WWDC19 Travel Journal

Day 1: Departure

Shenzhen → Beijing

The journey was destined to be bumpy — the surprises started the night before.

I had two Hainan Airlines international connecting tickets. Leg one: Shenzhen to Beijing at 9 a.m. Leg two: Beijing to San Jose at 3 p.m. At 11 p.m. the night before, I got an urgent text saying the 9 a.m. Shenzhen-Beijing flight was cancelled and rescheduled to 7 a.m. When I got the message I didn’t complain — just let out a long sigh of relief that I was still awake. If I’d gone to bed early, I would have missed it entirely.

But then the next morning at the airport, I found out the 7 a.m. flight was also cancelled. Hainan Airlines really has the reputation it deserves.

I scrambled to rebook and managed to grab one of only four standby seats on a China Southern flight. Once the paperwork was sorted, I looked at the queue stretching from the Hainan Airlines counter almost to the airport entrance and felt genuinely lucky — if I hadn’t arrived so early, there would have been no rebooking, and the day’s departure would have been over.

So many unexpected things, and yet everything worked out.

Beijing → San Jose

Made it to Beijing without incident. After clearing security, I asked the counter staff to save the two seats beside me. Yes — I was also responsible for looking after two junior students from Zhejiang University who were representing our school at WWDC together. I felt the pressure immediately.

Honestly, it had been a while since I’d flown. I spent most of the 10-hour journey staring at the route map, and felt a rush of excitement the moment we crossed the border. Maybe I was too excited, or maybe the plane seats just weren’t comfortable — I slept maybe 2 hours the whole night. When I peeked out from under my eye mask in the middle of the night, one of the students was still awake watching a movie. So we just played Switch together.

P.S. The scenery arriving over San Francisco Bay was genuinely stunning.

Day 2: The Welcome Dinner

After landing I felt like my consciousness had left my body — I’d slept less than 6 hours in 48. We came out of the airport completely lost. Apple had booked us a room in the SJSU student dormitory, but we had no idea how to get there. We smartly followed some other travelers, found a taxi, and the driver was extremely warm, chatting with us the whole way. People really are more friendly here. The scenery outside was nothing like I’d imagined — not a high-rise in sight, almost rural, and it felt like I’d stepped through a portal into GTA.

After checking in, we headed to the conference venue to pick up our badges. The whole street leading to WWDC was lined with Apple greeters, and we walked in on a red carpet while they cheered and high-fived us. As a fairly reserved Chinese person, I really felt the warmth — as open as the cloudless sky overhead.

Picking up my badge, an Apple staffer asked, “Are you excited?” I said, “No, I’m so sleepy.” She stared at me blankly.

We then joined the other Chinese winners. Everyone was enthusiastic and eager to chat, but I was truly running on empty — sitting there chatting and nearly dozing off.

At dinner time, we went to a nearby restaurant for the China region welcome dinner. Attending were 27+3 winners, the director, Jason, some Apple staff I didn’t recognize, and a bunch of press. Three winners volunteered to present their projects one after another. I sat in a corner nearly falling asleep. I really did want to tell everyone about 2life Diary, but was afraid I’d pass out mid-sentence.

After the presentations, Jason found me. I summoned everything I had to stay focused. We talked at length about 2life Diary’s future development. He affirmed our work, and I was genuinely happy. Then on my way back to the food table, I heard a very familiar voice — it was Zhong Wenze! My exhaustion was instantly chased away by fanboy energy. I grabbed him immediately, introduced 2life, and asked for a photo. He was just as approachable in person as on camera, and afterward he even posted a Weibo promoting 2life. I’ve been a fan of his vlogs for years — never imagined he’d end up reviewing my product, let alone posting about me.

A truly happy day.

Though I couldn’t eat anything at dinner — between the time difference (3–4 a.m. Beijing time) and the giant steak that did nothing for my appetite — I rushed back to the dorm and went straight to sleep.

Day 3: WWDC 19

Went to sleep at 7:30 the evening before. My internal clock woke me at 2 a.m. — only 6+ hours of sleep, meaning across 72 hours I’d slept a total of maybe 10. Looking like a panda.

