US adoptees visit Chinese roots

Mylie, 17, from North Dakota in the United States, plays with children at a welfare home in Zhengzhou, Henan province. She was one of 35 adopted Chinese-Americans who visited the welfare home on Monday and Tuesday during a trip to China to seek their backgrounds. Photos by Xiang Mingchao / China Daily

Kenai, 18, from Colorado and Eli, 30, a counselor, with children at a welfare home in Zhengzhou.

Youths volunteer at welfare centers, like those they lived in as children

Taozhu, 17, left a welfare center in Guizhou province at age 9 after she was adopted by a family of eight from the US state of Virginia. Many might see such a move as an adventure, yet the only emotions Taozhu felt were anger and fear.

"I was angry because I didn't understand why they took me away from the welfare center and into a world of white people, where I didn't even know how to communicate," she said.

Eight years later, when Taozhu again set foot on Chinese soil, she understood how lucky she was - she now has four sisters and two brothers - and she is thankful for her adoptive family.

She was among 34 Chinese children adopted by parents in the United States who traveled to Beijing, Xi'an and Zhengzhou to volunteer in welfare centers during a 10-day trip.