Geological expert Li Yizu. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]

Li Yizu's life is anything but ordinary. Born in a missionary hospital in Tianjin in 1938, Li Yizu's parents were among many Americans who left China when the war against Japanese aggression entered its fiercest period. He was adopted and raised by a Chinese family, who brought him to the capital city Beijing.

Li Yizu says he had a great Chinese mother.

Li Yizu in his childhood. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]

"My foster mother had only one Child. I think she is a great mother. She raised me up. When I decided to go to Xinjiang, which is so far away especially at that time when the travel was not so convenient, she showed full understanding and support. She didn't even tell me that she felt ill after I left her. At that time when I was young, the only thing I wanted was to do was to pursue my dream. Only years later when my children left home to somewhere far away, I could understand the feeling of my mother back then."

Li Yizu and his foster mother, 1938 in Beijing. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.com]