To Live and Love in Beijing: The Story of Lana and Mohamed

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Uprooting your life and moving to Beijing is a massive, scary undertaking. For many expats, it requires leaving behind friends, family, and any other sense of comfort or familiarity they know. While the city can be fickle, some transplants not only fall in love with the place, but with the people too. And specifically, one person. In this series, we’ll be talking to folks who have found love in the Capital, and ask them what it was like to meet their soulmate halfway across the globe. If you’d like to share your love story, please email [e-mail]

What is your name and your partner’s name?

My name is Lana and my husband’s name is Mohamed (very Arabic).

Where are you from? Where is your partner from?

I’m actually a mix of American and Russian, while Mohamed is a pure Yemeni.

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How long have you been together?

Now that you ask, it’s been longer than I thought. We have been together since April 2013! Going on seven years.

Where and how did you meet?

I was working in Guangzhou at this time and was looking for a place to travel for the holidays. My friend asked if I wanted to go to Dalian with him and I agreed. When at the airport, he had to immediately cancel the trip as he had a potential client arriving in the morning.

This lead to me going alone — god knows where Dalian was on the map of China. I hadn’t done any research and spoke zero Chinese. As my friend felt so guilty, he said he would find a good friend in Dalian to take me around the city so I don’t feel lonely. This friend was Mohamed, speaking zero English at that time, he only spoke Arabic and Chinese, both of which I didn’t!

What was your first date?

So the day after I arrived he invited me to a restaurant, Xinjiang local student place, and I didn’t know how to explain to him that I don’t eat meat. That was the funniest surprise to an Arab, how is that possible? The chef knew Mohamed and was very kind. We had a nice meal and then he took me to the mountain top on his motorcycle. It was really amazing and very romantic, riding through amazing scenery with the sea breeze, and then having a small picnic, which was not something I had thought of for a tour trip.

At what point did you realize, “this is the one for me”?

We were talking an hour daily on Skype. He didn’t understand what I was saying and I didn’t understand him. I found out his birthday was at the end of April and decided to surprise him with a visit. I could see how happy he was and at that time I realized, I finally found a person who is in love with me, he’s a keeper!

What do you love about each other?

I love the fact that we fulfill each other’s disadvantages. He loves cooking, I don’t. I love cleaning, he doesn’t. Mohamed is a man of his word and that really makes me feel safe no matter what. We love each other in all these different ways and have been through a lot for both family sides to accept our marriage. My parents in America weren’t thrilled, just like his weren’t keen on him marrying a foreigner, but in the end, love prevailed and we respect each other’s cultural traditions.

What can you tell us about falling in love in Beijing?

At first, when you arrive here, everything feels more difficult. You feel there are many more regulations is some way. In another way, there are so many international places around and you feel much lighter knowing you can go to a Brazilian place today, Italian tomorrow, and have some nice cheesecake on the weekend. Besides, there are so many activities in the city, you never get bored!

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