Building a bridge from China to Petaluma

From early on, most of us have been encouraged to set goals and to make long-range plans to achieve them.

In Petaluma, many young people had reasonably obtainable goals, such as getting an education, securing a good job, or raising a family. Growing up in Fuzhou, China, Bailian Zheng also had a lifelong goal - one that was more far-reaching and challenging than those held by most Petalumans. He hoped to someday come to the United States where he could live, work and enjoy the land of opportunity.

It’s a dream that may be difficult for some of us to imagine, but through diligent preparation, hard work and a little luck, Zheng was able to fulfill his wish, moving to Petaluma nearly three decades ago.

Here, he studied at Sonoma State University, got a job behind the counter at the main post office, and became a co-owner and operator of Kwei Bin Chinese Restaurant. He’s become a familiar face around town, and can often be seen walking his Husky, Samson.

But, life hasn’t always been as comfortable as it is now for Zheng.

He’s the third oldest of six children, and his mother taught mathematics while his father was a famous and well-respected literature and language teacher.

Benefiting from his educated family, Zheng was a top student at his school in China and later participated in peer teaching with a studious group of friends who gathered and studied together. He was a very good writer who was dedicated to learning the language.

Zheng was among the top two-percent of students that were accepted to college, and he enrolled at Fujian Christian University as an English major in 1977. After graduating, he returned to his former high school as an English teacher. Zheng strongly believes that it’s necessary to be fully prepared to take advantage of an opportunity when it arises, and teaching English at Fuzhou College (a high school) provided him with the opportunity he’d studied and prepared for.

Several years later he developed an ambition to become the president (principal) of the 158-year-old school, but to accomplish that goal he’d need a Master’s degree in Education or English.

In his thirties and past the age limit for graduate education in China, Zheng successfully found a sponsor to assist him in coming to the U.S. to study. Working through his sponsor, who contacted Senator Barbara Boxer and the Chinese Consulate, he obtained a student visa.

Zheng arrived in Petaluma in 1989, and his wife, Xuan Susan Zheng, and 5-year-old daughter followed several months later. He obtained his work permit and began working for the postal service in 1990, going on to receive his Master’s degree in English from Sonoma State University in 1994.

Coming to America was really just the beginning for Zheng and his wife, who together set another lofty goal to guide and fully support their daughter, Feibi Zheng, in getting the best education possible in order to succeed.

Zheng and his wife were well aware that their daughter was an excellent student and were advised to pay special attention to her. Zheng began checking out advanced math books from the library, and his daughter breezed through them. She aced algebra as a 10-year-old summer school student and took geometry upon entering junior high school.

At Kenilworth Junior High School, it was apparent to Feibi Zheng’s counselors and to her family that she was a gifted student, but they wanted to be careful of moving her along too quickly. She completed Algebra II at Santa Rosa Junior College as an 11-year-old and by the time she graduated from Casa Grande High School at age 15, she was taking calculus classes at Sonoma State University.

A graduate of University of California, Berkeley and University of California, San Diego Medical School, she completed her residency specializing in general surgery at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, and is currently taking a one-year fellowship at UCLA Medical Center. In an effort to meet the increasingly specialized skills required of surgeons in leadership positions she also holds a Master’s of Business Administration in Public Health from Duke University.

Not surprisingly, she’s not the first doctor in her family. Her maternal grandfather had been a prominent doctor and professor of dermatology at Fujian Medical University in China.

Bailian and Susan Zheng are justifiably proud of their daughter’s success, which reflects the immense amount of time and devotion they’ve provided in guiding and nurturing her.

“Living in Petaluma gave me the confidence to try and be successful and to recognize the tremendous opportunities available to me,” Zheng said.

Now that his life goals have been met, he’s ready to reflect.

“I’ve achieved my goal of raising my daughter,” he said. “She is a good example of the fine education available here in Petaluma and in Sonoma County. That’s two life goals I’ve fulfilled. I now want to write about my life, where I came from and where I’m headed. You should never stop dreaming, you never know what the outcome might be.”

(Harlan Osborne’s column Toolin’ Around Town appears every two weeks. Contact him at harlan@sonic.net.)