What Price Did China Pay to Save Qian Xuesen?

The Offer Too Big for America to Refuse!

On September 17, 1955, after being closely monitored by the United States for five years, Qian Xuesen finally boarded a ship to return to China.

The ship drifted for nearly two weeks, and on September 30, Qian Xuesen and his wife, Jiang Ying, saw their homeland from a distance.

Seeing China gradually approaching, Qian Xuesen and Jiang Ying couldn’t hold back their tears.

Their young children, sensing their parents’ strong emotions, asked their mother in confusion, “Mom, where are we? When are we going home?”

Jiang Ying knelt down and told her children, “This is China. This is our home.”

Qian Xuesen was overwhelmed with emotion. At that moment, he did not know the exact conditions China had agreed to for his release, but from America’s attitude, he knew the price was substantial.

He silently vowed that upon his return, he would dedicate all his energy and knowledge to his country.