Tight hug after 27 years: Reunion across ocean, marking China-US folk friendship_我的网站
A | 为什么今年台风偏爱华东？副高是幕后推手每日商报讯 昨天，作为出伏的第一天，杭州气温也很应景，主城区最高温从此前的接近“高温线”降至32.6℃，随着“简拉维”残余环流进一步减弱西进，今天杭州的气温会比昨天小幅升高，可能会触及高温线。
B | 不过，比起气温来说，更需要关注的是台风动向。
American teacher Ronald Sakolsky reunites with desert fighter Yin Yuzhen at an airport in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on August 23, 2026. Photo: Xinhua
A long-awaited reunion that captured wide public attention unfolded on Sunday evening when American teacher Ronald Sakolsky and Yin Yuzhen, a model worker renowned for planting trees and combating desertification, reunited and embraced tearfully with overwhelming emotion at an airport in Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, after 27 years of separation across the ocean. The reunion began with a single act of generosity in 1999. When Sakolsky arrived in China as a participant in a China-US education exchange program, he was moved by Yin and her husband's tireless efforts to curb desertification in the Mu Us Desert in Inner Mongolia. He raised $5,000 to fund their local tree-planting initiative. The young saplings they bought with the donation have since matured into more than 50,000 full-grown trees, transforming the once desolate, sandy wasteland into a thriving green landscape. This hug, transcending time and distance, marked not only friendship between the two countries, but also showcased the sincerity of Chinese people and a green miracle made possible through continuous joint efforts.
Seeds of China-US friendship sown long ago, now stand as towering woods. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
Hug across 27 years At 2:48 am on early Sunday morning, Ronald Sakolsky arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport after over 10 hours of flight. As he stepped into the arrivals hall, he greeted the waiting reporters with earnest Putonghua "Wo hui lai le," meaning "I'm back." "When I saw the lights in Beijing as we were landing is when I realized that I am back in my second home." Asked what he is most looking forward to about this journey, Sakolsky told the Global Times that "I want to see Ms Yin, see the forests, see the students I have not seen for almost 30 years, my colleagues. I want to see the Chinese people." He then flew to Ordos for the meeting with his desert reclamation partner. Yin waited at the arrival gate at the airport in Ordos very early, murmuring English sentence she particularly learned for this occasion - "Welcome to China, my brother." Her eyes were fixed on the escalator and she wiped away her tears multiple times during the wait, the Global Times reporter observed. Sakolsky said in earlier interview with the Global Times that he was looking forward to this reunion and could not hold his tears back when he thought of the moment. He was about to give Yin a hug when they meet. When Sakolsky finally appeared in front of Yin, their eyes welled up. Stepping off the elevator, Sakolsky could barely contain his excitement, muttering "Oh my God, oh my God." They hurried toward each other and locked in a tight embrace at last - the long-awaited hug 27 years in the making. "This is a dream come true, from a lady who is the hero of the story, not me," Sakolsky told the Global Times at the airport, barely holding his emotion. "She made a promise 27 years ago, and she kept her promise." Talking about his donation almost three decades ago, Sakolsky said the purpose was to help her, "because she was beautifying the motherland." Now, in response to an invitation to return to China for a trip to see the green planting from his donation and to returning to the city of Luoyang, Central China's Henan Province, where he taught in the exchange program for several years, Sakolsky noted that "China had done so much for me that I wanted to say thank you to China." A return of kindness For this reunion after 27 years, Yin had carefully prepared. Steamed buns, meaning "upward," fresh vegetables and fruits picked in the land transformed from desert. Yin, never familiar with any foreign language, learned some English phrases, including "welcome to China" she practiced, "my brother" to greet Sakolsky, and "more, more" to persuade the American friend to eat more. On Sunday, Yin did her hair and wore a red scarf alongside an outfit with a green shade, which she picked particularly for the reunion, as "green is the color of the Earth," as