by Katharine Schroeder

In the Fall of 2004, Jackie established the Dragon’s Heart Foundation with the goal of helping the very poorest people in China lead better lives. Although Jackie has been involved in charity work since he founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation almost twenty years ago, the Dragon's Heart Foundation is specifically geared toward building schools in remote areas of China and providing school supplies and uniforms for the children. Additionally, the Foundation gives aid to the elderly in China. Since its establishment, Jackie has taken every opportunity to visit these areas to lend support to the people and raise funds. He attends groundbreakings and openings of the Dragon’s Heart Schools and conducts charity auctions. This year’s trip was the most extensive so far, lasting nine days. Here on Jackie’s official website, we share the experience with fans so they can get to know the important charity work that Jackie does.

Day 4
September 18, 2007
 
It is early in the morning of our first day in Wenshang, about 750 miles southwest of Changchung where yesterday we completed day three of this Dragon's Heart Foundation charity mission. We were awakened by what sounded like a rush hour traffic jam outside the hotel window, and I pulled back the curtains to see hundreds of people milling around in the street below. Cars beeped their horns in an attempt to get through the crowd that was spilling out into the road. It was only 7:00 in the morning and already many people had arrived to wait for Jackie.

As the crowd downstairs struggled to secure a good vantage point to see Jackie, we were upstairs in our room fighting a losing battle with the showers. It seems that the design of the shower stall was such that when the water was turned on – essential when using a shower – it would leak out onto the bathroom floor. Actually, calling it a “leak” is being polite. The water poured out, forming a lake on the floor. Fibe and I did our best to try to keep the flow under control with rolled up towels, but were mostly unsuccessful. As it turned out, we were not the only ones engaged in a war with the facilities; it was a widespread problem. Keeping things in perspective is always important, so we tried to find the humor in this minor inconvenience. It really was more comical than annoying. 
 
Once we were ready, we gathered our equipment and went down to our little makeshift cafe for breakfast. Jackie was still in his room getting ready since he was up quite late the night before waiting for the lost luggage. After breakfast I went to see what he was up to and found him draping soaking wet towels wherever he could find a place to hang them. It seems that he was having a time of it with his shower as well.

“Look at my slippers - soaking wet. Everything soaking wet.”

I nodded in empathy and it was then that I noticed a large red “FRAGILE” sticker on the glass wall that stood between his bed and the bathroom.

"What's this all about?" I asked.

“You won't believe how many times I walked into the glass wall until I finally stuck the red sign there. Take a photo.”

“Well, okay,” I replied. “But your underwear will be in the picture. Do you want to move them first?”

“No, of course not. Why shouldn't the fans see that I wash my own clothes?”
 
Jackie isn’t shy about much.

Blow drying hair, Jackie Chan style.

After Jackie finished getting ready we all went downstairs together. By this time there was a serious crowd waiting, but the police had everything under good control. The people were nowhere near as frenzied as they had been the night before; everyone was smiling and waving and respecting the barricades which had been erected by the security force. As Jackie walked from the hotel to the van, a huge cry exploded from the crowd; hundreds of people called out his name at once. Jackie jumped into the van and waved to as many people as he could before settling down into his seat. He was quiet on the ride to the school, tired after getting only a few hours of sleep. It was still early in the morning and like many people, it takes him a while to get revved up before he’s his usual vivacious self.

At the site of the new school where the ceremony would be held, Jackie was welcomed with tremendous excitement. Hundreds of students waved flowers and chanted “Welcome Uncle Jackie! We love you!” while a uniformed marching band played a slightly off-key but heartfelt song. Again the students, teachers, and officials had done everything to make this a very special occasion.

Jackie made his way through the crowd, smiling and waving, and was led to the stage where he stood while we were treated to an unexpected cannon salute. At the moment when the blast happened, I was taking photos of X Lee who was filming the group of little girls waiting to perform for Jackie. None of us were paying any attention to what was going on just behind us, so it was a great surprise when we heard the ear-splitting boom come from about 15 feet away. I thought the girls were going to start crying, but to their credit, they just put their fingers in their ears and after their initial shock, giggled instead.