But the excitement of WWDC19 made 10 hours more than enough. On the way out I spotted a squirrel on campus. The police dogs at the venue were incredibly well-behaved and adorable — Apple had even given the dogs badges! Scholars got to enter early without queuing. By the way, the energy inside was electric.

As for this year’s WWDC, I personally felt it was the most heartfelt in years. I was especially excited about:

• SwiftUI
• Dark Mode
• Photos / Notes / Reminders
• Sidecar
• iPadOS
• Sign in with Apple

One complaint though: the venue lunch was “grass” and “leaves” — genuinely inedible. For dinner the three of us found a nearby Subway. Between the language barrier, none of us really knew what we’d ordered. My clever solution was to wait for my travel companion to order, then tell the staff: “The same as her.” That night we played Switch for a bit and then called it a night.

Finally slept well. Jet lag sorted.

Day 4: Apple Park

During the lunch break, the three of us took an Uber to Apple Park. (International transportation is expensive — roughly 6x the price in China.) The Apple Park Visitor Center is a regular Apple Store plus an AR Apple Park exhibit and some limited merchandise like T-shirts and hats. We circled the store in about ten minutes and found it not particularly interesting, so we went up to the second-floor observation deck hoping to see the actual campus. There was mostly just grass and weeds.

As we were about to leave, a Today at Apple session started. We sat down thinking we’d listen, only to realize we were the only three people sitting down. So we were volunteered — and were given a private keynote teaching us to use Keynote, in the middle of the main hall. Slightly awkward. More awkward still: the content was extremely basic. After half an hour we couldn’t take it anymore. When the instructor asked if we had questions, we unanimously said no — and made a polite but hasty exit, leaving the instructor behind us looking a little lonely. (We did leave him five stars in the feedback — Apple staff are all very warm and friendly, no reason not to give full marks.)

Day 5: Hiking and Stanford

Today we met up with liuyubobobo! He’s the teacher who first opened up programming to me, and the mentor who has guided my coding path ever since. He and his wife took us hiking in a park. You really realize that the US is, in a lot of ways, a big countryside — the natural environment is genuinely beautiful. The ducks had no fear of humans; luyubobobo told us that if you go up to mess with them, they’ll actually turn around and chase you.

We then visited Stanford University and its chapel — took tons of photos, bought lots of souvenirs. For dinner we had Chinese food together. His wife, a researcher at the university, reminded us to stay safe: she said the sun goes down and you head home, because muggings and shootings are common, and often target East Asian people. The natural scenery we’d seen that day was genuinely beautiful — but the big city areas were dirty and rundown. The contrast made me suddenly appreciate how good public safety is in China. Overall, from these few days’ experience, China’s public infrastructure is also noticeably better.

I cut a short vlog of today’s activities: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av54807783

Days 6 & 7: Sessions

After his wife’s safety advice the day before, we were all a bit nervous and decided to stay close to the venue. So the last two days were spent diligently attending sessions. His wife did recommend a lot of good food though, and also taught us her trick for finding great spots (download Yelp — China’s Dianping for the rest of the world). Over the week we had lots of good things: fish and chips, BBQ and more. Still one complaint: the venue lunches remained inedible — either “leaves” or bizarre sandwiches, one of which had nothing but tofu in it.

We also took a walk around SJSU during lunch breaks. The campus is quite beautiful. Thanks to Apple for putting us in student housing — it was like getting a little taste of the study-abroad experience.

Day 8: The Journey Home and Final Thoughts

I found an old Moments post from two years ago where I’d wished I could come to WWDC as a graduation trip. I’d always wanted to go abroad — talked about studying overseas but the financial burden ruled it out; talked about an exchange semester but the opportunity never came. In the final month of my student life, I’m grateful to Zhejiang University and Apple for giving me this chance — to attend one last WWDC as a Scholar.

First time at WWDC. First time holding my own passport. First time living abroad. First time meeting luyubobobo. First time seeing Zhong Wenze in the flesh!! First time talking to a foreign stranger (students in my program don’t count…). First time eating BBQ. First time eating fish and chips. First time eating “leaves” and “grass.” First time discovering tofu can go in a sandwich. First time playing Switch on a plane because I couldn’t sleep. First time seeing a live squirrel (no squirrels at the zoo). First time seeing all kinds of flowers whose names I don’t know. First time visiting a church. First time dealing with jet lag. First time making a vlog. First time attending an all-English session. First time participating in a Today at Apple event. … And so many more firsts.