she told the Global Times. Yin is not the only old friend that was looking forward to the reunion. While Sakolsky was still on his over-10-hour flight from the US to Beijing, Bai Fan was also on the way - driving over 850 kilometers from Luoyang to Inner Mongolia. The journey would take a day and a half. Bai was the vice principal of Luoyang Foreign Language School, overseeing international affairs. Sakolsky was an exchange teacher there through a China-US program, and was Bai's "neighbor right across the hall." Why drive such a distance? Bai had prepared special cultural gifts - peony porcelain and Hanguan Kiln purple clay tea ware, distinctive local handicrafts that proved too bulky and fragile for air travel or high-speed rail. Bai recalled Sakolsky's continuous interest in Chinese culture, and sending a replica of Terracotta Warriors to the US at Sakolsky's request. "I hope he can take these Luoyang elements and Chinese symbols to the world," Bai told the Global Times in a phone interview on Sunday. Bai is also eager to see Sakolsky at a place that they had traveled together 27 years ago. When Sakolsky came to Luoyang for the exchange program, Bai was his designated liaison. Together, they traveled to the heart of the Mu Us Desert to deliver the $5,000 donation. Bai still vividly remembers the desolate desert back then, where finger-thin saplings were watered ladle by ladle by Yin. At that time, Sakolsky had constant concerns about whether the tiny saplings could survive in the wasteland, which makes today's sprawling 50,000-tree forest even more miraculous. The changed and unchanged Things have changed over the past 27 years. While waiting for Sakolsky, Yin jokingly said he got less hair, and she would not be able to recognize him if running up to him on street. The passage of time has brought far more than personal aging, according to Bai, another witness to the decades-long changes. "Everyone is growing older. Our families have expanded with more children, local communities have grown in population, and the surrounding environment is constantly evolving, just as our cities are undergoing profound transformations." On a night tour in Ordos on Sunday, Sakolsky, watching a fountain light show, said that "it is a 21st century city, but it looks like a 22nd century city. In the 2000s, Chinese government made a promise to Chinese people to beatify this country, and they succeeded." For Sakolsky, probably the most profound transformation lies in the depth of his human connection forged. "27 years ago, we were just friends and acquaintances. We are brother and sister now. So much has happened since then, but the important thing is many people have seen the story and now they can also help to make China beautiful," he told the reporters. Through joint efforts of people like Yin, the Mu Us Desert has turned from wasteland into a green oasis. China has contributed about 25 percent of the world's newly added green areas and taken the lead in achieving zero growth in land degradation, per official data. Meanwhile, there are things unchanged, including a vintage photo of the three standing in the desert that has decorated Bai's office through all these years - a permanent reminder of their original aspiration. This reunion will witness them retake the classic photo and plant new saplings together, expanding their green mission. 。接下来，“简拉维”影响减弱，但“沙德尔”又要“接棒”登场，浙江省防指防台风应急响应昨天已调整为Ⅲ级。其实，回顾过去一周，四个台风接连生成，第20号台风“简拉维”于周一减弱消散，第21号台风“艾莎尼”也在昨天停编，第19号台风“紫檀”登陆海南省昌江县后、强度逐渐减弱，第18号台风“沙德尔”继续活跃。对于浙江来说，需要注意这个遥远的“海上来客”——“沙德尔”。目前，已进入48小时警戒线。据中央气象台消息，“沙德尔”（强台风级）的中心昨天下午5点钟位于浙闽交界偏东方向约920公里的西北太平洋洋面上，中心附近最大风力14级（45米/秒），预计将以每小时15-20公里的速度向西偏北方向移动，强度变化不大，今天凌晨移入东海东部，之后移速减慢，转向西偏南方向移动，逐渐向浙闽沿海靠近，将于27日夜间至28日上午在浙江象山到福建福清一带沿海登陆（35-42米/秒，12-14级，台风级或强台风级）。“从昨天云图看，‘艾莎尼’的残涡已经汇入‘沙德尔’的输入云带。未来沙德尔在北侧的副热带高压引导下，以西行为主，相比之前预报总体有北调趋势。
C | ”中国天气网首席气象分析师信欣分析，目前对于台风临近华东的预报还有些分歧，主要是陆地上西环高压对台风向西南引导的力度还不好确认，登陆我国没悬念，只是到底是登陆浙江还是福建，仍然待定。回顾今年的台风发展，似乎“旋风小子”偏爱华东，这是为什么？中国天气网解释，这是由于副热带高压的偏强、偏北，为远洋台风“巴威”“白海豚”扎堆华东，打开了“方便”之门。如果按常年副热带高压正常位置来看，它们大可能去的是广东、福建、台湾。对于当下的台风“沙德尔”来说，此时副热带高压本该大幅南撤或主体退回海上，结果现在仍持续偏西偏北，导致“沙德尔”登陆区域仍集中在浙闽沿海，而不是更偏南的区域。
D | 受“沙德尔”影响，浙江接下来也将迎来明显风雨影响。浙江天气网显示，今明天，东海中南部海域风力逐渐增强到11～13级部分14～16级，台风中心经过的附近海域风力可达17级及以上。浙中南沿海海面今天傍晚起风力逐渐增强到9～10级，明后天继续增强到12～13级、局部14～16级；浙北沿海海面明天风力逐渐增强到9～13级。沿海和浙南地区明后天有大雨暴雨，部分大暴雨，其中温州、台州、丽水东部等地局地特大暴雨。就杭州而言，“沙德尔”的影响会在明天开始体现，一直到周六，全市有一次风雨过程，风雨最强时段集中在周五（28日）。
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