, was the ideal candidate. He began his teaching career at the Xiamen University School of Management. From this perspective, he also took part in the evolution of MBA education in China. Exploration Visited the west twice in 25 years to observe changes  But he said that he knew even less about China now.  On a summer morning in 1994, at 4 o'clock in the morning, Pan Weilian and his wife, along with their two children, set off by car from Xiamen University. It took them nearly three months to travel through more than half of China, covering a distance of 40,000 kilometers.  One of the motivations for this long journey was that whenever Pan Weilian introduced to his family and friends the changes in Xiamen and China, some people would question: "Surely there have been changes in coastal cities like Xiamen, but have you visited other inland provinces and cities in China?"  Pan Weilian decided to go and see for himself how large the gap was between the eastern and western regions of China.  Thirty years ago, Pan Weilian's journey westward was a feat of extraordinary courage - in 1994, China had no clear traffic signs. The Pan family walked this way - the son used a compass, he studied the map, Mrs. Pan relied on her feminine intuition, and they all guessed the direction together.  Sometimes the road signs are there, but they point in the wrong direction. Pan Weilian believes this is understandable because the locals already knew there was a curve ahead and this road was not leading to anywhere else.  Asking for directions is also a matter of great importance. This foreigner noticed that no one would admit not knowing the way. To avoid looking foolish, regardless of whether they knew or not, they would always point in one direction.  Therefore, Pan Weilian's journey westward was not without twists and turns back then.  However, the trip 30 years ago still deeply touched Pan Weilian. He said that many of the places he visited were indeed very backward, but in those remote areas, the government spent money to build roads, schools and hospitals.  On July 2nd, 2019, 25 years later, Pan Weilian set out to retrace the route he had taken 25 years ago, in order to observe the changes that had taken place in China over the past 25 years. The route was basically the same as 25 years ago, including Hangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, Yan'an, Lanzhou, Lhasa, Chengdu, Kunming, Guizhou, Guilin, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan.  In fact, the biggest change was him himself - Pan Weilian had already become a well-known "unreserved" professor. On that day, he set off with a team consisting of three vehicles, including a driver, photographer, and cameraman. His wife and children did not accompany him.  After 32 days, having traveled through 18 provinces and covering over 20,000 kilometers, Pan Weilian returned to Xiamen University. Confused, he told the reporters waiting there, "I feel even less understanding of China now. 'China is so vast, with so many people. How could such big changes occur in 25 years? Even remote areas have undergone significant changes!'"  He showed a photo of a bumpy road on the spot. No one could guess where it was taken. In fact, it was a road in Guangdong Province that was taken 25 years ago.  Another major change is the increase in greenery. Pan Weilian said that 25 years ago, the central and western regions of China were all "brown", but now many areas in the west are green.  Twenty-five years ago, he went to Lanzhou. He stayed at the best hotel there for three days and three nights. However, there was a water and power outage for two days and two nights. His family lived on the 24th floor and every day when they returned to the hotel, they were in great discomfort.  Twenty-five years later, he returned to Lanzhou and asked the locals, "Do you still have water and power outages?" The locals replied, "How could there be water and power outages?"  Pan Weilian wrote down his observations and experiences from the two trips in two books. One of them is "The Chinese Dream of the Chinese People - The Changes in Chinese People's Lives and Poverty Alleviation Efforts".  He admitted that he had been questioned by some people, which began when he became the first American to obtain permanent residency in Fujian Province. But he was puzzled by such questioning: "My love for China doesn't mean I don't love my native country, the United States." Moved He wrote 25 books.  Consciously tell the stories of China to the world  37 years ago, the cockroaches on the "Jimei" ship did not prompt the Pan Wilian family to turn back immediately. There was another important reason - the Chinese people.  That day, he had to wait in line for two hours with great difficulty, only to be told that his wife and son also had to join the queue. When he returned dejectedly with his wife and children, thinking that he would have to wait for another two hours, the crowd opened up a path and almost every Chinese person shouted to him, "Move to the front of the line!"  