American girl devotes to studying Hanfu culture, promoting cultural exchanges

A Boston native girl has made it her mission to explore and showcase Hanfu, China's traditional attire, and promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Hanfu, a symbol of Chinese cultural heritage, was born in the ancient residential areas of the Han ethnic group, where it has been worn for generations.

With a renewed interest in traditional culture among Chinese youth and increased visibility on social media, Hanfu has regained popularity in recent times.

Captivated by the elegance and beauty of Hanfu, the American girl Rachel Yu likes to wear it and delve into its rich history. She can distinguish between the styles of Hanfu from various dynasties and create suitable hairstyles to complement each outfit.

Rachel creates and shares online videos showcasing her presentations of Hanfu.

"So when I very first started to do hair, my hair was very short at that time, so I looked online to see how to make a Hanfu hairstyle for short hair. I can't find anything. So I started to look at like drawings and like Tang Dynasty (618-907) artifacts and then I just tried to recreate it myself. And then I'm like 'Oh I figured it out.' So then I posted a video showing it for someone else since I couldn't find a video. And then people were like 'What? This is so cool.' And that's how I very first started making Hanfu videos," she said.

Rachel first encountered Hanfu through online videos in 2018.

"I actually got the video suggested to me. I love watching fashion content. I also got a video about the Hanfu in China. I was like, 'Oh, what is this?'"she said.

Rachel was immediately captivated by the charm of Hanfu and began to search for more information online. However, she found that there were few English resources about Hanfu, and most of the videos she discovered were in Chinese.

Determined to deepen her understanding, Rachel made up her mind to learn Chinese from that moment on.

"The language barrier is a big challenge because I will find a video like 'Ah, this is such a cool video.' It's a cool video, but I can't understand what it is saying. But I still just watch all the videos because I can learn from seeing even if I don't know what they're saying sometimes," she said.

In 2022, Rachel received her first Hanfu, and she vividly remembers how it felt to wear it.

"I feel this very elegant and very comfortable at the same time, like 'Oh, I feel like a royal princess,'" said Rachel.

Now, Rachel is familiar with the characteristics of Hanfu from different dynasties. She also blends Hanfu with modern outfits for her everyday style. She has amassed two full closets of Hanfu at her home in Boston.

Rachel has joined a Hanfu club in Boston and participates in various activities organized by the club, including Hanfu shows.

She is delighted to see that more and more Americans are developing an appreciation for Hanfu and discovering Chinese culture through this beautiful attire.

"Clothes, you don't need to know everything to appreciate it. Like you can just see and be like, 'Oh, that's so pretty.' And then I feel like that kind of thing brings people together. Like when people eat food from different cultures and they're like, 'Oh, this is delicious.' You know, and then that brings the people together. And I think that Hanfu, it's another thing that can do that and just have people enjoy the beauty. And it's like a little more special because it's connected to history. And I think that's really cool, because as you learn more about Hanfu, you also learn more about Chinese history, which is not taught very much in America," said Rachel.

American girl devotes to studying Hanfu culture, promoting cultural exchanges

Retired American teacher Ronald Sakolsky has shared his emotions at being able to enjoy a "dream" reunion with Chinese desert-control pioneer Yin Yuzhen, after the pair met to reflect on their desertification-control efforts a whole 27 years after their first encounter.

The remarkable story stretches all the way back to 1999, when Sakolsky was teaching English at a school in central China's Henan Province under a teachers' exchange program between the U.S. and China.

After watching a television news report featuring the tireless work of Yin, he was deeply moved and raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to help Yin and her husband in their afforestation efforts against desertification in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Months later, at the invitation of local officials, Sakolsky traveled to the desert to meet Yin in person. In a symbolic gesture, Yin kept one dollar as a souvenir of Sakolsky's kindness, while she also bought 50,000 saplings to plant.

After that brief visit deep in the heart of the expansive Mu Us Desert, the two lost touch and their transcontinental friendship faded with time.

But, in an incredible twist, that all changed earlier this year, when a public campaign across Chinese social media successfully tracked down the now 69-year-old Sakolsky in the United States.

The renewed connection quickly led to an online clamor for the pair to have a long-overdue reunion, and finally Sakolsky arrived in Ordos City on Sunday to once again meet Yin in person.

In a touching interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Sakolsky could not hide his joy at this dream meeting becoming a reality, as he said the unexpected get together felt very different to how he had imagined it.

"It's definitely different, because I can touch her. In my imagination, it is just in my head. But I can touch her, I can hug her, and I can watch her cry and cry with her. I say it's a miracle because nobody could tell me that I would ever come to China in 1999. Definitely nobody could tell me that I would be back in China in 2026. But when you can touch your dream, it becomes a reality. It's not a dream anymore. So these last two days have been reality for me," said Sakolsky.

Seated next to him, Yin highlighted the importance of always keeping one's promises, no matter how long has passed.

"I believe that first, you have to be a good person, and then you can do things well," she said.

The passage of time between their first meeting is poignantly seen in the land cultivated by Yin. The small swathe of green she started over a quarter of a century ago has now expanded to more than 8 million trees, covering more than 11,000 acres of once-barren land.

US teacher shares emotion at "dream" reunion with Chinese desert-control pioneer