Keith Bradsher, born in 1964, holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's degree in public policy from Princeton University. He is currently the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, responsible for reporting on the Greater China region. In 2013, he won the Pulitzer Prize, the highest award in journalism. Keith has a deep affection for his family's history.

In November 2020 and February 2023, he visited Fuzhou twice to trace the footsteps of his ancestors who worked and lived in the city.