In 1999, Pan Weilian was hospitalized in a hospital in Hong Kong due to his illness. His condition was extremely serious at that time. The pain caused him to lose weight day by day and made him feel desperate. Pan Weilian said that at that time, he didn't know whether he could survive or not, nor did he know where to go - he neither wanted to return to the United States nor felt that his health was good enough to go back to Xiamen, where he might not be able to teach anymore.  When he was feeling down, the then Acting Governor of Fujian Province Xi Jinping send two colleagues with flowers to visit him in the hospital, warmly wishing him a speedy recovery and a return to his "home" in Xiamen, China. Pan Weilian said, "I was very surprised. I never expected this at all. How could he know about my situation? I'm just a teacher, an ordinary person."  Pan Weilian recalled that he was moved to tears at that moment. From that day on, he focused on recuperating and made up his mind to return to his home in Xiamen and be with his Chinese family again.  In November 2001, two years later, the Governor of Fujian Province Xi Jinping conferred upon William N. Brown the "Honorary Citizen of Fujian" certificate in Fuzhou, encouraging him to tell the story of China well to the world. Pan Weilian said: "He made me understand that not only do I have the opportunity to help foreigners (and locals) better understand China, but this opportunity also carries an important responsibility. He opened up a new perspective for me, a new China and a new world."  After that meeting, Pan Weilian began to present China's stories more seriously to the world. He wrote many books and contributed to winning the International Garden City Gold Award for places like Xiamen and Quanzhou.  In December 2018, William N. Brown's new book, "OFF THE WALL-HOW WE FELL FOR CHINA" was officially released. The book is a curated collection of 47 personal letters he wrote to his family and friends in the United States after arriving in Xiamen in 1988. Through a foreigner's eyes, it records and showcases the changes in China over three decades of reform and opening-up. A leader from Xiamen University sent this book to Chinese President Xi Jinping. On February 1, 2019, Xinhua News Agency released a report stating that President Xi Jinping had sent a reply to Professor William N. Brown of the School of Management at Xiamen University. In his letter, he wrote, "Xiamen is a great place. That place is your second hometown and also the place where I have worked. It has left me with many wonderful memories. You have taught at Xiamen University for 30 years, dedicating your precious time to China's education cause. This deep affection for Xiamen and China has moved me greatly."  The party concerned, Pan Weilian, is not in Xiamen. He is on vacation in the United States. Due to the time difference, he was the last one to learn about this news.  Pan Weilian said that that day when he woke up, he found over 300 WeChat messages and a pile of unanswered calls. When he opened WeChat, he realized that President Xi Jinping had replied to his message! The "No-Outsider" Professor has become even busier. To date, he has written 25 books about China. Among them, one is particularly special—a work dedicated to his wife, Susan. Susan was born in Taipei in 1958 and passed away in Xiamen in 2021 after a sudden illness. Susan's departure has changed Pan Wilian's leisure schedule. Now, a significant portion of his time is occupied by teaching and media interviews. He tries his best to squeeze in time for interviews, but he doesn't seem very interested in becoming a news figure. Because he never cares about whether the interviews are published or not.  As the reporter was concluding his interview, Pan Weilian rode his bicycle to a friend's place. The cameramen and photographers behind him whispered, "This is a great opportunity to capture the scene of him riding the bike." However, they were a little disappointed that they didn't manage to get a frontal shot. But Pan Weilian was running late, and no one was willing to ask for it.  Pan Weilian disappeared down the end of the path. But moments later, he turned his bicycle around and rode back, heading straight toward the lenses of the photographers and videographers. "We all appreciate this 'no-outsider' spirit of yours." Why has this American touched the hearts of people across China? The CCTV awards citation explained the reason— "You opened your heart—embracing this land forged a bond. You set aside preconceptions—making the Pacific feel no longer wide. Your letters home wrote of your China, your deep affection clear in every line. You came from afar, stayed for good, and loved profoundly. We all appreciate this 'no-outsider' spirit of yours." Source：Xiamen Daily