" Linyi County, Shandong Province,' the young man replies.

"What do you think of D.C.?" I ask them.

"At first, I thought I was in Africa. I didn't expect to see so many blacks in D.C. You know, the Hollywood movies mainly feature white actors. So I thought…" the young man quickly voices his opinion.

"In D.C., 62 percent of the population is African American," I tell him.

"I think the guesthouse for foreign state guests doesn't look luxurious at all, at least from the outside," the man with glasses says.

"I thought the United States was a rich country and it should be full of skyscrapers. But it is disappointing that D.C. doesn't have as many skyscrapers as Beijing or Shanghai," says the stocky man.

" Washington has a rule that no buildings can be taller than the Capitol. Since they cannot be tall, they are quite wide," I explain.

"Okay, I can understand why the buildings are so wide now, but why are the people as well?" The stocky man asks me, eying the ped estrians.

"Show some respect to the American people!" Before I can speak, a tall authoritarian-looking man who has been silent stops everyone.

The tall man seems to be the leader. He raises his arms to the sky, faces the White House, and says in a loud voice, "Long live the friendship between the American people and the Chinese people!"

"Where are you going next?" I ask the young man.

"Vegas. Of course. We are going to eat lobsters and watch strippers dance and gamble!" The young man answers with pride and excitement.

"Have fun!" I am about to leave.

"Can I talk to you in private?" The tall man stops me.

"Sure."

"You see, what Little Wang just said was just his own agenda in Vegas. I haven't approved yet. As a matter of fact, I'm worried these young people will be badly influenced by the West. Thanks to Deng Xiaoping's open-door policy and the great vision of our great Communist Party, we can eat lobsters quite often in China now. It's no longer a big deal or something corrupting. As for his second agenda, at first I disapproved of it. I wanted to protect these young officials from corrupt thoughts and behaviors. Then Little Wang and the other younger members argued with me, saying that the party encourages older officials like me to be more open-minded. So I think, in order to show some respect for the young and be open-minded, I can't be too arbitrary, which means that I need to make a decision based on facts. That is to say, only when I see how decadent the dance is and make a fair evaluation can I make the right decision."

"So why are you telling me this?" I ask.

"I'm thinking of going to a strip club tonight here to check it out by myself. It will help me make a decision for our group."

"To be honest, I'm not familiar with Washington either. If you have a local tour guide, you can ask him."

"We do have a tour guide, but if he told other group members about my inquiry, it would make me look bad. I told everybody to preserve the purity of us all, I wouldn't go to a strip club. But now I've decided to sacrifice my own purity to protect the purity of the other party members. If you take me there, I can pay your ticket and tips as well. The expenses can be reimbursed by our work-unit if it says entertainment fee."

For a second, I want to take him up on his offer and bring him to a male strip joint where I imagine myself throwing free money to hunks who strip-dance for me. But I kill the idea right away.

"It will be much more fun if you go there with your wife or girlfriend," I say to the man and wave good-bye.

As I walk back, I realize that I am going back to China tomorrow. America without Len is fine. I can have fun and have a relationship.

My returning itinerary is a flight from D.C. to Los Angeles, then from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. From Hong Kong, I will stop over in Shenzhen for a story of the factory workers there who are an important part of the global economic chain that produces the goods that Wal-Mart or Nike stores sell in the United States. Even though Nike shoes can sell for sixty to a hundred dollars a pair in the United States (and nowadays in China too!), the factory workers that produce them get paid pennies in comparison.

On the airplane from L.A. to Hong Kong, I sit next to a middle-aged American man named Steve. Steve tells me that he is an engineer manager of a well-known American high-tech company, Sun Microsystems. In recent years, more and more American companies have either moved their manufacturing sites to China or use Chinese factories as their OEM sites because of the lower costs here. This new geo-economic shift has also changed Steve's lifestyle. With his company's growing business in this part of the world, he commutes between China and California. This time, he is going to visit the company's OEM site in Shenzhen.

I have noticed that Steve's face turns red and his eyes sparkle as he mentions the city's name.

"You seem to be very excited about the trip to Shenzhen. Is it your first time?" I ask.

"No. My third time, " Steve answers, then volunteers his story. "My job is to help my company select manufacturing sites in Asia. So I have been to most of the big cities there. I think Hong Kong is a beautiful city, but too westernized and expensive. Now, it's become a transit point. I find the city of Taipei has no character; I don't find it interesting. Singapore is very boring. I love Shenzhen."

"Why?"

"Actually, my colleagues and I all know that everywhere is pretty much the same in terms of the capacity of one manufacturing site. The defining factor is always the women of that place. If we like the women there, we can manipulate the data a little bit and give a glowing recommendation so the factories can be set up there. So we can travel there later."

"Sounds like you like the women in Shenzhen," I say.

"Yes, they are beautiful and friendly. I was a former naval officer. Shenzhen reminds me of the Philippines and Hong Kong fifteen or twenty years ago. Back in the States, I have my middle-age crisis. But every time I come to Shenzhen, I feel younger and recharged. Those available, open-minded young Chinese women make me feel good about myself. After all, I can still get attention!"

"How do you meet them?" I am curious.

"I've met several girls on the Internet and I've picked girls up at bars and disco clubs. Or simply, my vendors introduce them to me. My colleagues are all doing the same thing. Often we go hunting together." Steve says.

I didn't expect that Steve would be so blatant in talking about his sexual conquests.

"Guess what I don't like about Asian women," Steve says.

"What?"

"Southerners are too skinny."

"How much does your wife back in the States weigh?"

"Two hundred pounds."

Clearly Steve likes an alternative to his heavier wife; his protestations notwithstanding, his eyes give away his desire. The conversation continues for a while as Steve orders a series of drinks. I am becoming concerned as Steve looks at me longingly, not even attempting to hide his intentions.

Steve's conversation becomes more and more personal as the hours and miles flow by.

"Those earrings are charming."

"Your sweater fits you so well."

"You should wear only short skirts or tight slacks."

Fortunately, I have the aisle seat, so I don't have to climb over him to go to the toilet. As the plane is somewhere over Japan, Steve plays his trump card. "Niuniu, do you want to become a member of the mile-high club?" he asks.

"The mile-high club? What's that?" I ask.

Steve leers at me and says, "That's a club of people who have made love at thirty-five thousand feet above sea level in an airliner's toilet."