Close up: 103 year old American Lynn Bailing's "Dream of Guling" Connection | Old Man | United States
Xinhua News Agency, New Haven, July 5th - Close up: 103-year-old American man Lynn Bailing's "Dream of Guling"
Xinhua News Agency reporter Yang Shilong Xie E
On an afternoon in early July, 103 year old American man Lynn Bailing spent over two hours using video conferencing to "revisit" Guling, where he had been haunted for 87 years.
On July 2nd, 103-year-old American elderly Lynn Bailing returned to Guling, where he had been haunted for 87 years, via video link from his hospital bed at a nearby health center. Photo by Yang Shilong, journalist from Xinhua News Agency
At the moment when Lin En, who was half lying in the hospital bed, connected to the video call with Mu Yanling, a researcher of Guling's history and culture, and saw his childhood home again, Lin En made an effort to lift his head, his thin hands tightly gripping the tablet, and his voice was much louder than usual.
In October 2018, "Friend of Guling" Mu Yanling paid tribute to her father-in-law Mu Airen in front of the Anti Japanese Martyrs Memorial Wall in Sanshan Cemetery, Fuzhou.
Guling is located north of Gushan in the suburbs of Fuzhou, Fujian Province. In the early 20th century, it was a summer resort for foreigners living in Fuzhou. In this community where Chinese and foreign people coexist in a friendly manner, many foreign children like Lynn have spent a wonderful time in life here, and the deep friendship established with the local people is unforgettable for them for a lifetime.
At the age of 72, Mu Yanling is also a descendant of the overseas Chinese from Guling. Her father-in-law, Mu Airen, once taught in Fuzhou and later served as a member of the American Flying Tigers to support China's resistance against Japan. After the war, she stayed at Fujian Union Medical College to teach English for more than ten years. Mu Airen's youngest son, Mu Peter, was born in Fuzhou. In 2015, Mu Peter and Mu Yanling came to Fuzhou and scattered some of their ashes into the Minjiang River according to their father's last wish.
On July 2nd, 103-year-old American elderly Lynn Bailing returned to Guling, where he had been haunted for 87 years, via video link from his hospital bed at a nearby health center. Photo by Yang Shilong, journalist from Xinhua News Agency
It was that trip to Guling that opened up the exploration of Guling's history and culture by Mu Yanling and his wife. After difficult search and exploration, they found more "friends of Guling". Lynn is one of them. Lin En, born in Fuzhou, used a camera to capture scenes of Guling Old Street, shops, and children playing when he was young. The old man still treasures several thick photo albums in his home.
On June 28, 2023, guests attended the "Gulingyuan" China US Folk Friendship Forum.
In early June of this year, Mu Yanling visited Lin En and said that she and several representatives of "Friends of Guling" would fly to Fuzhou to participate in the "Guling Edge" China US Civil Friendship Forum held at the end of that month. Lynn was very happy and envious, and instructed Mu Yanling to bring him the latest photos and videos of Guling. Last week, Lynn's health deteriorated and he was transferred to a nearby rehabilitation center. He asked his daughter to telegram Mu Yanling, "Find a way for me to take another look at Guling!"
Therefore, Mu Yanling, who is in Guling, and Lin Yinan, an expert in Guling's historical and cultural research and associate professor at East China University of Science and Technology, agreed to use video conferencing to help Lin En fulfill his wish to return to his childhood home. On Lin En's end, Mu Yanling specifically asked Xinhua News Agency reporters to prepare tablets for the elderly and assist in connecting them on site.
Through a video connection, Mu Yanling first took Lin En to visit his old house and specially showed him an old photo of the house taken in 1912. This villa was purchased by the locals in 1948, and after restoration and renovation, it was renamed "Zhulin Villa". Currently, it mainly operates coffee shops and homestays. Although the interior of the house has undergone significant changes, the outer corridor has largely remained in its original form, providing a panoramic view of the beautiful valley. Lin En muttered to himself while looking, trying several times to touch the exterior corridor wall stones in the image with his fingers.
The second stop is the club that Lin En liked to go to when he was a child - Wan Guo Public Welfare Society. This is a single story hall style building adjacent to Guling Old Street. Looking south from the platform near the building, you can see the old house of Lin En's family.
On June 27th, some members of "Friends of Guling" and individuals from various sectors of China and the United States visited and visited Sanfang and Qixiang in Nanhou Street, Fuzhou.
The camera turns to the small square paved with strip stones in front of the club door, and Lin Enlian says a few times, "Where is the grass? Where is the grass?" Mu Yanling heard this and also told a story about Lin En: when Lin En was flying a kite on the grass here, he accidentally bumped into a cow eating grass. Lin En laughed with Mu Yanling after listening.
At the end of the video connection, Mu Yanling returned to "Zhulin Mountain Villa". Several locals stood in front of the camera, waving to Lin En and blessing the elderly in Fuzhou dialect, saying "Peace! Peace!" Lin En immediately tried to raise his tone and repeatedly said in Fuzhou, "Peace! Peace!"
On July 2nd, in Guling, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, Guling historical and cultural researcher Mu Yanling had a video connection with 103 year old American man Lynn Bailing. Shen Jizhong
During the more than two-hour connection, Lin En maintained a high level of interest and a smile hung around his eyes, except for taking a short break during the location transition. In a subsequent phone interview, Mu Yanling told reporters, "I am so happy to see Lin En so happy for the first time. I am very happy to help him achieve his wish."
On June 28, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the "Guling Fate" Sino-US Non-governmental Friendship Forum held in Fuzhou, Fujian, encouraging non-governmental friendly people of the two countries to pass on and carry forward the Guling story and Guling love, so that the friendship between the Chinese and American people will thrive and grow like the thousand-year-old cedar on Guling.
Mu Yanling deeply agrees with this: "We are all inheritors of this heritage, and we must cherish, inherit, and promote it well. I hope that in my lifetime, I can continue to build bridges for the friendship between the people of China and the United States."
