Many Westerners have the idea that everyone in China knows how to do kung fu. This is, of course, a silly belief. But it is true that kung fu is a big part of Chinese culture.

Like most people from the West, I was first introduced to kung fu through Hong Kong action films. Stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan made kung fu popular in the Western world. The flashy and impressive performances they gave in films like Rumble in the Bronx and Enter the Dragon made them household names in the U.S. and elsewhere.

However, my own personal interest in kung fu was actually inspired by a hip hop group. Wu－Tang Clan, founded in the early 1990s in New York City, is one of the most influential hip hop groups in history.

In their songs, they sometimes mention philosophical concepts that come from Wudang quan — a classic Chinese martial art from which they take their name — and Shaolin Temple. I was just a teenager when I first started listening to Wu－Tang Clan — little did I know that I would actually end up living in China later in my life!

I myself do not practice kung fu. However, the concepts behind it are quite interesting to me. There is a Bruce Lee quote that I often think of when I'm struggling with challenges in life. “Be formless, shapeless, like water,” he once said. By this, he meant that you should be ready to adapt to and change your attitudes or beliefs when you face difficulties. I think this is a good way to deal with life.

Nearly seven years ago, I hitchhiked (搭顺风车) across Canada. Frankly, it was rather boring. But it gave me some understanding of the beauty of humanity.

The difference between boredom and excitement on the road is quite obvious. For hours on end, you may be standing at the side of a highway, watching faces go by. You get all sorts of looks when you’re hitchhiking. People ignore you, smile at you, wave or use their hands to signal that they’re unable to pick you up. Often, truckers pick you up.

Once, I was dropped off in front of an elderly woman. She said her car had broken down and that her husband was on his way with a tow truck (拖车). Later, she and her husband offered to bring me back to their place for lunch. I happily agreed. Our communication became a funny event of translations. I could not figure out what her husband was saying. He spoke English, but his dialect made it almost impossible for me to understand. Every time he spoke to me, I’d have to say, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Then his wife would step in to translate.

When I explained I was hitchhiking for fun, they were both amazed and impressed. Then, a look of understanding appeared on the woman’s face. “Oh!” she said. “You remind me of that guy, what’s his name...” She thought hard for a couple of minutes, then: “Terry Fox!”

The flow of randomness (随机) and the constant impermanence (无常) was what I enjoyed about hitchhiking. We have non-stop social interactions that are deeply authentic but so finite only in a short time. A person becomes an important part of our life for an hour or two and then he or she disappears. The beauty of strangers being so open about their lives never gets old and they paint a picture of harmony in this country.

The “Challenger Deep”, in the southern part of the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 11,000 meters(about 36,000 feet), is the deepest point of the ocean floor, world over. The Mariana Trench was formed from collision of two tectonic (构造的) plates, which were parts of the oceanic crust. One plate sank while the other climbed over, creating the deepest point of the ocean.

If Mount Everest is placed in the depths of the Mariana Trench, it would be totally submerged in water, with about 2,000 meters of water above it! The “Challenger Deep” gets its name from the British Navy vessel called “HMS Challenger” which made a first measurement of its depth in 1875.

In 1960, man reached the ultimate depth through a special underwater exploring space craft, called “Bathyscaphe”. The submersible (可下沉的) vessel called the “Trieste” reached the “Challenger Deep” on 23nd January, 1960. At that depth, the two men who were operating the submersible had about 7 miles of water over them, which exerted a pressure of 16,000 pounds per square inch! Unfortunately, they could do little except measuring the depth as their descent raised debris which reduced their visibility to zero.

Later in 1996, the Japanese unmanned remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), Kaiko made the deepest unmanned dive ever and brought home samples of bacteria living in these depths. The most productive dive of the “Challenger Deep” was made very recently in May 2009.The US built hybrid ROV “Nereus” reached the “Challenger Deep” and spent 10 hours on the ocean floor, sending live video data and collecting biological samples.