Tag: Beijing

Wang Shan story of Chinese women’s football queen (Part 2)

I was distraught. But now, I understand that Dad lies only to help me have a better life. I know I have to get on that train and go to Beijing. I am happy to have a father who cares like that, even though he is not my father. Actually, I haven’t seen my birth parents for a long time.

My parents divorced. I know they don’t like each other. When my father took me to live with my uncle, I couldn’t accept it. I just cried and trembled. Worse, the parents left Wuhan, went to another city to live. I rarely see them again. We are no longer in contact, because I feel there is no problem at all. Thinking of goodbye every day, I just felt miserable. I don’t want to say about them anymore.

My parents are really my uncle. I consider my cousin as my brother. When I first lived in my uncle’s house, I was scared and could only lock myself in my room. Gradually my brother asked me to play football, to help me make new friends. In elementary school, we play football together during recess. There is a football club in the school, but only for boys. Thanks to him, I was allowed to play together. I left my hair short and had a face like a boy’s, making people call me: Tomboy. “Look at Tomboy, he’s so cool,” people often say. That memory always makes me smile.

Football helps me express myself and get attention from people. After my parents divorced, I really needed that. Football also helped me to be in a team. The whole team won together, lost together. Whatever happens, we are not alone. I love football so simply.

At the age of 12, I was accepted into a soccer training facility in Beijing. The school scared me because I was a few years younger than my classmate. I’m shy and always remember my parents and my brother. The school is located far from the city center, so I just hang around at the academy.

Wang Shan story of Chinese women’s football queen (Part 1)

The PSG midfielder is on the page of The Player’s Tribune while she and her teammates attend the Women’s World Cup in France.

I have never liked two words Goodbye. Every time I hear the goodbye, unhappy memories come back. The most heartbreaking thing is the story that happened at a train station in my hometown – Wuhan, when I was 12 years old. I remember that night very cold, right on Lunar New Year. Everyone gets a week off to gather with family and relatives, eat the best dishes. I just wanted New Year to last forever, because it was the first year I had to leave home. I attended the gifted school in Beijing, dedicated to the Chinese U17 football team. I am much younger than my peers and gnawing at loneliness away from home. There are times when I miss my parents, I cried alone.

It’s easy to understand why I’m depressed when I only get three days off, then I have to go back to school. Just when I needed my parents’ arms, I had to go back to Beijing by night train. My parents and brother sent me to the station. Dad followed me to the door to the train. At that time, I just wanted to say that everything would be fine, but I didn’t dare. People always think I’m an optimistic, life-loving baby. But the opposite is different. No matter how sad, I don’t want to let others know, especially with my parents.

That night at the station, instinct reminds me to swallow sadness inside. But this time, I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Dad, I don’t want to go,” I said. Dad said, “Don’t worry. Go ahead. I’ll follow you later.” I was surprised, burst into tears and said, “You must come. I promise”. My father promised me and say goodbye. I cried all night. Arriving in Beijing, I soon realized the truth. Dad lied. Dad didn’t come.