Fred Engst, the American born and raised in the world's most populous nation, has spent half of his life in the United States and half of his life in China. He said he feels a closer tie to China and has settled for good in the country since 2007.

His parents witnessed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Engst's father, Erwin Engst, came to China in 1946. As an American, his first impressions about China came from a book.

"So, my father read the 'Red Star over China' and was really excited about it," said Engst, who is now a professor at the University of International Business and Economics.

The young farmer came to China as a member of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency in 1946. He served as an expert on farm equipment in Yan'an, a legendary site of the Chinese Revolution.

"My father is very humorous and has a lot of dairy farmer's humor, so he keeps writing letters to my mom. You should come to China and China is going through a hill. If you're coming late, you're going to miss the bus," Engst said.

When Engst's father arrived in China first, Joan Hinton later joined him in the country and became his wife.

"Well, without the Chinese revolution, you won't see me today. I mean my mother is a nuclear physicist participating in the Manhattan Project," Fred shared.

In the U.S., Hinton was working under a scholarship from the U.S. navy, but she quit knowing her work would be used in the war and decided to dedicate the rest of her life to modernizing agriculture in China.

She is a fellow sister of well-known physicist Yang Zhenning.

The couple got married in 1949 in Yan'an.

Hinton did not work in the field of nuclear research and development in China after she left the U.S., but she had been outspoken about her observation of U.S. development.

Born and raised in China, Engst said he's had mixed feelings about his identity.

"I was born and raised in China. I was born in Beijing, in fact, but I was not raised in Beijing. I was raised in the ancient capital city of Xi'an. I spent half my life in China and half my life in the U.S.," said Engst.

He has a Chinese name, Yang Heping, named by Madame Song Qingling, the wife of Sun Yat-sen.

He said he was viewed as an American in China. But adding to the confusion, he was later perceived as a foreigner with an accent when first arriving in the U.S., as he struggled to overcome culture shock.

"Well, lots of things happened I didn't know at the time. People in the U.S. think I am being brainwashed, and I am being duped. I am self-doubting, and I was trying to make sure what is going on," Engst said.

During his about 30 years in the U.S., he tried to figure out who he was, and he finally wrapped his head around his early years spent in China.

"So, I decided to go to college and was trying to learn economics and understand Chinese socio-economics. That didn't help, and I went to graduate school. That didn't help either. What really helped is what happened in China in the 90s what happened in China and U.S. is still an imperialist country. It didn't change," Fred said.

His dad passed away in 2003. He wanted to come back to witness the drastic changes of modern China while his mom was still alive.

"Took me many years, I crawl myself back to the pit and find my bearing eventually," said Engst.

He came back to China for good in 2007, while his younger brother Bill and sister Karen stayed in the U.S.

He's now a professor teaching at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Living in the country once again, he says his heart has a closer connection to his childhood home.