With great ceremony the children raised the national flag. If you watch Jackie’s face as the flag goes up, you will see how proud he is to be Chinese. He often comments that he gets shivers up his spine when he hears the national anthem and watches the flag go up.

Once the ceremony was complete it was time for the check presentations and the unveiling of the school’s name plaque. About a dozen people stood at the side of the stage holding checks made out to Dragon’s Heart. These generous donations came from local businessmen and Jackie accepted them individually, thanking everyone and posing for a photo with each donor. Afterwards, he unveiled the beautiful new name plaque for the school and then spoke to the students, teachers, and guests. As has become his habit for this Dragon's Heart trip, he stressed that his main goal in coming to visit was to bring his love and compassion and to bring the love and care from his fans and friends. Although he also brought supplies and even donated US$40,000 of his own money to this school, he wanted everyone to know that there were people all over the world who cared about these children. Jackie is an exceptional public speaker, passionate but controlled. His voice was mesmerizing and everyone stood quiet and still as he spoke.

After his speech it was time for the performances. Jackie was completely charmed by the dozens of children as they sang and hopped around the stage. He was practically dancing in his seat as he clapped along to the music, smiling and laughing. Later on he talked about how good it made him feel to see these children looking so happy and how much he wanted them to be able to start using the brand new school facilities. Completion of the construction was just weeks away, but in Jackie’s opinion even that’s too long to wait. If it were up to him, he’d get in there with a hammer and nails and finish the project himself.

When the performances were over, it was photo time and to the delight of the crowd, Jackie climbed right over the table in front of him and jumped up onto the stage to join the kids for a picture. As is his habit, Jackie arranged everyone into perfect formation and posed with the thrilled children for some very special photographs.

We left the grounds where the new school was being built and where the ceremony was just held and drove to the old school. Because of a delay in building the new school, students were still attending class at this decrepit and crumbling facility. The buildings were literally falling apart. The walls were cracked, the windows broken, and there were holes in the stone floor. The desks and benches were ancient and the blackboard was so gouged and scratched that it was almost useless. There was no heat or insulation, meaning that when the weather turned cold, these classrooms would be very uncomfortable.

This is the old school with a plain dirt play yard and a basketball backboard with no hoop.

As Jackie entered the small building, he was followed by a stampede of local cameramen. He politely asked them to wait outside; he wanted to talk to the school officials and get a good look at the room without having so many people around. Although the classroom was in terrible condition, Jackie wasn’t too upset by it because he knew that in a matter of months this building would be demolished and the children would attend classes in a brand new Dragon’s Heart Primary School. Still, he was interested in touring the old school and it was important for the AIS students to see it as well. Up until today, the students hadn’t experienced the grim reality of the situation for so many of the children in China. Every place we’d visited in the past two days had welcomed us with performances and fanfare. This was the AIS students’ first experience with the dreadful condition of many of the schools in the poorer areas of China. They stared, transfixed, for quite some time as if finding it hard to believe that they were standing in a room that exists in the 21^st century.

Back in the van, we began our journey to the next destination – a facility for the elderly a few miles away. When we pulled out of the parking area of the school, people began chasing the van, trying to see Jackie and wave hello. Jackie became very concerned, as he always does when people chase the car, and shouted out the window for everyone to be careful. As we drove away, a motorcycle was speeding alongside our van and the driver was looking at Jackie rather than at the road. Jackie grabbed a piece of paper and wrote “Drive Carefully!” on it and stuck it onto the window for the driver to see. He's always afraid that someone will get struck by the van or cause a car accident in their efforts to see him. That’s the last thing he wants to happen. He ended up keeping the sign with him for the rest of our time in Wenshang and used it several times to warn drivers to watch the road and not him.

We arrived at the elderly home a few minutes later and went into the courtyard where Jackie was greeted by a few dozen residents and several officials. This gathering was quite different from the one we had just left; it was very somber and quiet. Dragon’s Heart had brought supplies for the residents – wheelchairs and warm clothing – and after a short speech, Jackie and the Australian School students distributed everything and then posed for some photos. While this was going on I went up to the second level living quarters for a look around.

