Intl friendship crosses seas and mountains

As the autumn semester arrived this September, 82-year-old Gordon Trimble and his wife Sonia Trimble flew back from the United States to Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, to teach at Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College and continue a five-generation family legacy.

Since 2005, the teacher — always recognizable by his Hawaiian aloha shirts — has returned annually to offer practical English courses. He also takes his students to Kuliang, a historic mountain resort in Fuzhou, to share century-old stories of friendship built by early foreign professionals who came from the late 1880s to the early 1900s as teachers, doctors and diplomats.

Lydia Trimble, his great-grandaunt, was part of this historic wave, arriving in Fuzhou in 1889. Driven by a belief in female empowerment through education, she founded the precursor to Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College in 1908, southern China's very first institution for women.

Following in her footsteps, Lydia's niece Ethel Wallace arrived in Fuzhou in 1906 and taught at the college for 40 years. She was also joined by Lydia's two nephews: Fred Trimble, an architect who helped design a campus building, and Garnet Trimble — Gordon's grandfather — who managed a local hospital in Nanping, Fujian.

"They came to Fuzhou because they thought all life was important," Trimble said, adding that these expatriates traveled from afar to gather in Kuliang and discuss how to make China better. They built houses, tennis courts, a swimming pool and a community club on the mountain, all governed by a rule of absolute equality between Chinese villagers and Western residents.

"They were creating a 'paradise' in Kuliang," he said. "They wanted to raise children who respected each other, children who would become good global citizens. My father was one of those children."

Born in Fujian, his father, Robert Trimble, grew up in China until age 12. Though he spent most of the rest of his life in the US, he remained fluent in the local dialect.

Yet, this deep family heritage remained an abstract story to young Gordon Trimble. Growing up in the 1950s' Southern California, he tuned in closely whenever China made the news. Whenever the family traveled to visit his grandfather, their gatherings always centered around Chinese restaurants.

Until the late 1980s, during China's reform and opening-up, Trimble's aging father yearned deeply to revisit his childhood home. Despite discouragement from people around him, Trimble and his wife finally accompanied his father on a root-seeking journey back to Fujian in 1989, marking his father's emotional return after 62 years.

"I could feel what my father felt," Trimble said, recalling the moment they walked onto the historic campus and spotted the faintly visible family name "Trimble" engraved on the wall. "Suddenly, there was a connection."

Following that trip, Gordon Trimble's father returned almost every year until he passed away in 2014. His father also pioneered the partnership between Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College and the University of Puget Sound — the very institution where his grandfather had served as a campus physician when he returned to the US.

Over the past two decades, Trimble watched China achieve fast development in many aspects, including high-speed trains, subways and automated manufacturing.

"For the last 20 years, what is the most exciting place in the world you can live? It's right here in China," he observed.

Since 2005, the Trimble family has donated 4 million yuan ($597,200) to support education in China, including sustaining exchanges between the University of Puget Sound, Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College and Fujian Normal University. Under his sponsorship, 20 American graduates have come to China as English teachers, while eight Chinese educators have visited the US for academic exchanges.

Wu Lanjia, vice-president of Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College, said, "The Trimble family's relay to support Chinese education is a vivid embodiment of international friendship that crosses mountains and seas."

In recognition of his devotion, Gordon Trimble received the 2025 Chinese Government Friendship Award and was named one of the top 10 people moving Fujian in 2026. The couple both received a permanent resident card in 2024.

Today, Kuliang has evolved into a premier landmark for China-US youth exchanges, hosting cultural festivals that carry the torch of friendship forward. As Trimble shared during a youth baseball event: "We treasure our Chinese friends. We are happy to call Fuzhou home."

Contact the writers at zhangyi1@chinadaily.com.cn