In less than a week, 86-year-old Ling Ruix? had "traveled" around the globe.
There’s photographic proof — one moment, he was bathed in the sunset glow of the Brazilian rainforest, the next, he was surrounded by green fields in the French countryside.
Whether it was the skyscrapers of New York or the shores of Sydney, he was there. On this "round-the-world trip," he also "attended" a Mayday concert in Hong Kong and a Lakers basketball game in Los Angeles, and even climbed into the cockpit of a Boeing 737.
In reality, while the elderly man kept appearing in tens of thousands of photos from around the world, in real life he was simply lying quietly on his hospital bed as usual. Advanced cancer left him barely able to walk, and sometimes when he opened his eyes and looked out the window by his bed, all he could see was a small patch of sky.
"I still haven’t lived enough," he once told his children. Although he had always wanted to travel abroad, a sudden illness had confined him to the hospital.
However, his granddaughter Ling Yifan was not about to give up. This post-80s comic artist, who goes by the pen name "Buddy," used to bring a bit of "romance" to her grandfather — sometimes a big bunch of pink sunflowers, sometimes a tank of goldfish. This time, she was going to show the world to her grandfather.
"At first, I thought it would be great if just a few dozen people helped out," Ling Yifan said. She posted a portrait she drew of her grandfather on Weibo, hoping that someone would print it out or display it on a computer screen, take a photo with it in their location, and then "@” her.
In less than an hour, the Weibo post was reposted nearly 10,000 times. Within five days, she received over 10,000 photos, most from complete strangers. She selected some and posted them on her own Weibo account, expressing her gratitude.
When 22-year-old Zhang Nan saw Ling Yifan’s Weibo post, she was taking a nap in the classroom. The young woman, studying alone in Canada, felt that besides capturing the beautiful scenery of Toronto, she should also give some encouragement to her "grandpa." She began persuading her classmates, and in the end, seven young people from five different countries held up signs saying "Go Grandpa!" and took a photo.
At the same time, the "grandpa" was also "taken" to the summit of a snow-capped mountain at an altitude of 5,217 meters by Kou Bo from Chengdu. "During the climb, you can more deeply feel the support of family," he said, believing that he had to share his most meaningful journey with "grandpa."
The trip even extended as far as Antarctica. The "grandpa" smiled in images from the southernmost point on Earth, with pure white icebergs set against the deep blue sea behind him.
Some netizens even cut the outline of the "grandpa" out from the original painting’s background and composited it with the photos they took — making it look even more realistic.
When the "grandpa" Ling Ruix? first heard about it, he happily told his granddaughter, "I’m already a world celebrity." He gave a slight smile, though it was painful for him due to the severe ulcer on the corner of his mouth.
To his family, Ling Ruix? had always been a "strict head of the household," rarely showing his inner emotions easily. But as more and more photos were shown one by one, tears began to well up in his eyes. Sometimes he would nod at the photos, other times he would make a comment. Seeing the "Red Square," he would "correct" Ling Yifan, saying it was the "Soviet Union" and not "Russia." And the night view of Taichung brought back distant memories, "I had an old friend there."
Just browsing through the photos had already exhausted him. Before lying down to rest, he slowly raised his hand and made a fist-clasping gesture to express his thanks.
Despite being very weak, the "grandpa" Ling Ruix?, just as the netizens hoped, kept fighting to live on.
In the hospital room, he refused to wear his patient gown, asking his family to bring him a crisp suit and a plaid shirt. He still cared about his financial situation, often counting money on his hospital bed. The young nurses called this 1.80-meter-tall grandpa "tall, rich, and handsome." Once, when he suddenly became critically ill, his daughter hugged him and cried, and he used all his strength to pat her back reassuringly, saying, "It’s okay, I’m still fighting."
Now unable to eat and only maintained by intravenous drips, he missed food terribly and claimed he wanted to "nom nom on pig’s trotters." Sometimes his family would let him taste food by holding it in his mouth, but in the end, he would just shake his head and reluctantly spit it out.
As if knowing the "grandpa’s" wishes, host Li Ai treated the "grandpa" to a taste of Sichuan snacks. In one set of photos, there were his oft-mentioned "pig’s trotters," floating in creamy white broth topped with green scallions.
