China's hospitality shines as locals 'adopt' foreign visitor

One Tuesday morning, Jennifer Karin Pelu Fortes stepped off a flight from Seoul and into Shenyang, Liaoning Province, with no travel companion, no shared language and only a few days to spare.

A short break between exams became a short vacation, and a heartwarming encounter with local strangers.

China, she'd heard from friends, was "a really big country with rich history and vast culture," and while her home country of Sweden sat far away on her map, the chance to see a corner of China while she studied in South Korea felt too close an opportunity to miss.

The 23-year-old chose Shenyang for a practical reason: it's a quick hop from Seoul, about two hours in the air. "It barely felt like I was flying," she laughed, admitting she slept through most of it.

Last year, she tested her independence with solo trips to Vietnam and Bali, and discovered that alone, she was able to meet more people. "It really pushes me to talk to new people, try new things and make new friends," she said. In Shenyang, this was the case too.

Despite only being there for four days, Jennifer documented her stay on social media, where her followers could see her visiting markets, eating local food and dressing up in traditional wear. However, little did she know that this would spark her first viral moment online.

Jennifer wandered into a market hungry and a little intimidated, particularly because of her lack of Mandarin language skills. Then she heard clapping. A restaurant auntie was dancing at the doorway, coaxing customers with laughter, rhythm and joy. Jennifer looked up, caught her eye and the auntie immediately called out to her.

"Her energy was just so amazing," said Jennifer, who gave in and followed the auntie to the restaurant.

Despite the evident language barrier, they spoke in the universal language of gestures, like pointing, smiling, miming and used a phone translator for the rest. The auntie asked where she was from, where she lived now and Jennifer tried to explain her background which spans Sweden, South Korea and family roots in Africa.

In Shenyang, she said, the hospitality of strangers "filled me up with warmth and love," so much so that she didn't even keep her usual nightly ritual of long calls home.

Some Shenyang locals called her affectionate names – baobei (baby) and laomei (little sister) – a style of address she hadn't met so directly before. The words stuck with her because they gave her a sense of belonging, even during her short stay.

"Living in (South) Korea, I also have some restaurants here that I go to a lot where I'm very close with the owners, but then they have this saying that is like uli jenipoe, like 'our Jennifer,' but it's a little bit different than like being baby or little sister," she said.

There were other encounters she filmed and posted: a man who wouldn't stop feeding her, another who wanted a photo and marveled at her height, a string of small exchanges that gave her a sense of belonging. "Every place I went, I met people who just brightened up my day," she said. For Jennifer, markets are her go-to because they showcase a sense of real local life. "I think you can really capture the essence of a country and its culture by meeting the locals and spending time with them."

Then there were instances she experienced, but didn't share publicly, like when a local her age had seen her reels on social media and offered to show her around his hometown. Together they went to the Shenyang Imperial Palace, or Mukden Palace.

He pointed out details like inscriptions in multiple scripts and talked her through some of the city's rich history. After the palace, they biked through a park. Jennifer recalls the gratitude she felt in that moment.

"I never would have seen these places or gotten to know these things if I didn't befriend the local," she said. "It's really the best way to travel."

And then there was the food – Dongbei cuisine that still consumes her thoughts. She struggled to remember names, so she described dishes that still remain vivid in her memory: a crisp, round meat pie with a savory filling, lamb skewers and thin slices of pork, crispy on the outside, the inside still tender, with ginger scattered over the top.

"I miss the value you get for the flavor and the price," she said.

Despite the good food and lovely people, Jennifer admits that one of her biggest surprises was the ease with which everything works in China, simply by using just your phone. "Everything kind of fits into your phone," she said, listing apps that she used on the daily, like Alipay, WeChat and DiDi.

Usually while traveling, she'd be on the hunt for ATMs, or had cash on hand, just in case. In Shenyang, she watched even small street vendors take digital payments as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Jennifer's greatest lesson and tip after her trip to China is simple: just go. Travel, in her view, works best with "an open mind and an open heart." Respect the place you're entering, learn a little before you arrive and let the new culture be itself instead of measuring it against home. 

She's already planning to return in June, starting again in Liaoning's capital before taking the high-speed train onward to Beijing, Xi'an, to the border of Laos and beyond.

Beyond Jennifer's memorable travels, one thing that stood out to her followers was her infectious laugh, which she believes is part of why Shenyang opened to her. She smiles at strangers by reflex, she said, because you never know what kind of day someone is having – and a bit of kindness can make even foreign country feel like a piece of home.