The residents’ rooms were sparse and simply furnished, but they were clean, bright, and comfortable looking. For each resident there was a single bed, a small table, a thermos, and supplies for making tea. Although not an ideal place to live in retirement, it was much nicer than a lot of places and the residents seemed content. With their new clothes and supplies from Dragon's Heart, their lives will be a little more comfortable. Jackie likes to remind people that the elderly were once young and productive members of society and they deserve love, care, and respect in their old age. It's easy to forget that these frail and aged people once led full and active lives, but Jackie is always here to remind us to keep in mind what they once did for their families and for their country.

As I was about to go back downstairs, I was startled when I looked up into the unsmiling face of an old woman who was leaning against the balcony staring at me. Her expression was neither friendly nor unfriendly, and she had a great face. I wanted to take her photo, but I was unsure how she would react. I raised my camera up a little as she continued to stare and I silently wondered whether I would upset her if I took her picture. Suddenly she acknowledged me with an almost imperceptable nod, so I took the photo and gave her a little wave goodbye as she continued to smoke her pipe and fix me with her level gaze.

In my travels through China with Jackie I haven’t run into anyone yet who has gotten angry when I’ve taken their photo. In fact I have found that when I turn my camera toward groups of people, they usually smile and wave. In some places we’ve been to, people seem a little suspicious of me; not unfriendly, just wary. In many of the remote places we’ve been, foreigners (or “Westerners”) are rare and looked upon with a combination of fascination and even a little fear. When approaching a group of people who are eyeing me with curiosity, I found out that all it takes is for me to smile and say “Nimen hao!” (“Hello!”) to break the ice. Occasionally they will respond with a tentative “Hello!” in English. More than once on this trip I have spoken to the locals in halting Mandarin only to have them respond in halting English. Being faced with a crowd of scowling people can be a little scary, but I’ve learned that all it takes is a smile and some fumbling Mandarin to make everyone laugh and wave. And I’m convinced that 98% of the population of the Earth likes to pose for a photo!

After taking the old woman's photo, I noticed X Lee across the way; he'd also come upstairs to get a different view. He manages to find great vantage points from which to film, and watching him work is an education in itself. He knows Jackie so well that he can anticipate his actions. He's also been on many trips like this, so he is familiar with the sequence of events and knows the best places to stand. He's been quite helpful to me and will always alert me to something that is about to happen and tell me to follow him to get the best shots. Although X Lee works with video and I with stills, he has an artist's eye and you can't help but learn from him if you watch him and follow his lead. 

Back downstairs, Jackie and the small parade of residents, students, reporters, and officials were leaving to make their way over to the lunchroom. Once there, Jackie sat with three of the residents and talked while they ate lunch together. (And in case you’re curious, Jackie did bring along his own chopsticks. In his diaries Jackie encourages people to carry their own chopsticks because they’re safer to use and they’re more environmentally friendly. See? Jackie does follow his own advice.)

Several times during lunch a resident hesitantly approached to ask for an autograph, and Jackie obliged each time. When the meal first began, the residents seemed a little shy about talking to him, but before long all of them were laughing and chatting like old friends. Jackie is very good at both making people feel at ease and making them feel like they’re special. His vast experience interacting with all kinds of people plus his natural friendliness have shaped him into a master at making anyone he's talking to feel comfortable. Jackie really enjoys chatting with people and hearing their stories, and because of his geniality and graciousness, people feel quite comfortable talking to him as well.
 
After lunch we left the elderly home and went back to the hotel to relax for a while before our next outing. Jackie didn’t join us for lunch, so when we were done eating I stopped by his room to see what he was up to. He had paperwork spread out all over his bed.

“See?” he said. “Always working, even during rest time!” It’s true that Jackie fills every minute of his day and has little patience for wasting even a second.

“You should relax for a while,” I suggested.

“I can relax when I’m dead,” he replied.

Enough said.

We had some time before we had to leave for our next outing, so I took my camera and went downstairs to see what was going on outside the hotel. There were still hundreds of people waiting around for Jackie, so I went to say hello to some of them. I swear that every single person out there was smiling ear to ear and they all wanted to have their photo taken. I walked over to the edge of the crowd and noticed a little boy holding a bouquet of flowers and looking very much like he was going to cry. I walked closer and said hello, and the boy’s father launched into a mile-a-minute talk directed at me. I understood some of what he was saying, and the rest he made very clear using gestures and facial expressions. His son wanted to give flowers to Jackie, but he knew they were too far away to hand them to him, so could I please take the flowers and give them to Jackie? Please? Of course I couldn’t say no, so I took the bouquet, assured them that I’d give it to Jackie, and moved on.

