Chinese man’s 3,000km search for pen pal from 24 years ago sparks deep nostalgia

A Chinese man, Li Zhicong, sought out his pen pal, Ice Rain, after a 24-year gap, igniting nostalgia among many for their own youthful pen pal experiences. Li, in his 40s, hails from Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and has been based in Shenzhen for over a decade. He embarked on a 3,000 km journey to Inner Mongolia to find Ice Rain, a pen pal from his junior high school days.

In 2002, while still a third-year student, Li and Ice Rain, a girl from the same grade in Arun Banner, connected through a chat app. Li described the stunning views of Guilin, a region renowned for its landscapes featured on China's currency, to his new friend. Ice Rain, enchanted by the vivid description, promised to share the beauty of the grasslands where she lived.

They lost touch when Li sent his final letter, a situation compounded by changing school addresses and chat app identifiers. In 2023, Li undertook a self-drive trip across China and found himself reminiscing about Ice Rain. Upon returning to Inner Mongolia, he discovered that the grasslands he had imagined were indeed vast and teeming with life.

Li tracked down Ice Rain, whose real name is Ding Kun, at her junior secondary school in Arun Banner. He was welcomed by her outgoing and talkative personality, as revealed by her teacher, Jing. Li shared his journey on social media, which garnered widespread admiration, with many recalling their own pen pal experiences. Some found Li's quest "romantic," and he expressed his desire to invite Ice Rain and her family to Guangxi, her hometown, to share the cherished memory with them.