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China: Qingling Liu Fritz
May 15, 2005

Charles Fritz of White Bear Lake and Liu Qingling on the morning of their wedding in February 2005. (Photo courtesy of Qingling Liu Fritz)

White Bear Lake, Minn. — Liu Qingling just arrived in Minnesota a few months ago. Her English name is Qingling Liu Fritz.

Ling moved to the Twin Cities on Feb. 8, 2005 from Zhanjiang, People's Republic of China, to marry a Minnesotan, Charles Fritz. Zhanjiang, a coastal city of about 6.5 million, is one of the larger cities in Guangzhou Province and one of China's special economic zones.

Ling, 50, has been in Zhanjiang for most of her life. She lived in an apartment with her mother until her mother died a few years ago. Her father died several years earlier.

Ling has held various government factory and office jobs, but retired last year. She likes to travel, and she's visited many places in southern China.

Ling met Charles, who works for Xcel Energy, on the Internet a couple years ago. They started corresponding with the help of the Internet site, which translated their messages. Charles visited her a little more than a year ago -- it was the only time they met before she moved to the States, and he took her on her first airplane ride.

Ling and Charles were married at the Ramsey County Courthouse on Feb. 26, in the presence of a packed courtroom of friends and Charles' family. They live in White Bear Lake.

Ling stays at home most days. She doesn't drive, but she walks to Kowalski's, which is about a block away, whenever she needs groceries. She does housekeeping and cooks, and she watches TV to pass the time. She speaks very little English. Charles has a computer translation program to help them communicate.

They had spoken of plans to enroll her in an English class, but she has yet to start any formal or informal language lessons. Ling is a very warm and social person, and has already made several friends who speak Chinese; they’re mostly women who also immigrated from China or Taiwan and attend Twin City Chinese Christian Church, where Charles is a member.

The only other people Ling knows in the U.S. are a few women from her city in China who also met their American husbands through the same Internet dating service, but they live in other states.