Flowers for Jackie.

Now I was juggling my camera case, my camera, and a gigantic bouquet of flowers. I must have looked pretty ridiculous, but no one laughed, instead they just waved and shouted out greetings. I took some photos of these lovely people who had been waiting for hours to see Jackie and put them together for you to see. The faces of the people who come to greet Jackie are always filled with happiness; their smiles are wide and genuine.

A few minutes later it was time to get ready to leave, so I got in the van to wait. X Lee was with me and I took another photo of him hanging out of the passenger side window of our van. This was his station no matter where we went; it afforded him a view out the front and enabled him to take video while the van was stationary or moving. No one ever seemed concerned that he’d go tumbling out, and of course he didn’t. But every time I saw him balancing precariously out the window, I felt the urge to grab his foot or shirt or something to keep him from falling. I restrained myself, and of course he managed just fine without my help and despite my fear that we’d lose him at any moment.

A loud cheer from the crowd signaled Jackie’s arrival at the front door of the hotel and after he waved and blew kisses at everyone, he climbed in and we were off to our next destination. I showed him the flowers and told him the story of the little boy who wanted to give them to him personally, but who couldn’t get close enough. Of course he was touched; how could he not be? The amount of love that these people have for Jackie is astonishing and when you are there you can feel it as though it were something solid and tangible.

Soon we arrived at the Wenshang Special Needs School where the majority of the student body is either deaf or deaf/mute. The first thing Jackie did was to visit the students in their classroom, where he was given a quick lesson in sign language.

Afterwards, everyone headed out to the small courtyard where two students officially greeted Jackie and presented him with the red scarf you see him wearing in all of the Dragon’s Heart photos. The scarf is presented to Jackie by the students to show their respect for him, and everywhere we visit there is a small ceremony wherein one of the students will place it around his neck. Right in the middle of this day’s ceremony, one of the boys lost all self-control and just reached out and hugged Jackie, much to the delight of all of us.

When the ceremony was finished, Jackie spoke to the students with the aid of a sign language interpreter. He told them that he’d come from a place far away called Hong Kong and he told them that there were people all over the world who wanted him to pass on their love and concern. He told them that even though they had a disability, that needn’t stop them from leading happy, meaningful lives and that they should work hard and give back to society some day. After he spoke, Jackie sat and watched several performances including a short play and a special sign language dance.

It was remarkable to see how coordinated the movements of the students were, dancing in time to music they couldn’t hear. As I watched Jackie looking at the children perform, I wondered what was going through his head. Later on when I asked him, he told me that he has to work hard not to show the sorrow he feels when he sees these children. He said that he’s filled with a combination of feelings: sadness that their lives are so difficult, and happiness that he can do something to make things a little better for them. He doesn’t want them to misinterpret and think that he feels pity for them; rather, he wants to encourage them and show them his love and support. The faces of the children at the Special Needs School reflected their acceptance of and appreciation for the love that Jackie brought with him from so far away.

I should mention that everywhere we'd been so far during this trip, I kept seeing people up in the trees trying to get a better look at Jackie, and today was no exception. There were people hanging out of the trees, standing on rooftops, and peering through windows to watch what was going on in the compound. When Jackie spotted the people in the trees, he told them to be careful. His warning had the opposite effect than he intended; they were so excited that he'd noticed them, they nearly fell out of the trees. 

General admission seating.

A young woman watches from the window of a nearby building.

After we finished up at the Special Needs School, we drove back to the hotel, making an unscheduled stop at a small museum. I can’t show you what was inside because as we were entering, Jackie asked me to stay outside and take photos of the carved columns and statues that were in front of the building. “Details,” he said. “Get every angle; front, back, sides, everything…” His voice trailed off as he was led inside the little museum.

