Bonnie Chen, right, wearing Tory’s Digby packable jacket, with her mother Siuwa Siu, wearing the Savonna caftan, photographed by Linnea Stephan/BFA.com

There are Mother’s Day gifts — and then there are Bonnie Chen’s gifts to her mom, including one seriously super-sized present halfway around the world from their native China. Learn all about it — and more — in this interview with the model and her mom, Siuwa Siu.

Bonnie Chen

Our Mother’s Day traditions…
I travel so much so I am never around during Mother’s Day. But I do send gifts and write little poems to her. She is a very popular mother on the internet, with a very big character, so I share stories between us and that makes the fans laugh.

Best Mother’s Day gift I’ve given…
I bought her a house in LA and she is now in it and enjoying it. Not only the house itself, but the healthy, sunny lifestyle and freedom she will have for her and my father in the future.

Best advice I received from my mother…
Say it when you mean it.

Siuwa Siu

My Mother’s Day traditions growing up…
Honestly, during those days in China, we didn’t celebrate Mother’s Day. But I handmade flowers for my mother on March 8th, International Women’s Day, every year.

Best Mother’s Day gift I’ve received…
A painting Bonnie bought from an autistic child. She donated all the money to charity.

Best advice I received from my own mother…
Always care about others. Never be so selfish.

Bonnie Chen, right, wearing Tory’s Digby packable jacket and Tilly jeans, with her mother Siuwa Siu, wearing the Savonna caftan, photographed by Linnea Stephan/BFA.com

Bonnie Chen

Most treasured memory with my mom…
She came to the craziest concert with me and was standing there and singing along with all the fans all night long! She is the coolest mother ever!

One quality I really admire in my mother…
Whatever she wants, she makes it happen.

Favorite thing to do with my mother…
Probably driving in the car and listening to the music we love and talking about life.

Siuwa Siu

Family heirloom I’m passing on to my daughter…
The entire photo collection since she was born. We took loads of photos of her all the time. Maybe that’s how she became a model? Lol…

One thing I learned about life when I became a mother…
Say it when you mean it.

Favorite thing to do with my daughter…
Traveling around the world with her.

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