Sakolsky calls for stronger people-to-people bonds

It is not uncommon for foreigners, especially Westerners, to seek out the familiar in China. After all, it is only natural for anyone traveling to a foreign land to feel safe within the metaphorical gravitational field of others with whom they share a common language or taste in food.

It may be easier for most visitors to China to seek a cultural shelter in a handful of cosmopolitan cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. However, that's not how meaningful connections are built — connections that can endure routine ups and downs of life and also survive turbulent times.

This is perhaps why Ronald Sakolsky, a retired educator in the United States and longtime friend of China, said he believes that the path to global peace involves stronger people-to-people bonds and better understanding of cultural differences.

As President Xi Jinping's ongoing state visit to the US garners widespread international attention, Sakolsky urged young people in his country to visit China with the purpose of developing better cross-cultural communication and lasting friendships.

"I believe that you learn more outside of textbooks," he recently said, encouraging the US youth to travel beyond Beijing and Shanghai. "Go to Luoyang (Henan province), Xi'an (Shaanxi), Suzhou (Jiangsu), Nanjing (Jiangsu), Kaifeng (Henan) — go where you can see the real Chinese people and learn that they're just like you."

Sakolsky's long-term friendship with China's green hero, Yin Yuzhen, is a widely known story. While living and teaching in China in 1999 and 2000, he was instrumental in securing funds that helped Yin transform a barren wasteland in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region into a green belt over several decades.

As a foreign teacher, Sakolsky wanted to be more than a stranger in China. Instead of being known as a lao wai, or foreigner, "I wanted to become lao nei (one of us)," he said, adding, "The Chinese people allowed me to do that. I really feel a part of me belongs to China. My life changed in 1999, and I left a part of me there."

In August, Sakolsky visited China and reconnected with Yin after 26 years. He said he wants to extend that friendship by encouraging others to reach out to China, as well as to the world.

"I need to keep the story going to build a stronger relationship between the US and China. It's not going to happen in one day. This bridge between our two countries is absolutely essential for a bright future," he said.

The people of the US and China can learn from each other, and "together we can achieve so much more", he added.

As a world traveler, Sakolsky said he has observed that everyone wants peace, and most people are kind and willing to help others. All they need to do is listen to each other and learn from each other, he said. "Like the Chinese say, it's balance. ... You need to be open-minded."

Similarities matter more than differences, Sakolsky emphasized. "While we may look different, we still bleed red and have kindness in our hearts. If we focus on that, we can find a way to bridge the distance between us," he said.

Bai Fan, Party secretary and general principal of Luoyang No 2 Foreign Language School Education Group, who was Sakolsky's former supervisor, said he couldn't agree more.

"We should teach young people to share, discover, experience and accept the differences. At the same time, we should break away from the established stereotypes and learn to put ourselves in other people's shoes and empathize with them," he said.

For people who work in the basic education sector, the crucial task is to sow the seed of friendship in the hearts of young people, Bai said.

"As they grow older, their cognitive abilities mature and their values gradually take shape. They get the opportunity to recognize their peers in foreign countries, truly understand their cultures and social backgrounds, and learn about the development of each other's nations, sowing the seed of long-lasting kindness," Bai said.

"One day, this seed will take root, sprout and bear fruit. The understanding they gain in their youth will become a precious foundation for cross-cultural communication in the future," he added.