Hunan man married 12 years younger Russian wife, due to the epidemic 3 years did not see, will be in China to do the wedding

Half a year ago, Yueyang guy Yuan Liang hand-designed two sets of wedding dresses, a needle and thread production is completed, he plans to pick up his Russian wife, Lina, back to China, wearing his hand-made wedding dresses, held a grand Chinese wedding. And the time is set in the cold winter past, everything is full of vigor in the spring and summer.

The wedding was three years later than he expected. 2019, Yuan Liang and 12-year-old Lina received a marriage license, three months later, Lina returned to Russia due to illness, and since then, because of the epidemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the two could not see each other for miles. Until November 25, 2022, Yuan Liang rushed to Moscow, the two embraced each other for a long time sobbing.

On January 12, Yuan Liang told the Xiaoxiang Morning News that he plans to accompany his wife in Russia after New Year's Eve, and then take a flight back to China in February. "I plan to accompany Lina on a tour of China's famous mountains and rivers to appreciate the splendid Chinese civilization. We also plan to have a lovely baby."

Yuan Liang and his wife Lina

Discussing Chinese history met on the Internet

Yuan Liang was born in 1980 to a rural family in Yueyang, Hunan province. The rough experiences of his childhood made him cherish his family even more.

Yuan Liang was the third child in his family, with an older brother and an older sister. The older brother and sister have died for some reason, and his mother fell ill under the successive blows, when Yuan Liang was only 5 years old.

The physically disabled father, by weaving all kinds of bamboo baskets, to pay for his education. Yuan Liang learned to take care of his family while studying, and his mother died when he was 9, and his father died of lung cancer when he was 21. At this point, in Changsha, a textile university in two years of clothing design and production, Yuan Liang began to face life alone.

Because of the systematic study of clothing design, Yuan Liang got a lot of opportunities in the work, he will be his own experience compiled into a book published, but also by virtue of outstanding personal ability was hired by a university in Chongqing lectures, in 2014, he also founded his own clothing training school. Yuan Liang's career is flourishing.

Yuan Liang remained lonely until he met Lina.

Mentioning Lina, Yuan Liang unashamedly thanked his past two girlfriends. One girlfriend passed away due to illness when his career was just starting out, a sad experience that taught him to cherish. His other girlfriend was a Russian student who separated from him due to the other's family. At that time, after a trip to Russia, Yuan Liang became interested in the country. He met his girlfriend through the Internet and learned some Russian with her help and encouragement.

Time came to the second half of 2018. A Russian post on the Internet aroused Yuan Liang's interest. The other party claimed to want to learn about Chinese history. And the poster was none other than Lina.

Lina is a doctoral student at the University of Tomsk in Russia, studying a double major in foreign cultural studies and heritage studies. Yuan Liang told Lina many stories about Chinese history in Russian, a language he had learned earlier.

The two exchanges are also more and more, Yuan Liang said, every time they communicate, they can talk from the ice and snow Gobi to Bashan and Shu Shui, from the Russian nesting dolls to Shaanxi shadow, there are always endless topics. Whenever they say goodbye, they can't get enough.

Chat Transcript

In 2019, after graduation, Lina worked at a local museum. After a few months together, Lina made a bold decision. Having never left Russia and never been on an airplane, she decided to defy her parents and embark on a journey to China.

Meeting for the second time to get a marriage license

"I still don't know how she convinced his parents at that time to come to China and come to me."

Yuan Liang still remembers the tall, thin figure at the Beijing airport on June 29, 2019, the simple and brave girl.

Unlike Yuan Liang's rough encounter, Lina lives in a happy family.

Lina's childhood photo

Lina was born in 1992 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to a rural family. My dad worked in management at the university, my mom graduated with a master's degree, was a ski instructor in her youth, and now works in the sports office. I also have an older sister who is married. Lina is highly favored by her parents, and has excelled in her studies since she was a child. She has also participated in local beauty contests and achieved good results.

Worried about missing the pickup of Lina, Yuan Liang came to Beijing 18 hours in advance, holding a sign with Lina's name on it, waiting at the exit of the airport.

Pickup sign

Yuan Liang told the Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter, the two network met lovers, the first time they met without the slightest sense of strangeness, natural hand-holding, hugging. After a short break of two hours, he took Lina on a moving train to the beach in Qinhuangdao for three days. "The first meal we ate together was dumplings in a restaurant without spoons; she didn't know how to use chopsticks, so I picked them up and fed them to her one by one."

Yuan Liang and his wife, Lina

After that, he took Lina on a tour of many cities in China, and a month later Lina had to return to Russia due to the expiration of her tourist visa, and with tears in her eyes and reluctance to leave, she boarded a plane to go back.

This time together, strengthened the determination of Lina to marry Yuan Liang. Two months later, she gave up her job at the museum, applied for a certificate of singleness, and came to China again before China's National Day in 2019 with a full heart of love and longing. This time, she came to get married.

