Tale of two generations: A US family's bridge with China through time and culture

For JongMay Urbonya, hanfu is more than traditional Chinese attire — it's a bridge between cultures and a window into China's rich history. At 30, the American cultural influencer has garnered nearly half a million followers online with her passion for hanfu and love for Chinese traditions.

However, her journey is deeply intertwined with the story of her parents, who first planted seeds of cultural appreciation long before she discovered her connection to China.

Urbonya was born in 1994 in Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, where her parents, originally from Wisconsin, worked as English teachers. They arrived in China in 1987, during the earlier stage of the country's reform and opening-up, motivated by a belief in the power of global understanding.

"My parents often reminisce about how the hospitality and kindness of the people in Dalian left a lifelong impression on them," Urbonya says, adding that "it was Chinese New Year when my parents first arrived, and despite being strangers in a foreign country, they were warmly invited to celebrate with Chinese families".

The couple quickly became embedded in their community, learning from the locals and contributing to cultural exchanges. Urbonya's father Tim also portrayed Edgar Snow in a 1994 television series adapted from the book Red Star Over China, when he visited revolutionary landmarks such as Yan'an, Shaanxi province.

"My dad told me that those years in Dalian were some of the most transformative of his life," Urbonya reflects. Inspired by his experiences, her father wrote a song titled I Am Chinese to celebrate the cities they had traveled to and his deep connection to the country.

The family's bond with Dalian was so profound that they gave her elder sister the Chinese name "Dalian" to honor the city and its people and JongMay name was given by combining the Chinese pronunciations for "China" and "US".

"My parents' love for China shaped the environment I grew up in," Urbonya says. "Even after we returned to the United States when I was 6, their appreciation for Chinese traditions continued to influence me."