Here is an entry from Sara McCalpin's journal that she kept when she first visited Beijing:

Oct 5, 1982:

In retrospect, I realize that my point of departure occurred several days before I left for China. It happened during lunch with a friend, a wonderful Chinese woman - 30 years an American citizen - a serene spirit, an artist, a joyful soul. Drawing upon the language of ancient Chinese philosophy and combining the thoughts of Lao Tze with her own gift for words, she gave me a philosophy, practical and simple, to carry with me to China.

She urged me (strangely enough) to begin with detachment, to observe and absorb. To strive to understand the texture of the culture.

There are generally two reactions Americans come home with, she warned. The first, mostly the response of a tourist, is rosy and glossed from being whirled through model communes and schools.

The second, among Americans who stay longer, is one of cynicism and frustration. Avoid both paths through allowing a slow acclimatization, she told me. Carefully observe without criticism, without judgment. Do not look for "things" to bring back, things that will fit in with American culture. Learn how China lives. Live. A philosophy in the infinitive.