有缘千里来相会，无缘对面不相逢！

I came to China on 23 September, 2019. I had privilege to not only experience all four seasons but also highs and lows of this country. One thing I am particularly grateful for is, I came here in a time when China celebrated its 70th anniversary with glory and conquered the biggest challenge, that the world has ever faced so far, with grace and dignity. The experience of past one year and nine months has been an exponential journey of growth and learning, for which I am grateful to China government to give me this opportunity to come here and pursue my masters in Women Leadership and Social development in China Women's University.

Narrating the story of this whole experience won't be possible in just thousand words. However, we just came back from our university filed trip in Jiande county of Zhejiang province. Where we got the Chance to meet the real women of China who are holding half of the sky. Among many I was inspired by 85-year young Madam Lu Zhanglian 卢樟莲, who had not only her own court yard filled with beautiful flowers but also planted so many flowers in the village and inspired others to help keep the village clean. Her selfless actions and mission to serve her country summarizes all that I have learned and observed in China. When I grow old, I would aspire to be like her and plant the flowers of peace and beauty in the world.

In Jiande on the magical track alongside the Xinan River I met Miss Gong Lihua. She was the happiest soul in this world and I don't know anything about her. But the beautiful poem she shared, "有缘千里来相会 ，无缘对面不相逢" touched my heart. Ever since I am thinking about it. This one poem helped me understand that my this extraordinary experience in China was infact nothing less than 缘.

It was destiny that I came to China in a time of pandemic, which gave me an opportunity to play my part by using social media to counter the infodemic and help the country fight against the virus. Which lead me to speak as a youth representative at a conference organized by UN Women and All China Women Federation in Great People's Hall. Its where I met the former UNESCO Director of Beijing office Dr. Marielza Oliveira. That gave me chance to speak as youth representative at Nanjing Peace forum 2020. Which eventually led me to become the Youth Volunteer for Middle East Peace. All this happened because in 2015 President Xi Jinping, promised that China will invest in the development of women leaders in developing countries.

Now that I have graduated, I had this moral calling to speak of what I have seen and experienced in China. The truth is being a Muslim when I was coming to China I was worried and my biggest anxiety was finding Halal/清真 food. However, the reality is Islam came to China almost 1,300 years before and its almost a native religion. I had no problem in finding halal food from the very first day. Moreover, this year in Ramadan I offered Friday Prayers in the Mosque alongside Chinese Muslims.

Therefore, to experience the life of Chinese Muslims I went to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Where I lived in Huimin Qu. For me this solo trip has been the best experience in China. My hotel room was next to a mosque and I could hear the voice of Adan (Muslim call to prayer) in my room. I also offered morning prayer in the mosque. I felt completely safe walking on the road at four am in the morning in order to enter the mosque. While walking in the streets of Hohhot I felt I was home. Above all not a single day I have ever feared in China that I will be harassed because of my scarf. On the contrary people ask me where I am from and when they learn I am from Pakistan, immediately they exclaim with enthusiasm, "巴铁".

During our Jiande trip our English Translator, Mr. Shao Jianbo who is an English teacher and volunteered for this role, asked a very crucial question, "now that you have graduated, what would you like to do?" My answer was I would like to go back and apply in my country what I have learned here in China. On the last day, Shao Jian said, "before Pakistan was just a country for me but now whenever I will hear Pakistan in news, I will have emotions because I know one person from there." In retrospect this is exactly what we need today, People to people connection and understanding, to create a peaceful world and a shared future for all!

Now that I have graduated, it's also destiny that I am going back in this year when China is celebrating 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party and Pak-China celebrated 70th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between the two countries. At this very phenomenal time, I feel my relation with China is not ending infact it's the beginning of a new chapter. After two years rigorous training in China Women University, the skills which I have gained through masters in Women in Leadership & Social Development, will help me to build the capacity of Pakistani women to hold the half of the sky and contribute in development of the country. Furthermore, I have set a goal for next 10 years that I will come back, not as a student but in the capacity of a speaker! To tell the story how Chinese Spirit helped me sow the seeds of peace in my country and in the world. Beyond these 10 years I will be a goodwill ambassador for China, My second Homeland and an educator of Chinese Spirit for rest of My life!

Esha Iqbal is a graduate of National University of Science and Technology School of Business. She has been working in Women Empowerment and Youth Development since 2010. She is the founding member of Youth Impact. She conducts training sessions for women and young girls on the topics of, economic empowerment, personal development, identity, time management and balanced Life. As nature enthusiast and a rock climber, she uses nature as a class room to design her experiential learning sessions.

She has worked as Regional Operations Manager in Habib Bank Limited, where she was selected as a diversity champion Habib Bank's gender diversity forum. During her experience at bank, she was a field trainer for State Bank of Pakistan's National Financial Literacy Program and conducted financial literacy trainings for women of rural areas of Azad Kashmir.

She has been a fellow of "Emerging Leaders of Pakistan 2012"; a program of Atlantic Council sponsored by US state department. She was selected based on her contributions in women empowerment in one of the remotest areas of Azad Kashmir. Currently she is pursuing her Masters in "Women Leadership and Social Development" in China Women University through a China Government Scholarship program.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.