So I spent the next 20 minutes wandering around outside taking photos of columns, lion statues, and the beautiful decorations on the small buildings surrounding the museum. When Jackie asks me to take photos of something that catches his eye, it usually means he has an idea in his head and will make use of what’s in the pictures at some later date. I take a lot of reference photos for him, often of things he sees as we’re driving in different spots. You never know; someday you may see a Jackie Chan t-shirt featuring a design such as this:

Back at the hotel Jackie had a short meeting with local officials, then we had some dinner and got ready to go to the auction. Today’s schedule was jam-packed and there wasn’t a minute to waste. After dinner there was just enough time to rush back to my room to upload all the photos from the CF cards into the computer to clear the way for more pictures. I barely had a chance to review any of the photos from the day when I heard “Time to go!” being announced in the hallway. Lailie, our talented and efficient coordinator was a miracle worker when it came to keeping us on schedule, in the right cars, and at the right locations. Each city we went to had a different team of volunteers waiting for us, and of course there was the core group that traveled from city to city. She had a million details to keep straight; everything from airline tickets to luggage to transportation to hotel reservations. Lailie is a volunteer and does all of this because she wants to be a part of Dragon’s Heart's work. She is one of the people who makes all of it possible, and she does all her hard work with good humor and a smile on her face.

Lailie

The venue for this auction was enormous; hundreds of people sat and stood in a large hall waiting anxiously for Jackie’s arrival. When we got to the location we went to a waiting room where Jackie went through all the items for auction to familiarize himself with what we’d brought and to make sure everything was just perfect. When he was finished doing that he spent the remaining time straightening up the room, picking up garbage that was lying around, and wiping off the tables. Once he began doing this the entire bunch of us mobilized to help him and within a few minutes the room was clean and tidy. Jackie likes to straighten things up.

Jackie checks out all the items and makes sure he's prepared for the auction.

When he took the stage, the roar from the audience was deafening. It immediately became clear that this was going to be an enthusiastic crowd and that meant the auction would probably be very successful. Jackie was supposed to greet the crowd and then go backstage and let the auctioneers take over, but he didn’t want to leave. He said that all these people paid money to see him and he wasn’t going to disappoint them.

Jackie stayed out on the stage for the entire auction, sweating along with the rest of us in the room. It was so hot! There were so many people and there was no ventilation, so all the body heat made the room like a sauna. This didn’t stop anyone from enjoying themselves, however, and item after item went for some incredible prices. By the time the auction was over, the total was nearly US$ 300,000. The people who were bidding were thrilled when they won because it meant that they could go up onto the stage, shake Jackie’s hand, and take a photo with him. One young man wasn’t satisfied with only a photo and a handshake, so he kept bidding and winning until finally Jackie told him that if he bid again, he’d get a kiss and a hug. The young guy did bid again and sure enough, Jackie gave him a huge kiss on the cheek and a bear hug. Everyone enjoyed themselves and in the spirit of charity, people were very generous. Jackie was seriously overjoyed; I think he was more happy about the enthusiasm than the final total. He’s earned more in previous auctions, but he took great delight in this group’s generosity and energy.

Jackie signs an auction item.

Jackie recognizes the young man he promised to kiss.

Promise kept.  A kiss...

...and a hug.

Sure-footed X Lee seems to be everywhere at once and never loses his balance.

Back at the hotel everyone was still very excited about the success of the auction and the atmosphere was like that in a college dormitory – everyone running from room to room, relaxing together and talking. I went down to Jackie’s room to take a few photos of him signing some more t-shirts and noticed the shirt that he’d worn to the auction hanging on the edge of the door.

“It’s soaking wet,” he said. “I’m trying to dry it out.” 

It had been terribly hot in the auction venue and Jackie had worked so hard. He was concerned about the shirt being sweaty but I reassured him that the fan who won the auction wouldn't mind. 

"It makes it more special," I said.

Jackie just nodded thoughtfully, probably wondering what in the world I was talking about. I don't even know what I was talking about.

I took more photos of the clothes that Jackie had worn at the auction because someone would be coming along soon to pick them up. When I was finished I noticed that Jackie had disappeared, so I went back to my room. I crashed right into him as I entered.

“Can I help you with something?” I asked.

“I’m looking for a place to sit and talk with everyone, but there’s laundry hung all over your room.”

