IT is four decades since Qian Jiang left his hometown in Jiading as a teenager in the early 1970s to labor in northern China's Gobi desert in Inner Mongolia, and now he has become a noted journalist at China's top newspaper - People's Daily.

Enjoying a rich life experience and having interviewed thousands of people, the 58-year-old man never forgets his roots in the suburban district, where he had a happy childhood and somewhat perplexed teenage years.

"The cultural heritage and education of my hometown have made an indelible impact on my whole life," Qian says.

Qian was born into a family of journalists in Beijing in 1954. Three years later his father Qian Xin, like many Chinese intellectuals of that time, was cast as a rightist and removed from his journalist job. His grandfather Qian Xiaofeng, who was working at the then State Ministry of Foreign Trade, was also affected. He retired from work and decided to spend his late years in the hometown Jiading.

Rewarding childhood

He and his wife brought five-year-old Qian Jiang with them when they moved back to Jiading in 1960 and settled down at their home on the north bank of the Lianqi River.

In Jiading, a place far from the political storm, Qian and his grandparents lived a tranquil life. After a nap at noon, his grandfather would usually have a cup of tea at the teahouse alongside Xiangjing Bridge, watching pingtan performance (storytelling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect) with little Qian.

These shows, based on many historical stories, aroused his interest in classical Chinese literature.

Qian's grandfather had a rich collection of literature classics and historical books.

When Qian was a Grand 3 primary school pupil, he had already read "The Three Kingdoms," "Journey to the West" and "Water Margin," three of the four most famous Chinese classics except "A Dream of Red Mansions."

When he graduated from primary school, he was capable of reading books written in ancient Chinese prose with the help of a dictionary. He was also enthusiastic about other traditional Chinese art, including calligraphy, painting and chess, and received frequent mentorship and advice from his grandfather.

From the many historical sites in Jiading, Qian learned about the Jiading Massacre by the Qing soldiers in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the story about a brave boy called Shi Tongzi, who protected his hometown from Japanese invaders in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

The rewarding childhood experience provided Qian with a solid background in literature and history for his later career.

At Lianxi Primary School, Qian's classmates and teachers did not give him a cold shoulder because of his father's political position. In their eyes, Qian was a diligent and smart boy.

"Our Chinese teacher Yang Chengfei often gave high praise to Qian's good writing and literature foundation," Fan Changyun, a former classmate, recalls. At that time, Qian often won first place for Chinese examinations.

In the autumn of 1968, Qian began to study at a local middle school.

In 1971, he graduated and made a decision, despite strong opposition from his family. The 17-year-old boy left for the remote desert of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China to "reform" himself and in the hope of getting out of the depressing political environment.

Gobi life

When Qian stepped onto a farm in Inner Mongolia, the boundless desert leaping to his eyes led him to realize that he might have made the wrong decision and that he might never be able to leave the desert. It seemed only knowledge could help remove his gloomy mood.

At that time, Qian's work was to mix mud with water to mold adobe blocks and build houses. After work when many other people would have a rest and play cards, Qian spent his time reading.

At that time, the farm was organized as an army unit, and the head of each unit of the farm was called company commander.

One day, the company commander Qiu Chongyun noticed him. Qiu appreciated his diligence and chose Qian as the company's secretary. Qian then moved from a 12-person dorm to a two-person room and had more time to study.

In 1977, China restored the national college entrance examinations. Qian took the exam and was successfully enrolled to the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Inner Mongolia Normal University with a high score. He was the only one admitted to the university among the 1,000 or so candidates on the farm. It proved to be a turning point in his life.

After graduation, Qian went to Beijing working as an editor at Beijing People's Sports Publishing House. Two years later, he became a postgraduate student of journalism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. During his study, he wrote a book "Ping Pong Diplomacy" in the capacity of an intern reporter at People's Daily, the Communist Party of China's flagship newspaper.

Qian partly attributed success to his childhood in Jiading, where he played on the school's ping pong team. Though only on the team for one year, his passion for the sport continued. "It was my enthusiasm for ping pong that inspired me to write the book 'Ping Pong Diplomacy'," he says.

Afterwards, Qian became a journalist at People's Daily. He has written many historical books such as "Deng Xiaoping and the Establishment of Sino-US Diplomatic Relationship" and "Zhou Enlai and the Geneva Conference."

Gratitude to hometown

During his career in journalism, he used to work as the chief reporter at Yunnan Province, deputy director of the journalist department of People's Daily, as well as the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper's overseas edition.

In recent years, he has also published serial books on the history of People's Daily.

Through it all, Qian has kept his hometown teachers and friends in his heart. In the 1990s when the East China edition of People's Daily was launched in Shanghai, Qian came back to work here.

Qian can't hide his gratitude to his teachers and friends in Jiading.

"I was very lucky that I had got to know so many kind-hearted people," Qian says. "They didn't look down upon me. I will never forget the tremendous love I have received from my hometown."