Approximately 5,000 Chinese children are adopted by U.S. citizens every year. One of those children not only was able to revisit her roots in China but also wrote a book about it.

Ten-year-old Ying Ying Fry wrote "Kids Like Me in China" after visiting the orphanage in Changsha, in Hunan province, where she spent her early months. In the book, she describes her trip, including her visit to the orphanage and her friendships with many of the children there. The book also expresses her feelings about being an orphan and then being adopted.

Amy Klatzkin and Terry Fry adopted Ying Ying when she was 4 months old. After living in China during the 1980s, they chose to adopt a Chinese orphan "because they thought that Chinese babies are really, really pretty," Ying Ying said in a recent telephone interview. They named her Ying Ying, after the Mandarin word for oriole.

Now living in San Francisco, Ying Ying exists in two worlds: She attends the Chinese American International School, a bilingual school where she learns all subjects in both Mandarin and English, and she honors both cultures' traditions.

"I have family with cousins and my uncle and my aunt. My cousins, my uncle and my aunt are all Hebrew, and we celebrate Hanukkah, and then we also celebrate Christmas," she said.

Her parents told her she was adopted when she was old enough to understand, about 4 years old.

Ying Ying has never had a problem with people accepting her and her family.

"No one teases me because I've been at the school for a really long time, and they're just used to it," she said. "There are so many Chinese kids at the school, and no one teases anybody."

But she was still curious about China. When she was 8 years old, her parents took her there. She visited a school, parks, playgrounds, stores, restaurants and, most importantly, her orphanage.

The orphanage is actually part of what is called a Social Welfare Institution, which includes a building for the elderly and a hospital. Ying Ying was somewhat anxious at first, but after going inside and seeing all the kids just like her, she felt very comfortable.

Ying Ying loved visiting with the babies, whose cribs are lined up row upon row on a top floor. More than 100 were there the weeks she visited. They are cared for by workers called ayis, the Mandarin word for aunt, who are always busy.

In her book, she writes about meeting Li Ayi, who cared for her when she was a baby.

"Li Ayi was so happy to see me!" Ying Ying writes. "She calls me Ying Ying, but when she talked to the other ayis she used my orphanage name, Zhou Sheng. The Ayis all came over to meet me. I heard one ask, 'She's one of ours?' "

Ying Ying was especially fascinated by how older Chinese orphans live.

"They went to school in the morning (outside the building). They came back at lunchtime, ate lunch, and then you can do whatever you want in one hour between lunch, and then you go back to school," she said.

Two or three share a room, and they have their own floor. They do a lot of things together, although they don't have a lot of possessions. "They didn't get much food and stuff. But every once in a while they would get sugar cane," she said.

Ying Ying also was interested in how the orphanage functions; there are different floors for babies, older children and the disabled. "I got to see all the babies and play with the older kids. They have some allowances, so they can buy stuff from the corner store," she said.

The children all seemed happy, although she still wonders about some things. For example, most Chinese orphans are dropped off outside public institutions, such as police stations, just as Ying Ying was. Not much is known about most of them, not even their name or birth date.

"I still want to know if they celebrate birthdays," she said.

Ying Ying stayed in China for two months, so she had lots of time to see the country outside the orphanage.

"I'd describe it as a place that has lots of taxis, and you can get almost anywhere in a taxi. And the air may not be so fresh, but it's OK. There are lots of places to eat, like McDonald's. They call it 'my Donald's,' and then there's lots and lots of amusement parks that have bumper cars and roller coasters."

Her book was published a year later, with the help of her mother. It is based on her journal, audiotapes she made during her trip, and interviews with her. It is filled with photos.

"I sort of wanted to do a movie, but my mom couldn't do a movie, so I did a book," she said. "It felt good because I don't know anyone else who did it."

She sent a copy to her orphanage, and the children there were excited to see themselves in the book. "They were really, really happy 'cause they didn't ever get to be famous."

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About the book

Published by Yeong & Yeong Book Co. in November 2001, "Kids Like Me in China" is available in hardcover ($18 retail).

Readers' comments are posted at: www.yeongandyeong.com/kidscomments.htm.

Adopted Chinese children who have returned to China are invited to submit their stories and pictures. They are posted on a special section of the Web site at: hwww.yeongandyeong.com/kidstories.htm.

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ASSISTANT EDITOR : Myra Bledsoe, 18.

REPORTERS : Amanda Finch, 13, Amber Patton, 13, and Tara Wadelton, 12.