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"ah habibi (meaning 'good friend, good brother'), i am your good brother lao wang!" ahmed mohammed jabbar, a food blogger from iraq, whose chinese name is wang lixuan. in front of the camera, he always wears a suit and happily greets everyone in slightly accented chinese.

because of the war, he went from iraq to syria when he was less than 10 years old, and came to china when he was almost 20 years old. he emerged from the war and regained his life in china. as a food blogger, he seeks the taste of happiness through food and shows a peaceful, friendly and authentic china.

this year is wang lixuan’s tenth year in china. he said: "my friends, i don't allow them to say that i am 30 years old. they are only allowed to say that i am 10 years old. because after i really come to china, i feel like i was born again."

"yeah habibie"

this is what happiness tastes like

"ah habibie!" in the camera, lao wang is optimistic, loves to laugh, can eat, and can chat, and has gradually become what netizens call "showing off". his videos also attracted many netizens to check in at the restaurant, and even spread abroad. he felt a heavy sense of responsibility on his shoulders.

from then on, he would wear a suit every time he appeared on camera. he wanted to make eating more ritualistic and show respect for the audience, friends and food.

the seafood in qingdao, the beautiful scenery in hangzhou... every time lao wang visits a city, he will go to the ancient city there to learn about the local culture. people are talking about peace and peace. lao wang also went to small, down-to-earth restaurants. the people there were down-to-earth, and chatting with them was very therapeutic.

sheep from ningxia, sheep from xinjiang, sheep from gansu...china is a country with a vast land and abundant resources, and its food is really rich. lao wang couldn't help feeling that he was really happy to be a chinese. he was very relaxed on camera and learned a lot.

once, when he met a chinese friend and said "hello", he not only received a series of enthusiastic responses, "hello! hello! hello!" the other party also gave him a big smile.

"the bullet made a hole in my body"

when lao wang first came to china, he was frightened by the honking of horns.

in 2003, the iraq war broke out. the raging war declared that 9-year-old wang lixuan had bid farewell to his happy childhood. recalling those days, lao wang said: "at three or four o'clock in the middle of the night, we heard the national siren, and then heard the plane flying over. it was like a nightmare."

to escape the war, the family moved to syria and made a living by doing odd jobs. finally, life improved, but civil war broke out in syria, and the family encountered war again. lao wang said: "at that time, i had no hope of living in this world. i was also hit by a bullet, which was very serious."

later, lao wang came to china through the introduction of his uncle. when he first arrived in china, he would be frightened if someone honked the horn when he went out.

during the spring festival in 2024, when he was eating at a barbecue stall, someone suddenly set off fireworks. the people around him were calm and composed, but he suddenly shuddered and froze in place, his eyes full of panic and helplessness. it turned out that he had set off the firecrackers. the sound was like an explosion.

the shadow of the war in his childhood has always been a fear engraved deep in his memory.

the iraqi king turns 10 years old

the 10 years since he came to china have opened wang lixuan’s eyes. you can buy air tickets and bus tickets through the app by opening your mobile phone. you don’t need to carry cash when you go out, you can pay with your mobile phone. the iraqi lao wang only allowed his friends to say that he was 10 years old: "because after i came to china, i felt like i was born again."

in february of this year, lao wang returned to iraq and met his parents, whom he had not seen for many years. he was also pleasantly surprised to find many new changes here. he saw many chinese friends helping iraq build schools, hospitals, roads, etc. through the joint construction of the "belt and road" project.

in wang lixuan's view, the joint construction of the "belt and road" is like a car starting from china and passing through many countries, sharing china's good things with them, and also enhancing mutual exchanges and cooperation. his country also has a new look due to the joint construction of the "belt and road": "i feel that china is like a pair of warm hands, pulling iraq forward."

the videos lao wang takes every day are posted on foreign websites. he hopes that through simple expressions, more people can see the beautiful china, the real china, and the peaceful china.

source: cctv's comprehensive "evening news"