I joined a tour group late last year and visited some major cities and famous scenic spots on both coasts of the United States of America. As a tourist， I did a lot of sightseeing and talked with some Americans. Two things stand out especially vivid in my memory of the unforgettable tour.

Zhe Zack Zeng Way in New York’s Chinatown

Wall Street was a must for us Chinese tourists while we were in New York.

We all wanted to see what America’s powerful financial heart， with its daily trading volume totaling more than $7 billion， looked like. The narrow street is flanked on either side by towering skyscrapers. They were so tall that we had to look up， casting our eyes straight upward toward the tops. One of us looked up so hard and felt so fascinated in this inconvenient way that his hat dropped from his head. We burst into laugh.

But Wall Street gave us more than its glory. It also gave us a moment of sadness. We came to the zero ground of the 911 terror attack. It was somewhere around Wall Street. The site where World Trade Center used to stand was cordoned off by metal sheets. I could hear workers working inside. The metal sheets rattled in the cold wind. It is now a memorial site in commemoration of the people who died in the attack， including the heroes who sacrificed their lives in helping others on that tragic day. One of the heroes was Zhe Zack Zeng， an immigrant from China.

Zack Zeng (曾喆 in Chinese) moved with his parents to the United States from Guangdong in 1988. He received an MBA degree from the University of Rochester. Upon graduation， he came to work at a New York bank， only two blocks away from the Twin Towers.

On September 11， 2001， Zeng traveled by subway to work as usual. After emerging from the subway station， he saw the World Trade Center disgorging dark smoke and horrified and confused people fleeing for their lives in the streets. The 28-year-old Zeng stayed calm. On the way to the bank， he called his mother on his mobile phone， saying “Mom， I am all right; call you later.” He then called his girlfriend reporting he was safe. The World Trade Center was spewing fire and smoke; the streets around the twin towers were filled with the suffocating smoke.

Zeng rushed into his office， grabbed a first-aid kit， rushed out， and ran toward the World Trade Center. While dashing to the ground zero， he called his mother again: “Mom， I’m going to save lives!” He also called his girlfriend and told her the same. At around 10:27 a.m. the 110-story World Trade Center collapsed. From that moment on， Zeng’s family members and friends heard no more from him and lost his whereabouts.

For several days after the 911 terror attack， Zack Zeng’s family and friends visited all the hospitals around New York in search of him， with enlarged photos of their beloved. Fearing the worst and hoping for the best， they prayed they could find him alive in a hospital bed somewhere. But to the sadness of his family and friends， he was nowhere to be found.

A few days later， a former schoolmate of Zack Zeng called Zeng’s mother from Seattle， saying he spotted Zack Zeng in a news story screened on FOX television， which showed Zeng at the World Trade Center.

In the television footage， Zack Zeng was seen squatting beside an Asian woman， giving her first-aid. The woman was badly injured and there was blood on her face. Dressed in a white shirt and Khaki pants and wearing rubber gloves， Zeng was seen treating the wounded woman on the ground and exchanging a few words with some paramedics as if discussing a medical measure. A large vehicle was parked behind them and a firefighter in a bright yellow striped uniform was standing nearby. This scene lasted about 10 seconds on the television footage. A few minutes later， the World Trade Center collapsed and killed more than two thousands on the site.

Zack Zeng’s mother Cen Jiaoxian later received a condolence letter in Chinese from George Pataki， governor of New York State. The letter praised Zeng’s heroism and expressed the gratitude of New York State.

The New York City Council unanimously passed a motion renaming a street “Zhe Zack Zeng Way” in New York’s Chinatown. On the third anniversary of the 911 attack， the renaming ceremony was held. Also on the third anniversary， Zeng’s mother Cen Jiaoxian was invited to the White House to attend a memorial event.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Barack Obama: Alumni

Punahou School in Honolulu， Hawaii is a prestigious private school founded in 1841. The school overlooks the sea. The campus abounds with trees and flowers and looks like a tropical garden. The school emphasizes all-round education. Graduates from Punahou are often admitted by Harvard and other prestigious universities in U.S.

I was surprised to learn that Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Barack Obama are alumni of Punahou School.

Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) moved with his mother to Hawaii at the age of 12 from Cuiheng village in Guangdong Province. They joined Sun Mei， Sun Yat-sen’s brother who ran a shop on the island. Sun Yat-sen first helped out with chores in the shop. Seeing his younger brother was hard-working and intelligent， Sun Mei decided to give him the best education within his reach. In 1879， Sun Yat-sen went to a religious school where the studious young scholar got the highest grade in English in the class. In 1882， Sun Yat-sen went to Punahou School. Here he was able to push back his horizons by reading books by European and American authors. What he learned at the school helped him understand China. Sun Yat-sen grew up to be a revolutionary and a founding father of the Republic of China (1911-1949)， putting an end to China’s millennia-long feudal system and ushering in modernization.

Barack Obama enrolled at Punahou School in 1971 when he was 10 years old. During his years at Punahou， Obama came to know about Sun Yat-sen. In his adult life， he has various Chinese connections. His half brother Mark Ndesandjo has been living and working in Shenzhen for six years and is married to a Chinese woman. During Obama’s presidential campaign， his sister Maya and brother-in-law Konrad Ng， a Canadian-son of Malaysian Chinese immigrants， campaigned for Obama to get support among overseas Chinese in Hawaii and from Punahou alumni. Many Chinese Americans in Hawaii remarked that they voted for Obama because Obama and Sun Yat-sen are alumni.

Sun Yat-sen’s former residence in Hawaii is now under government protection and opens to the general public and tourists as a local tourism attraction. In August 2007， a small but prominent park at the edge of Chinatown in Honolulu was renamed to honor Dr. Sun Yat-sen， the man with strong ties with Hawaii who helped change the course of China’s history. Formally known as Chinatown Gateway Park， it is now Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park. Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Foundation commissioned a $150，000 statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen as a boy for the park. □