He thought about giving the photos to Smithsonian museums but realized that they may already have had similar ones. He is glad the pictures have found a home at the Chinese Embassy.

As a Foreign Service officer, Richard traveled four or five times to China. He marveled at the changes, in contrast to the scenes in the photos, and said he was glad to learn that China will be featured in the upcoming tourism fair at the Walter Convention Center in Washington.

While it took a long time for Richard's mother to finally travel to China, the situation is quite different now. Every year, there are about 5 million people traveling between China and the US, averaging more than 13,000 people a day.

The 2016 China-US Tourism Year announced by President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama last September is aimed at giving a boost to bilateral exchange through tourism.