When June May arrives in China, she has preconceived notions about the country that are challenged by her experiences there. When she arrives at the hotel in Guangzhou, she is surprised by the luxury that $34 can buy. She thinks to herself more than once: “This is communist China?” (299). This line of thinking reveals June May’s stereotypical thinking about China. She did not expect to find luxury hotels or American and European products in the minibar either.

In the shower at the hotel, June May discovers little packets of shampoo that have, she says, “the consistency and color of hoisin sauce. This is more like it […] This is China” (300). The hotel symbolizes June May’s misconceptions about her parents’ homeland, her desire to see those misconceptions confirmed as a way of reaffirming her American identity, and her resistance to her Chinese identity as something foreign.

Amy Tan uses the journey motif to structure her story. She begins the narrative with June May and Canning leaving Hong Kong and leads the characters through a more inland region of China, Guangzhou, and then ultimately back out to the coastal city of Shanghai, where they will meet the long-lost daughters of Suyuan.