Tight hug after 27 years: Reunion across ocean, marking China-US folk friendship_我的网站
A | 9월 5일부터 12월 20일까지 운영'손목닥터9988' 포인트 1000P 지급 서울시가 시청 1층에서 '상시형 찾아가는 서울체력장'을 운영한다. /서울시[더팩트ㅣ문화영 기자] 서울시청사 1층이 '서울체력장'으로 변신한다. 시민들은 근력·심폐지구력·유연성 등 다양한 체력 항목을 측정하고 결과에 따른 전문가 상담과 운동처방까지 받을 수 있다. 체력측정을 참여한 만 18세 이상 서울시민은 '손목닥터9988' 포인트 1000P를 받는다.서울시는 시민들이 일상 가까이에서 자신의 체력 상태를 확인하고 개인에게 맞는 운동방법을 찾아 건강관리를 실천할 수 있도록 '상시형 찾아가는 서울체력장'을 운영한다고 26일 밝혔다.서울체력장은 내 체력등급을 확인하는 데 그치지 않고 측정 결과를 바탕으로 전문가 상담과 운동처방과 상담까지 제공한다는 점이 특징이다. 참가자는 자신의 체력평가 결과를 확인하고 근력·근지구력·유연성 등 항목별 현재 수준에 대한 상담을 받을 수 있다.이를 토대로 개인별 건강·체력 목표를 설정하고 자신의 체력 수준에 맞는 운동방법과 영양·휴식 등 건강한 생활습관에 대한 안내도 받을 수 있다.'상시형 찾아가는 서울체력장'은 다음 달 5일부터 12월 20일까지 매월 첫째 주, 셋째 주 주말을 중심으로 오전 10시부터 오후 5시까지 운영되며 서울시청 본관 1층 로비에서 열린다.매월 첫째 주에는 성인·어르신을 대상으로 근력·근지구력·심폐지구력·유연성 등을 측정하며 어르신은 균형·보행·하지근기능을 종합적으로 확인할 수 있는 노인신체기능평가(SPPB)를 실시한다. 셋째 주에는 어린이는 대상으로 근력·민첩성·순발력 등 성장기 기초체력을 측정한다.지난 설 연휴 선보인 팝업 체력장도 추석을 맞아 다시 개장한다. 다음 달 25일부터 27일까지 △근지구력(철봉 매달리기) △유연성(앉아윗몸앞으로굽히기) △민첩성(낙하봉 반응속도) △평형성(밸런스 패드) 등 체력측정·신체활동 프로그램이 운영된다.참여를 원하는 시민은 당일 현장에서 접수하거나 '손목닥터9988' 앱을 통해 사전 예약할 수 있다. 사전예약은 앱 내 예약시스템에서 원하는 시간대를 선택하면 되며 현장 접수는 당일 서울시청을 방문해 신청하면 된다. 다만 현장 접수는 참여 인원에 따라 대기시간이 발생할 수도 있다. 지난 설 연휴 서울시청 1층에 마련된 체력장에서 시민들이 자신의 체력을 측정하고 있다. /서울시체력측정을 완료한 시민에게는 체력 평가확인서와 결과지를 발급해 자신의 측정 결과를 확인하고 이후 건강관리에 활용할 수 있도록 한다. 시는 '찾아가는 서울체력장'을 기존 건강관리 사업과 연계해 시민의 지속적인 체력관리와 건강생활 실천으로 이어지도록 할 계획이다.체험 이후 본격적인 인증형 체력측정을 원하는 시민은 가까운 서울체력장 체력인증센터를 예약하면 된다. 현재 광진구·송파구·용산구·은평구·서대문구·서초구 등 총 20개 체력인증센터가 있으며 관악(2호점)·강남·동대문·종로·강서·성북·양천 센터도 하반기 내 중 문을 열 예정이다.조영창 서울시 시민건강국장은 "시청을 방문한 시민들이 부담 없이 체력을 측정하고 건강 상태를 확인할 수 있도록 이번 자리를 마련한 만큼 가족과 함께 참여해 건강을 점검하는 기회로 활용하시길 바란다"고 말했다.발로 뛰는 더팩트는 24시간 여러분의 제보를 기다립니다.▶카카오톡: '더팩트제보' 검색▶이메일: [email protected]▶뉴스 홈페이지: http://talk.tf.co.kr/bbs/report/write。
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. 。
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