“I shook President Nixon’s hand in China” – Visitor Reflects on Meeting President Nixon

As I do every time I’m here, I visited gravesites of the President and First Lady to pay my respects. When I walked up to the site, there was an older Chinese couple paying their respects. I held back for a moment, but then when they started taking some photos I thought it was OK to move to gravesite.

As I arrived there, the woman asked me if I could take a picture of them. They asked for a photo with the President’s gravestone in the background and for an identical photo with the First Lady’s gravestone.

 

 

 

When I handed back their phone, I asked them where they were from. They said, San Francisco. But their accents were so pronounced I thought to myself they must originally be from China. I didn’t ask, but she soon volunteered they were, indeed, from China.

She then told me, “You know, President Nixon was the first U.S. president to visit China. After he came to China, China grew.” As she said “China grew,” she threw up her hands to the sky to emphasize how much China grew.

I replied, “President Nixon said that his visit in 1972 was the week that changed the world.” She immediately repeated, “Yes, it did, and because of it, China grew.”

 

 

 

She paused a moment, and then said very proudly, “I shook President Nixon’s hand in China.”

I said, “What? That’s amazing! When?”

“In 1984. He came to China after he was president. And I was in a park and he was walking through and I put out my hand and he shook it.”

“That’s fantastic. May I shake your hand?” I asked. She put out her hand, I shook it, and said, “Now I have shaken the hand of someone who shook President Nixon’s hand in China.”

She grinned widely and said, “Yes, I shook his hand in 1984 and came to the United States in 1985.” She paused a moment and said reflectively, “He was a great man. A great man.”

 

 

 

The man then asked about the birthplace. I told them how Frank Nixon built it from a kit, explained what that meant, and then told them about his skill in building the fireplace.

 

 

 

It was getting close to closing time, so I thanked them for visiting and went on my way.

It never ceases to amaze me how many lives were changed for the better because of President Nixon’s boldness in both foreign and domestic policy. Here we are, half a century later, and his effect on the world — and on so many of the world’s peoples — is still fresh and resonant in people’s minds and hearts.