{
  "id": 329936,
  "title": "Chinese man’s 3,000km search for pen pal from 24 years ago sparks deep nostalgia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/chinese-mans-3-000km-search-for-pen-pal-from-24-years-ago-sparks-deep",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-09T01:25:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3363418/chinese-mans-3000km-search-pen-pal-24-years-ago-sparks-deep-nostalgia"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "A man from southern China travelled 3,000 kilometres to search for his pen pal from 24 years ago, stirring nostalgia among many for their own youth pen pals. Li Zhicong, around 40, hails from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and has been working in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, for over a decade. Recently, he journeyed 3,000 km to Inner Mongolia in northern China to find his pen pal “Ice…",
  "key_points": [
    "Li Zhicong, 40, from Guangxi Zhuang, sought pen pal Ice Rain after 24 years.",
    "In 2002, they connected through a chat app while in junior high school.",
    "Li's 3,000 km journey to Inner Mongolia led to reuniting with Ice Rain, pen pal Ding Kun."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Li's long and determined search for his childhood pen pal has stirred nostalgia in many for the lost art of letter-writing friendships and simpler pre-digital communication experiences.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}