This is the story of Sophia Pirrone, a fourteen-year-old girl who was among the first American teenagers to live in China for a year (1982) after the U.S. normalized relations with the People's Republic of China.
Called "Jing-Jing" by her Chinese schoolmates, she attends middle school where she makes friends and learns Chinese. She lives in a local residence with her father, an American professor teaching at a famous university, and other foreign experts from around the world.
Jing-Jing experiences customs and relishes delicious foods wherever she goes in China. She views gorgeous scenery--climbs mountains, boats through gorges, and rafts on rivers. She visits temples and communes and the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou, and Nanjing and other places for a unique cross-cultural experience. Jing-Jing gains new insights into an ancient culture while she experiences once in a lifetime adventures.