In addition to operating this Chinese Heritage Tour blog, we’re fortunate enough to have a group of astute Chinese American youths join us to let the world know their insights about this journey through the West on Twitter.

Their short Tweets are humorous, thoughtful and to the point. So, please have a look at their Tweets, if you haven’t done so already. You’ll also find a link to Twitter in the upper right hand corner of this blog.

From left to right, the youths are: Helen, Qingci, MingFeng and King. Zhen is standing behind them. Oh, yes. They’re also helping load and unload luggage on the bus.

Here are a few dispatches from King, Qingci and Zhen, respectively, that you’ll find on their Twitter page:

Panning for gold was AWESOME! One of the coolest experiences ever. If only I could find my packet of gold. *tear*

King…found his struggles with his identity in his early immigrantion life, however he overcome it!

We Are About 30 Minutes From John Day,Oregon And The View Is Amazing Here On Top Of A Hill.

In this photograph, they were at Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area, where all the trip participants on Wednesday had a chance to pan for gold and learn about the hulking machine in the back of them.

It’s a Dredge, which scooped up the valley floor and acted like a giant washing machine in the search for gold.

By the way, later in the day, Helen and King helped me interview Gary Dielman, a local historian in Baker City, Ore. about the Chinese living there during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

I thought Helen and King asked some fantastic questions and took excellent notes.

By the way, Josh Heim, a staff member for The Wing, is helping the youths on this trip.

– Brad Wong