With nearly 50 of William N. Brown’s original letters to family and close friends written between 1988 and 2017, this book is a unique window into the past 40 years’ transformation of not only Xiamen but the whole of China. William’s father initially strongly objected his move to China, but over time he came to support his choice as he read his son’s letters about the sweeping changes from the late 1980s’ muddy pathways to today’s modernized urban infrastructure. This book reveals not only China’s changes but also the author and his family’s strong fondness for China and its people.