Collecting a marriage license

"We also overcame a lot of difficulties at that time to get a license, we came to Changsha to register, and found that a single certificate was not enough, but we also needed to go to the embassy for certification. In order to rush to collect the license the next day at the Hunan Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau before the close of business, we bought a train to Guangzhou at 2 a.m. the next day, and immediately took the high-speed train back to Changsha after the embassy certification." Yuan Liang remembers that when they arrived, they were only 20 minutes short of closing time. Just like that, the exotic couple, who are 12 years apart, officially received their marriage license and became a legal couple.

Separated for three years by the epidemic

Because Lina's visa was only extended for a month, she once again returned to Russia early in tears. Yuan Liang, for his part, arrived in Russia before New Year's Day 2020 to officially meet his in-laws. After New Year's Day, the two returned to China together. Just as they were looking forward to their new life, Lina suddenly fell ill.

"When Lina was studying, she took a hormone drug that could improve her memory and stabilize her mood, but the long-term use of the drug led to side effects. This drug is very common among students in Russia." Yuan Liang told reporters, taking into account Russia for such conditions have mature response program, Lina decided to return to Russia for treatment, Yuan Liang decided to deal with the domestic matters to accompany her to settle in Russia.

This farewell is three years.

Yuan Liang said the epidemic broke out and flights to Novosibirsk were completely suspended after Lina left. After the situation at home improved, it began to spiral out of control again abroad.

Separated from the two places, his wife and because of the treatment of memory loss, the heart of the worried Yuan Liang began to write a book for his wife, will be the story of the two met and fell in love with the book. In addition, in order to be recognized by the Russian father-in-law, Yuan Liang also wrote a book for his father-in-law, which introduces the rapid development of China over the years, to help him understand China.

During this period, Yuan Liang made a lot of efforts to travel to Russia. Booked a ticket, for various reasons the plane canceled, passport facing expiration, had to apply for a new passport

After a few twists and turns, Yuanliang bought a ticket to Russia, and successfully applied for a visa. "I bought gifts for Lina's family two months in advance, including computers, cell phones and so on, but also sold the domestic clothing training school. She can give up her job for me, I can also give up for her, money can be earned again, but I can not let go of her." Yuan Liang said, until the plane successfully stopped in Moscow, his heart finally landed. At the airport, he finally met his wife, who had been away for three years. She was holding a bouquet of flowers, still as beautiful as when she first met.

"My arrival surprised my father-in-law. He thought we had separated a long time ago, but in fact we have been in touch for the past three years." Yuan Liang said that the first time he came to Russia, although his father-in-law's attitude was polite, he could sense that the other party wanted him to leave quickly and did not agree with their marriage. This time he came to Russia, he clearly felt a change in his father-in-law's attitude. "He will now take me shopping in the supermarket and usually chat with me, treating me like a son."

After coming to Russia, Yuan Liang spent the Russian New Year with Lina's family and met with her relatives and friends with Lina. "It's just that the food is a bit uncomfortable, I can't afford to eat bread every day. I brought a lot of cooked food over from China, as well as rice and a small rice cooker, and occasionally went to the kitchen to cook a little porridge myself."

Plan to return to China for wedding

"In Russia now, the economic environment is not good. The price level is very unstable because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict." Yuan Liang said the devaluation of the local ruble has reduced the income of locals, but prices have risen, making life very stressful. In the long run, the employment pressure is severe, and it is hard to find a job. "Businesses are closing down and many people are unemployed. And because of the conscription, many men need to join the army, causing many industries to fail as well. I heard from Lina that there might be a second round of conscription, and the age of conscription used to be over 40, but it will be lowered to lower next time."

Yuan Liang revealed that he and Lina bought tickets to fly from Russia to China and plan to return home on February 17, 2023, considering the situation may last for a long time.

"I don't have any income in Russia now, and I also can't find a job over there for the time being, so I bring a little bit of goods online." Yuan Liang revealed that in the past few years, in order to record the story of his previous relationship with Lina, he has filmed many videos and posted them online, which unexpectedly attracted many fans. He plans to hold a wedding with his wife in Chongqing in the first half of 2023. "Many fans have witnessed the love between the two of us along the way, and they say they want to come to our wedding too."

For the arrangement in 2023, Yuan Liang plans not to work for the time being. Having started his own business over the years, Yuan Liang has saved up some savings, and he wants to accompany his wife on trips to various places in China to familiarize her with them. "Lina suffers from depression because of her illness, she can't leave me and I don't feel comfortable with her being alone. And Lina is not an international student, she is a stranger to China and I need to familiarize her with life here."

"I think we will definitely have a child of our own in 2023." Yuan Liang is full of expectations when it comes to the future.

Xiaoxiang Morning Post reporter Zhou Lingru