Life of Guangzhou - Sweet Nothings Come True

He is Luo Meisheng, 45 years old, a liberal professional.

She is Tan Limei, 45 years old, an employee at a private enterprise.

He promised twenty years ago to take her with him to the North and South poles and to travel around the world with her.

How great their love is.

The couple

Luo Meisheng and Tan Limei met each other in grade one of primary school.

After graduating from senior high school, they lived far apart and had no choice but to communicate by mail.

At the time, when Luo earned only a handful of yuan every month and Tan's salary just reached ten yuan per month, he took her on their first journey. The tour of east China cost them about 700 Yuan.

“During that journey, I found she liked traveling very much, so I told her I would someday take her to all the seven continents, four oceans, and poles,” he said.

But she thought his words were merely sweet nothings.

They led a hard life after getting married. When their child was born, Mr. Luo had no extra money to fulfill his promise.

She has spent all her time in the twenty years since their marriage on taking care of their child. Now their child is in university, and the two have more time to spend with each other. Luo thinks it is finally time for them to travel around the world. Since they have about eight million yuan in savings, traveling to the North Pole and the South Pole has become more than a dream for them.

The trip to the two poles will cost them more than three hundred thousand yuan for travel, proper clothing, and necessary equipment.

Luo still has some reservations: “We had been many places at home and abroad,” he said, “but the two poles trip makes me worried about her. I am not sure whether the condition of her body can stand it or not.”

The couple’s plans have surprised many people. “A man and a woman signed up to visit North Pole and South Pole together? Thus, they are probably lovers, not a couple,” said Zeng Yi, the marketing manager of a travel agency in Guangzhou. In his opinion, that the man and the woman turned out to be married is highly unusual.

Yet it has proven an inspirational story. For Tan, the transformation of her husband’s sweet nothings into reality has been profoundly touching. For others, their story sheds new light on the old saying, “one can tell how much a man loves a woman by how much he spends on the girl.” Perhaps a better measure is how much of his heart he devotes to fulfilling her dreams.

(By Luna Yang and Usha Chilukuri)