A Joy Luck Reunion! What a treat. The girls — Ming, Roz, Lauren and Tamlyn — are as gorgeous, fun, and warm as ever. We decided that we must do this regularly.

I like to think that the film I produced, JOY LUCK CLUB, which was partially shot in China, was an antidote to that.  It managed to be a Hollywood studio movie, but focused entirely on Chinese characters.  To this day, this project holds a unique profile in this respect, and has never been replicated

Janet Yang on the set with Zhang Yimou

On the set with Jiang Wen

The hosts of our trip — apparently we were the first Asian-American delegation sponsored by the government — took us absolutely everywhere.  Golan Heights, Masada, Galilee, Dead Sea, Tiberius, old city of Jerusalem.  We saw it all.  The Old City of Jerusalem is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.

The project is about a lost kingdom called Loulan, along the Silk Road, where one hundred years ago, they discovered a mummy with totally Caucasian features?!  It was a bucolic,  peaceful kingdom, and then suddenly disappeared.

Life today in Xinjiang is still somewhat nomadic –- horsemen living in yurts, camels, sheep abound.  I often like a nomad myself, so no wonder I felt quite at home.

It’s Oscar season, so as an Academy member, that means many functions.  I have somehow gotten on some very good lists. One highlight was the lunch for Ang Lee.  What’s ironic is that I doubt uber-publicist Peggy Siegel knew about our thirty-year friendship, and that we worked together on what was the first feature in each of our lives! 

Filming East to West: America Through the Eyes of a Chinese.  Ang Lee was the sound man!

With Steven Spielberg filming Empire of the Sun, 80's.  Meeting with the Spielberg of China, Xie Jin.