Journey to Canada
Life after retirement in 1988 brought new challenges and opportunities for Ming De and Zhen Yu and their family. Ming De’s mother had become very ill and now required full-time care. 
Retirement allowed Ming De to spend more time caring for her mother until her death in 1998. For Zhen Yu, retirement meant finding new work locally.
China’s newly emerging economic reforms allowed retirees such as Ming De and Zhen Yu to now earn extra wages if they wished to. Zhen Yu found work as an engineer in a small local steel ball bearing factory. With this extra income, Zhen Yu was able to help his children pursue their education studies outside of China. In 1990 their eldest son left China to study at the University of Victoria and make a new life in Canada. Their two daughters, in the late 1990’s, later immigrated to Canada to study and both start new lives for themselves.
In 2000, Ming De and Zhen Yu took their first trip to Canada to visit with their three adult children who now resided in Victoria, British Columbia. During the visit, Zhen Yu and Ming De were impressed by Canada and all that it offered: the nice weather; the clean environment and the peaceful surroundings.
When they returned home to China from their visit to Canada they realized how much they missed being near their three children and their families. After consulting with family members, they decided to see if they could immigrate to Canada. In 2000 they applied for a visa under the Family Reunification program.
In 2004, their immigration applications were finally approved. Ming De and Zhen Yu once again travelled to Canada, but this time arriving as landed immigrants. They were about to start a new life in Canada.
