01940 Spring 2022 V4_Reduced

SPRING 2022 | 35
Can you imagine starting a new
life in a foreign country, on
your own, not knowing the
local language, not having
friends, just having a dream?
How long do you think it would take
you to master a new profession, learn the
language and open your own successful
business?
It took Xiaoping “Michelle” Wan, the
owner of Lynnfield Healing Massage located
in Post Office Square, 10 years to open her
own massage studio; and she still works
seven days a week to make sure her clients
are satisfied and the studio is clean and
welcoming.
Wan moved to the U.S. from China in
2006. She grew up on a farm with no central
heating and worked at a state-owned company
as a bookkeeper until it went bankrupt.
After that, Wan became an esthetician at a
spa. But she dreamed of coming to the U.S.
since she was little. She said she didn’t like
policies in China.
“Here, in the U.S., if people work hard,
they can build a good life,” Wan said. “I love
freedom.”
In China, women over 30 years old,
women with children or divorced women
struggle to find a job and experience sexism,
Wan said.
She came to the U.S. in hopes of building
a better life for herself and her daughter,
who she was able to put through college and
a graduate school in Canada. They reunited
only in 2019.
To support herself in the new country,
Wan first worked at a supermarket. She knew
some massage techniques from back home,
but went to a massage school in 2009 to
learn more and get her license.
Over the years she made friends who
guided her through massage training and she
mastered English. After getting her massage
license, Wan worked for several years gaining
more experience.
When she had enough savings and confidence
to open her own massage studio, she
rented three rooms in Post Office Square
in 2006 and dubbed her business Lynnfield
Healing Massage because of the many
documented health benefits of professional
therapeutic massage.
Wan said it is not easy to find a studio
like hers outside of Chinatown. She views
herself as an ambassador for Chinese massage,
dispelling negative images of Asian
massage parlors.
“I like this country and I wanted to do
something nice,” Wan said.
Some clients brought those myths to their
appointments and found Healing Massage
quickly dispelled their misimpressions. She
also opened Lynnfield Healing Massage with
HANDS, continued on page 36
Find your place
at Fenwick
Arts Academics Athletics Service
99 Margin Street Peabody, MA www.fenwick.org