In the early morning light, Guo Xiangdeng is busy selecting vegetables at the Kuliang agricultural market in Fuzhou city, Fujian province, holding one of the "Four Treasures of Kuliang"—the Hai Cai, a green vegetable grown in Kuliang. Last month, Guo and his family used "Hai Cai Stir-fried with Egg" as one of the dishes to host their long-time American friends, Gordon Trimble and his wife.

Guo Xiangdeng, a Kuliang villager, is trimming the Hai Cai, one of the "Four Treasures of Kuliang", for cooking. [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]

On June 22, under a picturesque sunset, Gordon Trimble and his wife Sonia walked into a small farmhouse. This place, now the home of Kuliang villager Guo Xiangdeng, was once the site of Lydia Trimble's villa, numbered 248 a century ago. The connection between the Guo and the Trimble families dates back over one hundred years.

Gordon Trimble (left), one of the "Kuliang Friends", and his wife Sonia (right), are looking at an old photo of the Lydia Trimble's villa. [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]

An old photo of Lydia Trimble's villa [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]

Lydia Trimble, Gordon Trimble's great-aunt, came to China in 1889 and spent over 50 years in Fujian as a missionary and educator. In 1891, she founded Yuzhen Girls' Junior High School (the predecessor of Fuqing No 2 High School), and in 1908, she established South China Women's College (the predecessor of Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College), serving as its first principal. Every summer, Lydia Trimble would return to Kuliang to escape the heat, and she named her residence "Iowa Cottage".

Lydia Trimble [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]

To trace Lydia Trimble's footsteps, Gordon Trimble and his father made several trips to China in the 1980s, continuing a century-old legacy of deep connections. In 2005, after retiring, Gordon Trimble and his wife Sonia came to Fuzhou, where he worked as a teacher at Fujian Hwa Nan Women's College, perpetuating the seeds of friendship sown by Lydia Trimble. In the following years, the couple organized several exchanges between the college and institutions such as the University of Puget Sound and Sacred Hearts Academy in the United States, further promoting Sino-American cultural exchanges through visits to Kuliang and other activities.

Walking into Guo's home, one can still see a section of the villa's stone wall from a century ago in the courtyard. Standing by the wall, Guo recalls how his grandfather was once part of a team of porters in Kuliang. A century ago, transportation to Kuliang was inconvenient; people could only travel by foot to reach the top of the hill. Foreigners escaping the summer heat often needed porters to carry them or their belongings up the mountain. To protect the workers' interests, the Kuliang Club of the time established detailed standards for porter fees.

A section of the villa's century-old stone wall still stands in Guo Xiangdeng's courtyard. [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]

Time has passed, but the bond remains. Last October, Gordon Trimble and his wife revisited the Guo family. Last month, the Guo family invited the Trimbles "home for dinner". For the Trimbles, this "family feast" was deeply moving and memorable. Every dish was handpicked or bought with care, each carrying the taste of "home".

A photo captures the warm family feast shared between the Guo and Trimble families. [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]

The century-old stories of Kuliang have long become part of the daily lives of the locals, intertwined with everyday moments on the hill. Now, three generations of the Guo family each tell the story of Kuliang in their own way.

Guo Xiangdeng and his wife sell vegetables at the Kuliang agricultural market, attracting tourists with their fresh, home-grown produce and honest business practices.

Guo's daughter-in-law, Xue Meiqing, loves photography. She captures the local customs and unique features of Kuliang through her lens, drawing more people to appreciate and fall in love with Kuliang.

Xue's son, Liu Xuele, is a young guide on Kuliang. In his spare time, he actively participates in various parent-child study activities, digging into the history and culture of Kuliang and Gushan Mountain.

On this storied land of Kuliang, many like the Guo family act as its "ambassadors", continuing the century-old connection with Kuliang in their own ways, writing new chapters in the Kuliang story.

A photograph of Kuliang's scenery by Xue Meiqing. [Photo provided to bondwithkuliang.org.cn]