UK teacher recounts 50 years in China

Born in 1933 in Shanghai, Betty Barr witnessed how history forever shaped the lives of ordinary people, including hers. The retired English teacher from Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) still remembers her internment experience at the Longhua Civil Assembly Center during World War II and the People's Liberation Army's march into Shanghai.

Barr has spent 50 years in the city and is proud to be called a Shanghaiese. With her Chinese husband George Wang, she co-authored the book Shanghai Boy, Shanghai Girl, an autobiography of two lives in old Shanghai. The couple has written several books in hopes of presenting an authentic picture of China to foreign readers.

"Many westerners really don't know much about China," says Barr. "So we wanted to let them know the stories."

(Video source: Xinmin Evening News)