The journey of life — Whether spring snow or french fries — I must taste it all Or this trip was for nothing.

I’d nearly given up hope — when I didn’t win the top prize and thought I’d missed the scholarship application — but the top-prize team had only two members and three tickets, so the organizing committee offered the third ticket to our team. I’m grateful to the committee and to my teammates for giving me the chance to represent us.

Hope had seemed thin — when I got the notice and everyone said it was impossible to get a US visa in under a month, and then the appointment date got pushed back a week. But a series of small, linked coincidences — through someone I’d helped who knew someone in the travel industry — led me to coaching that helped me pass the interview and get the visa.

There were more unexpected complications — the possibility of needing an official overseas travel permit from the university, running frantically through the process only to hit a wall at the last stage. I’m grateful to the party secretary for caring and stepping in, and to Teacher Liu of the organizing committee for carefully arranging every detail of our trip.

The flight that was almost missed — the 11 p.m. text the night before canceling the 9 a.m. flight, the rescheduled 7 a.m. then also cancelled the next morning. I’d arrived early enough to grab one of only four standby seats.

I used to wonder why all these things kept happening to me. But looking back now, perhaps I’ve always been the luckiest one.

The four most memorable moments of this trip:

One: attending the keynote in person and witnessing what I think is the most sincere Apple product release in years.

Two: getting a photo with Zhong Wenze. I’ve watched his vlogs for a long time. I never imagined he’d review my product or post a Weibo about me.

Three: meeting luyubobobo, my programming mentor, in person. We even went to Stanford together — it felt like a dream. I’ve followed his online programming courses for five years. Without any exaggeration, the foundation of my coding path was laid by him.

Four: experiencing university life abroad. I drifted like a lonely cloud, aware that in a city full of so many lives, not a single person had any connection to me. Strangers passing through — all guests in a foreign land. An indescribable feeling — neither liberation nor loneliness, exactly.

There was a time I had such moments — believing without reason that my future was full of possibility, convinced that a rose-colored future lay ahead.

But more often, faced with the unfamiliar, faced with admiration and envy, I would be lost, at a loss for what to do.

No matter which step of the staircase you reach, there are people looking up from below and people looking down from above. Look up — feel small. Look down — feel pleased. Only by looking inward can you see your true self.

Every person needs to know what they want, know what is irreversible, know how to realize their dream, know how to face suffering with the right spirit — and then the answers to advancing and retreating, gaining and losing will come.

Yet all of this is very, very hard. I don’t know how to face suffering when it comes; I don’t know how to realize my dream. I don’t know what I will miss or what regrets I’ll carry. I don’t know where fate will take me — but I believe: as long as you run toward the light, you leave the shadow behind.

When IT Home interviewed me and asked for a parting thought, I said: “Learn meaningful knowledge, do what you love, build products that contribute to society.”

That was also what I once wrote to my advisor in a letter — the letter in which I decided not to continue toward a PhD, wanting instead to explore more of what the world has to offer. But today I suddenly feel: perhaps the greatest meaning of a life is to spend the rest of it finding those things you love most.

I think this world is unimaginably beautiful — trees bursting into bloom, willows swaying. Sunshine sweeps through the city; a breeze passes between your fingers. This world is beautiful. It is worth fighting for — and worth fighting for the things you love.

Looking back at my diary, I can’t help noticing: the college entrance exam choices I made, my unwillingness to accept things as they were, the dream of studying abroad, choosing my career direction, entering that competition, doing the elementary school teaching practicum, studying hard for the graduate entrance exam, the joy of being admitted —

All of these were very important moments in my life. Written down in a diary, they seemed unremarkable. They felt, in the moment, like just another ordinary day.

Indeed — life is like travel. Not as beautiful as it looks. Only after you return from all the heat and the mess, forgetting the suffering, remembering the unbelievable scenery you saw — only then does it become beautiful.