In 1971, Premier Zhou Enlai welcomed John Service back to the land of his birth. It was their first meeting in more than 27 years and signaled China's desire for better relations with the USA. After their private 3-hour meeting, Service sent a report to the State Department.
Courtesy Service Family

The handshake between President Nixon and Chairman Mao in February 1972 changed the geopolitical landscape of the world -- and helped restore John Service's reputation.
Ollie Atkins Collection, Special Collections & Archives, George Mason University

Yan'an 2004: a Chinese documentary film crew enters Mao's cave dwelling that has become an important stop for tourists seeking to re-capture the "Yenan Spirit".
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yenan 2004: Inside Mao's cave an army guide waits to tell tourists about Chairman Mao's work desk.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yan'an 2004: Chinese tourists arriving in courtyard of Zhou Enlai's cave dwelling and office.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yan'an 2004: This cave dwelling has not been fixed up for the tourists to see.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yan'an 2004: Old veteran sweeps "Dixie Mission" compound where American observers lived 1944-1947.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yan'an 2004: Local Chinese Communist Party boss stands by engraved stone honoring John Service and other Americans of the Dixie Mission for a Chinese documentary film crew.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yan'an 2004: Veteran hawks postcards of wartime heroes.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yenan 2004: Kids in rented WWII army uniforms pose for their mother's camera. An example of China's new "Market economy with Chinese characteristics."
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Yan'an 2004: Young boy practices spinning yarn as girl in WWII uniform watches. Mao's old stronghold has become a tourist mecca, something like Williamsburg symbolizing America's revolutionary days.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Photo of Barrett and Service with Zhou Enlai in Yenan museum in 2004. During the 27 years of bitter animosity between the U.S. and China such photos were never on display.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

Shanghai 2004: The city's futuristic Pudong skyline across the river would seem like the Land of Oz to John Service who was a Shanghai schoolboy in the 1920s and served at the U.S. Consulate in the late 1930s. It would also be totally unrecognizable to Mao Zedong or Chiang Kai-shek.
Photo by Lynne Joiner

The People's Republic of China celebrates its 60th anniversary on October 1, 2009.