e, in a dark theater with coffee smell, watching the 600-year-old Forbidden City flashing on the big screen, with its red walls and gold tiles, and the majestic mythical beasts on the roof of the palace.” Yes, you are right, I am imitating the beginning of One Hundred Years of Solitude. When everyone hears that I am from Colombia, many people will talk about García Márquez and his great works. I use this opening to pay my respect to García Márquez and also to the Chinese readers who are familiar with my hometown.

I come from the faraway South America, but I want to tell you that I and my fiancé Ji Senyong, who is also from Colombia, really held hands on the Great Wall and swore to love each other for the rest of our lives.

Such a dream-like romantic story happened to us in reality. A 12-year-old girl saw Beijing and the winding Great Wall in a movie, but she never imagined that a few years later two young persons with close hearts would cross the mountains and seas and rush to the other side of the Earth, China. I acted the heroine and performed a stunning proposal with my hero on the Great Wall. This Colombian magical realism love is making waves in the eastern country.

Our story begins a few years ago, when we met in Colombia. One day in 2019, he looked at me seriously and said that he was going to study for a master’s degree at Yangtze University in China. I knew that his dream was to be a plant scientist in genetics breeding and the Chinese professor he wanted to study under was at that university. This is undoubtedly a long-distance separation adventure. “You know, The best agronomy experts were in China, so that I must go,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

After his going to China, we were thousands of kilometers away, with a 13-hour time difference. However, he shared with me every day what he saw and what amazed him. We talked on the phone about the different languages, food, transportation, festivals, cities, payment between China and Colombia. He said that he received a warm welcome in the Yangtze University laboratory, he officially joined the mentor’s research team, and he began to publish papers one after another in international academic journals... The longing for each other is getting more and more stronger, and we are becoming more and more in love and we believe that the other person is the right partner.

Finally, he told me gently and firmly, “Come to China, dear, I want to be together” and I said “OK” There is no hesitation in expressing love. My boyfriend’s words touched my heart, and China consoles my family and me.

Love gives each other confidence and courage. Like all couples, overcoming all kinds of difficulties and running to love is the greatest sincerity and bravery. In September 2022, after a long journey, I finally came to his side and studied as a graduate student in chemistry at the same university. Then there was the proposal that I mentioned in the beginning, and we have our warm little home, with everyone’s blessings.

We chose “Ji” as our common Chinese surname. We looked it up in the dictionary and asked our teachers, and they all said that “Ji” means good luck and happiness. Yangtze University has witnessed our love. Now we study and live together every day, studying hard in our respective laboratories, and helping each other. Last month, he delivered an academic speech on “Yuan Longping’s Important Role and Contribution in Solving the Food Crisis” at the school’s graduate forum. I listened in the audience and cheered for him. This once immature boy studied hard with Chinese professors at school and already looked a bit like a young scientist. In our spare time, we walked around the ancient city, danced in the square, and hugged each other by the Yangtze River. He took a lot of photos of me and said that when we are old, we would still feel sweet when we recall this incredible love.

This is the story of our encounter with China. Maybe it is just a drop of water among the sea of warm stories, but for us, making the decision in China to stay together for whole life is the deep love and romance that has traveled through thousands of mountains and rivers. Love blooms in China, giving us the greatest strength and making us the best.