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Family Road Trip at the Borderland
A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting.
In brief
A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting. A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting…
Father's road trip idea
My father proposes a fall foliage road trip along the Yalu River, the border between China and North Korea.
Father's driving skills
He recently earned a driver's license from a shoddy driving school in Dandong, a border town on the Yalu River.
Father's car purchase
He bought a Chinese domestic bestseller for eight thousand US dollars, which he only crashed into one neighbor's parked car.
Grandmother's financial habits
My grandmother plugs the bathtub and gathers water from a faucet dripping at a volume feeble enough to go undetected by the water meter.
Father's cancer diagnosis
My father had cancer, one month post-op from the removal of a malignant tumor in his colon.
Father's refusal of chemo
The doctor recommends preventive chemotherapy to deter recurrence, but my father says no.
Family estrangement
We have been estranged since my parents divorced, with little contact for years.
Grandmother's health concerns
My grandmother is allergic to most forms of financial expenditure and has a medical condition requiring medication.
Grandmother's food habits
She cooks homemade fennel dumplings and pork trotters for special occasions.
Father's driving plan
My father plans to drive to Donggang, where my grandmother will get medicine from her health insurance.
First night in Dandong
We arrive at Nainai's apartment in Dandong, where she cooks a feast of homemade fennel dumplings and pork trotters.
Dinner at Mongolian restaurant
We eat at a Mongolian restaurant with leg of lamb, er'guotou, and cold salads.
Grandmother's refusal to eat
My grandmother refuses to eat the lamb, saying we have food at home.
Father's driving speed
My father drives at about 30 miles per hour, his highest speed since learning to drive.
Road trip to Donggang
We drive to Donggang, where my grandmother gets medicine from her health insurance.
Family dinner at cousin's
We eat seafood at cousin Yin's compound, including crab, clams, shrimp, and jellyfish.
Grandmother's hidden money
My grandmother hides 200 RMB under a photo frame for the trouble of our lunch.
Fall foliage discovery
We find fall foliage on the mountains around the artificial lake in the national park.
Family reunion
My father and I have the most conversation in decades, navigating the road together.
Grandfather's grave
We visit my grandfather's grave in the cemetery, where he died when I was a freshman in college.
The short version
A Chinese-American daughter and her cancer-recovered father drive across the Yalu River to North Korea's borderland, chasing fall foliage and reconnecting.
