BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Retired U.S. teacher Ronald Sakolsky, who once supported China's desertification control efforts, arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a visit aimed at renewing a friendship with the Chinese people that first took root more than two decades ago.
The 69-year-old will spend part of his stay planting trees alongside his friend Yin Yuzhen, a national model worker who has been planting trees in the Maowusu Sandy Land for four decades.
Their story began in 1999, when Sakolsky taught English at a school in central China's Henan Province under a teachers' exchange program between the two countries.
After watching a television news report featuring Yin's tireless work, he was deeply moved and raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to help Yin and her husband in their afforestation efforts against desertification.
At the time, the donation was a staggering amount that was enough for Yin to build a house, cover her children's upbringing costs, and even completely change the trajectory of her family's life.
The saplings bought and planted with that donation have since grown into a forest of more than 50,000 towering trees.
In May this year, Yin took to the internet in search of the American friend who had offered the donation decades ago, and their online reunion, a moment that moved many, soon followed.
On May 18, the two finally connected over a video call. Yin, who had been practicing over and over, greeted him in her slightly broken English: "You are brother!"
Upon arriving in Beijing, Sakolsky said he was eager to meet Yin in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, reconnect with former colleagues and students, and see the forest with his own eyes. He also received mooncakes sent by Yin, a traditional Chinese symbol of reunion, and tomatoes grown in the desert.
Ahead of Sakolsky's arrival in Inner Mongolia on Sunday afternoon, Yin, no less excited, brought with her pepino melons freshly picked from her orchard.
"I went to pick some pepino melons for him, so he can taste the fruit from the desert the moment he steps off the plane," she said. "When I tell him I grew these in the desert, he won't believe it."
At the Ordos Ejin Horo Airport in Inner Mongolia, as soon as Yin spotted him coming down the escalator, she rushed to him. Overcome with emotion, the two hugged tightly, weeping with joy after more than two decades apart.
"This is a dream come true," said Sakolsky. "She made a promise 27 years ago and she kept her promise. I never thought I would see her again. It is a miracle, but it shows culture and people can still keep promises."
Invited by the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), his itinerary from Aug. 23 to Sept. 1 will also include China-U.S. teacher exchange events, a visit to Henan to meet with teachers and students at the school where he worked, a visit to the press briefing hall of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and visits to historical and cultural landmarks.
The invitation is intended to further promote China-U.S. educational exchanges, convey the Chinese people's deep appreciation of friendship, and inspire more people to carry forward heartwarming stories of goodwill between the two peoples, a CEAIE official said.
Over the decades, China has set up special funds, offered preferential tax policies, and mobilized farmers and locals in afforestation campaigns. Today, beyond dedicated local farmers like Yin, China's afforestation campaign also attracts large numbers of environment-conscious volunteers, especially young urban dwellers and international students.
Official figures show that China has contributed about one-quarter of the world's increase in green vegetation and rehabilitated 152 million mu (about 10.13 million hectares) of sandified land between 2021 and 2025. Enditem
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