“There’s laundry hung all over everyone’s room,” I pointed out. “It looks like Hong Kong.” (Hong Kong people love to hang their clothing out their windows to dry, so many of the buildings feature colorful clothes swaying and flapping in the breeze.)

He laughed and said, “Then we’ll just have to sit in the hallway.”

And so we did.
 
Jackie gathered the AIS students and together we all sat in the hallway and talked about the last few days and about the things that the students could do for charity in the future. Every few minutes someone else would join us until there were about a dozen people sitting on the floor in the hall. It was a warm and happy atmosphere and I was glad that the students got to talk to Jackie when he was relaxed and not under any pressure.

After about a half hour someone took out a camera and that began a marathon session of picture taking. Whenever Jackie and his staff pose for a photo, I wonder if there was some sort of training course they’d all attended. They are able to arrange themselves into attractive, balanced groups in seconds. They can also hear the sound of a camera’s shutter clicking from at least half a mile away, and will come running instantly. As we took photo after photo in every conceivable configuration, Jackie joked and teased and had everyone laughing for nearly every picture.

To finish up our hallway photo session, Jackie took the camera, turned around, then leaned over as far back as he could and stuck the camera up in front of his face while keeping all of us in the background. The resulting picture is quite a sight:

"Self-portrait With Friends"
by Jackie Chan

We left the hallway and went to Jackie’s suite where I wanted to take a more formal picture of Jackie and the students. I took the first photo and instantly someone came running into the room. “Photos!!!” Within three minutes, the number of people had increased exponentially until there were over twenty people all trying to crowd into the tiny space! 

Once we were done with the photos, Jackie invited the students to have some fruit and talk a little bit more. X Lee came along and together with the students we discussed plans for extending their Dragon’s Heart experience into the future. After a while, someone came into the room and I heard the word “dinner.”  By now it was creeping close to 11:00 p.m. and I wondered why they were talking about eating. I soon found out. Jackie had ordered dinner for us and it was ready and waiting in the little dining room on our floor. I was so impressed at how much he was doing to make the Australian International School students feel welcome and special.
 
The students, their chaperone Suzi, X Lee, Jackie, and I sat down for an entertaining dinner during which Jackie was in prime form. Incredibly, he was full of energy and spent the next two hours telling stories in his inimitable style, arms waving, jumping out of the chair to illustrate a point, grabbing whatever (or whomever) was nearby to use as a prop, and keeping us all bent over double laughing. This dinner was meant to be just for fun, so we didn’t spend too much time talking about the trip or the charity. We’d talked so much about it already this evening, and it was important to take a break from the serious things we’d dealt with in the past days; to just let go and have a little fun. X Lee is very adept at reminding Jackie of stories that are particularly funny or poignant; he throws him little hints to jog the memory and then Jackie is off and running. He told the kids all about how he used to act when he was young and newly famous, trying to be a showoff and a “bad boy,” throwing money around and acting “mostly like a real ass” (those are Jackie’s exact words). While the stories he told were quite funny, he told many of them with a purpose – to show the kids that no one is perfect, that you can turn your life around and become a better person. He also told several stories purely for entertainment, such as the one he'd told when he was on the David Letterman Show. Before he started, he leaned over and whispered to me, “Do you think it’s okay to tell the airplane story?”

Since the kids were all around 15 or 16 years old, I said I thought it would be okay.

“Just the way I told it on Letterman?”

“Just the way you told it on Letterman.”

And he told the story and he was very very funny.
 
We sat at the table for several hours until we noticed that it had gotten very late. Since we’d be leaving early in the morning, it was time to wrap it up. Tomorrow we would depart for Zaozhuang and begin Day Five of our journey.

Video
Dragon's Heart , Wenshang
 

CLICK HERE to download the small video to your computer for viewing. This will take a few minutes; file size is 9 megabytes. (Another method to download the video is to just right click your mouse on the link and choose SAVE TARGET AS, then save it to your computer.)

If you'd like to learn more about one of Dragon's Heart's projects, click here to read about Jackie's Build a School for a Dollar campaign.

You can watch Jackie tell the funny story he told on The David Letterman Show here.

Text and photos ©2007 The JC Group. All Rights Reserved.

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