By CRI top-winner Christian Henke

Do you remember? There was a Charming Changzhou Knowledge Contest last year. Like nearly 25,000 other CRI-listeners I took part and after the final decision a good fairy informed me that I'm the 1st Prize Winner, the one who gets a free trip to Beijing and Changzhou. Well, to introduce myself in short: I'm a 57 years old financial manager working with a freight car building company at Niesky in the very south-eastern part of Germany near to the borderlines to the Polish and the Czech Republics. Listening to CRI's German broadcasts since 1964, I soon became acquainted with the English Service too. My China-experience dates back to 1997 when I first came to Beijing and Inner Mongolia as a guest of the German Service and a top-winner of another CRI-quiz.

My Diary in China

	Saturday - December 3, 2005 Sunday – December 4, 2005 Monday – December 5, 2005 Tuesday – December 6, 2005
	Wednesday – December 7, 2005 Thursday – December 8, 2005 Friday – December 9, 2005

* Click on the date to read the complete story. Click on the thumbnails for larger pictures.

If I had to summarize this one-and-only trip to China on high level, I would like to do it in this way:

1. A country gets its face by the people who live in. I'm fond of having met so many intelligent, hard-working, hospitable and dear people that I know: Your future is in right and good hands!

2. China is in an unique process to combine capitalist market forces with the principles of a People's Republic – you'll lead the way for many to follow, I'm sure!

3. China is a melting pot of so many nationalities, preserving its unity in variety - another lesson to be learned in various parts of the world to make peace, stability and prosperity.