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. 。
B | 美国和伊朗战事延宕近半年，伊朗对美国在海湾地区的多座军事基地发动反击，迫使美方审视重建遇袭基地是否“划算”。
C | 据英国《金融时报》23日报道，围绕重建议题，美国左右为难：若重建，需要数十亿美元，且有悖当下灵活分散的军事部署趋势；若不重建，缩减中东布局规模，地区盟友不免心生不满，美军也将留下“仓促脱身”的狼狈形象。
D | 这张3月25日在科威特首都科威特城拍摄的照片显示，位于费尔瓦尼耶省的科威特国际机场一油库遭袭后冒起浓烟。新华社发 基地前景堪忧 据《金融时报》报道，近40年来，美国在中东的军事存在一直由海湾沿岸的军事基地网络支撑，但随着部分基地在美伊战事中遇袭，其前景蒙上阴影。 首先，基地重建需要“烧钱”。美国智库美国企业研究所4月发布的估算数据显示，分布在中东地区7个国家的11座美军基地在战事中受损，修复费用共计50亿美元。这在数百亿美元的美国对伊朗战事投入成本面前，也并非小数字。
E | 其次，为“对抗先进对手”，现有的海湾美军基地日渐“失宠”。报道指出，美国国防部决策层愈发不看好将大型、固定基地作为军事行动集结和补给中心，转而倾向于更加分散的部署模式，使敌方难以打击美军。 第三，部分基地地面设施损毁严重，重建难度较大。伊朗对美军基地的机库、补给和雷达基础设施、指挥控制节点等实施轰炸，美国海军第五舰队一度因其位于巴林的司令部损毁严重，被迫将位于印度洋中部、距离伊朗数千公里的迪戈加西亚岛一处基地作为临时补给枢纽。 美国约翰斯·霍普金斯大学国际问题高级研究学院教授哈尔·布兰兹表示，海湾美军基地，尤其是大型基地，“非常脆弱”。他认为美国将调整在该地区的军事部署，把基地“转移至伊朗短程导弹和无人机射程之外”。 6月15日，一架美军空中加油机从以色列本-古里安机场起飞。新华社发（吉尔·科恩·马根摄） 伊朗随机应变 为避免落入伊朗短程导弹射程，美军数月来已把部分官兵和战机等转移至以色列、约旦等国，还利用部分欧洲国家的军事基地起降战机和无人机。 伊朗战事爆发以来，已有多名美军士兵身亡，超过200处美军设施受损或被摧毁。美军同时消耗了大量先进防空拦截弹，多种型号导弹库存见底。 伊朗方面则认为与美国陷入旷日持久的军事冲突愈发不可避免，因而早已“未雨绸缪”。据《金融时报》19日报道，伊朗政府内部知情人士警告，如果伊美之间爆发新一轮全面冲突，伊朗将扩大战场，瞄准“更远的目标”，包括美国在保加利亚等东南欧国家的军事设施。
F | 曾供职于以色列军事情报机构的伊朗事务分析师丹尼·齐特里诺维茨推测，伊朗可能研发更多“射程可达以色列或约旦”的中程导弹。 8月7日，沙特阿拉伯王储兼首相穆罕默德（中）、土耳其总统埃尔多安（左）和巴基斯坦总理夏巴兹在沙特麦加签署《麦加共同防务协议》后合影。新华社发（沙特通讯社供图） 盟友质疑承诺 《金融时报》分析指出，即便美国调整在海湾地区的军事部署，也应考虑中东盟友的感受。数十年来，美国与中东地区盟友签订的“石油换安全”协议不断演变，部分海湾国家已经不再完全信任美国，转而寻求同其他国家建立防务关系，努力摆脱对美防卫依赖。美伊战事迫使所有盟友反思，美国的安全承诺到底意味着什么。 沙特阿拉伯、土耳其和巴基斯坦本月初签署一项共同防务协议。分析人士指出，在伊朗战事影响外溢背景下，一些国家发现美国“靠不住”，因而寻求加强彼此间安全合作，尝试建立地区集体安全机制。
G | 美国国防部负责中东事务的前任官员达纳·斯特劳尔认为，美国需要在军事行动需求与对中东盟友的安全承诺之间取得“微妙平衡”，且需要评估军事资产和部队部署情况，“以保障海湾国家的安全”。 不过，斯特劳尔和布兰兹均认为，美国可能难以摆脱中东盟友为其贴上的“抛弃盟友”“仓促跑路”等负面标签。 （新华社）返回，查看更多。
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