Caihong's New Home

Caihong's New Home follows the titular character through her separation from her parents, her days in an orphanage, and her eventual adoption to America. For over three decades, China's One-Child Policy (1980-2016) restricted families to have only one child per household. As a result, when families with more than one child were exposed, they faced the consequences of having to pay a fine often as much as or more than the family's income or giving up the unwanted, extra child. Caihong Zhou was one of these unwanted, extra children.

Under the magnificent blue sky of Xinjiang, something ominous was brooding. The family planning authorities found out that there were two children in the Zhou family. As the younger child and illegal second child, Caihong Zhou was taken from her house to an orphanage, despite her parents' tearful protests. Severed from her family, Caihong clung to the only tangible memory of home--a small pair of red shoes from her parents--and hid it under her bed. In the orphanage, Caihong often dreamt about spending time with her family and wondered if they would one day come to take her back home. Life in the orphanage was mundane and monotonous: Caihong helped with chores, kept the orphanage tidy, and looked after younger girls in the orphanage. Luckily, Caihong's best friend, Lizhen, created fun and spices in their little corners. One day, two American parents arrived at the orphanage and adopted Caihong. After two years' stay in the orphanage, Caihong was going home. Although she was sad to leave Lizhen behind and that she was not returning to her birth home, Caihong could not wait for a new adventure to a new home in a new continent under the same magnificent blue sky.