Kuliang, or "Guling" in the Chinese mandarin, is a hillside on the outskirts of Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, at an altitude of 998 meters. Since the 1880s, foreign expatriates in Fuzhou have built summer villas, hospitals, tennis courts, swimming pools, post offices and other facilities in Kuliang, forging deep friendships with the local residents.

Milton Gardner, an American physics professor, and his family were among them.

In 1901, Milton's parents brought him to Fuzhou, where they lived for 10 years. In 1911, the Gardner family returned to the United States, but Kuliang remained a place Milton longed for throughout his life.

Despite his deep wish to revisit this childhood home, Gardner never fulfilled that wish during his lifetime and even uttered the word "Kuliang" on his deathbed.

But where was Kuliang? His wife, Elizabeth Gardner, had long been puzzled by the word. It was not until 1990 that she discovered 11 stamps left behind by her husband, all bearing clear postmarks "Fuzhou · Kuliang." With the help of a Chinese student in the US, she finally solved the mystery of the word her husband had spoken of.

The student wrote about the American couple's story and published it in the People's Daily in April 1992. The article was noticed by Xi Jinping, then Fuzhou's Party chief.

Touched by the story, Xi decided to help. He asked his subordinates to contact Elizabeth and invite her to Fuzhou, particularly Kuliang.

In August 1992, at the age of 72, Elizabeth finally arrived in Fuzhou. Xi welcomed Elizabeth on the evening of her arrival. He said he was moved by her husband's attachment and longing for Fuzhou and Kuliang, and that was the reason for inviting her there.

"You can see the place he had missed all his life," Xi told Elizabeth.

During her stay in Fuzhou, Elizabeth, with the help of the municipal government, went to Kuliang and met nine of Milton's childhood friends. They shared memories of Milton and his family with her.

Elizabeth said the trip allowed her to understand why her husband had missed China so much, and she was determined to continue to pass on the friendship between the two peoples.

For decades, Xi kept the American couple's story close to his heart. In 2012, Xi, as Chinese vice president, shared it during a welcoming luncheon in Washington. "I believe there are a lot of touching stories like this between Chinese and American people," he said.

It isn't just the Gardners who have a profound bond with Kuliang. Many American families share a profound connection with China through the hillside resort. Their descendants have formed the "Kuliang Friends" group to continue the legacy of friendship. In 2023, they wrote a letter to President Xi sharing their ties to the place.

Impressed by the efforts of the group's members to bolster China-US people-to-people exchanges, Xi said their stories once again highlight that "the Chinese and American peoples can transcend differences in system, culture and language to forge deep friendships."