I grew up believing the Sahara to be a faraway paradise of charm and freedom, just as the Chinese author Sanmao described it in her 1976 memoir Stories of the Sahara.

For many years I longed to meet these kindhearted desert people in Sanmao's stories, to live in the simple albeit cozy camps and ride on the camels.

My dream came true last Christmas when I traveled to the Sahara with my parents. But instead of finding the romantic stories of Sanmao's life, my trip was colored by truthful human interaction, sincere friendship, and unavoidably, some disillusionment. All these encounters have made the Sahara that once existed in my imagination suddenly real.

Our trip began when our driver and guide Hamid picked us up at dawn in Marrakech.

A Moroccan of indigenous Berber decent, Hamid was born in the Sahara in a family of nine children. Some of his siblings worked as traders, buying crafts from artisans in the Sahara to sell in Marrakech, others worked as builders in the Sahara, and the rest turned their basic house into a simple but comfortable hotel and restaurant.

Upon passing through Hamid's home during our long road trip, we were warmly greeted by Hamid's mother with two kisses on the cheek in the French style. With a red decorative headscarf and golden-beaded necklace, her small figure radiated wisdom and warmth.

She led us into the dining room of the house and sat us down onto seats covered with colorful cloths in patchworks of typical local artistic style.

Moments later, Hamid's oldest brother emerged carrying a huge bowl of chicken tagine with both hands. Seeing our excitement, his mouth cracked open into a big smile, while quickly reaching to his phone to take a selfie with us, him and the big tagine bowl altogether.

After a hearty meal, Hamid's family hugged us goodbye at the door.

As Hamid's car drove away, I saw the figures of his mother and siblings gradually disappearing against the desolate desert. A bittersweet feeling emerged in my heart, as if I was saying goodbye to old friends.

Some tourists do not like Morocco. The all too familiar story of locals selling products to tourists at inflated prices can lead to a bad experience. Others find the endless bargaining tiresome.

We were not immune from similar commercial scams.

Hamid took us into what he called a "Berber Museum'",which turned out to be a local carpet shop with a nagging owner who almost succeeded in forcing us to buy his carpets.

Another time, Hamid pretended that he had forgotten about the quad biking experience already paid in our tour package, in the hope that he may save himself some extra cash if we too forgot.

At the time I tried to forget about these disappointing and confused moments.

But in retrospect, I realized that tourism is about experiencing the true spirit of a place, along with its happy surprises, disillusionments and contradictions.

This year is China-EU Tourism Year, which fuels new opportunities for Chinese and European travelers.

I hope they too will take the time to interact with the local people, and accept both the good and bad experiences with an open heart, and an understanding smile.