Netizen kiki even prepared a rich breakfast for the "grandpa." In front of the "grandpa" were fresh red apples, Western-style sandwiches, as well as traditional tomato and egg soup. Three young men even took the "grandpa" to enjoy a hot pot meal.
Everyone was trying to make the "grandpa" feel happy. For example, letting him "stroll" through the lush green parks of Melbourne after a fresh rain, or letting him "smell" the floral scents of Malaysia on a "bird-twittering" morning. Some even had their pet cats and dogs "accompany" him, hoping to make him smile. Many called him "our grandpa," and in Ling Yifan’s view, people were also expressing their own emotions or making up for regrets with their loved ones.
"My grandpa passed away in 1994. He was the most important person in my life!" one netizen wrote. Many shared stories about their families when posting their photos, and Zhang Nan, who cheered for the "grandpa," exclaimed, "I want to fly home right now to hug and kiss my grandma."
Although her own grandpa suddenly had thousands of "grandkids," Ling Yifan wasn’t jealous at all. To her, her grandpa was unique. She loved touching his "bald head," which was "smooth and fun." Describing her grandpa, she would use the word "lively." In her memory, her grandpa was in good health, could ride a small motorcycle around Beijing even in his 80s, and "could probably even climb trees." She remembered how her grandpa back then was a "tech nerd," with electronic components all over the house. He could build her a baby crib by hand, get a self-made motor running, and was "simply capable of anything."
But she gradually realized that her grandpa was getting older. During this year’s Spring Festival, the whole family gathered together. Yet, she saw him sitting alone, resting his head on the sofa and staring blankly. "Maybe it was his last Spring Festival," Ling Yifan said. Her grandpa didn’t know about his condition, but to get him to cooperate with treatment, they had to tell him "you’re seriously ill." Until one day, her grandpa grabbed her hand on the hospital bed and said, "Yifan, draw a picture of me."
Ling Yifan put aside all her comic drafts, even though her grandpa often taught her that "work comes first." She spent a whole day looking at her grandpa’s photos and drawing the portrait that would later "travel the world," and had him wear his favorite shirt in the painting.
"This is me," the elderly man said when he saw the portrait. He didn’t seem overly joyful, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Ling Yifan began to wonder, if she herself were at the end of her life, what else would she wish for? She thought it would definitely be to visit more places. "I never asked him," she said. As a granddaughter, she just wanted to make her grandpa happy.
She never expected that "the number of photos far exceeded expectations and control. Even if I replied to one person every half minute, replying non-stop for four hours a day, it would take several months to reply to them all."
One netizen accompanied the "grandpa" to every temple in Myanmar. Another took the grandpa on a 130-kilometer bike ride, even though he didn’t know that cycling was also a hobby of the "grandpa" when he was young.
Netizen Shang Shengxuan met Yasuo Fukuda at the Japanese Embassy in China. After sharing the story of this "grandpa of the world," Shang Shengxuan relayed greetings from Japan’s former prime minister on Weibo: "He told you to cheer up!"
In fact, "Grandpa" was full of energy. He also "visited" several high school classes preparing for the gaokao, "toured" the prototype of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from *Harry Potter*, and even "served" as a judge on a talent show alongside singer Chen Yufan.
"So many people care about me," said Ling Ruilai. While looking through the photos, Ling Yifan kept asking if her grandpa needed a break, but the elderly man always replied, "I'm not tired." Wearing glasses, squinting slightly, he carefully examined each photo, his lips trembling faintly as if reading much from the images, until he grew too weak and dozed off. When he woke, he repeatedly murmured, "I must thank everyone properly."
In the eyes of Ling Yifan’s mother, Ling Xiaoying, although this was just a virtual around-the-world trip, "the children’s hearts are genuine." She used to think that only children were somewhat selfish, but the 10,000 photos sent by strangers made her feel that "because they have received their parents’ most selfless love, they all carry seeds of kindness within them."
Speaking of her father, Ling Xiaoying is full of pride. As a senior electronics engineer, "our grandpa" participated in National Day celebrations multiple times. His team was responsible for the sound system across Tiananmen Square, including the grand ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic. He was a strict father who would "give hand slaps" as discipline, yet would also stay by the window, watching his daughter’s back as she left home. He would also have earnest conversations with each grandchild, teaching them to "be good people and follow the right path."
Ling Ruilai, who even proclaimed at age 80, "I want to buy a car," can now only occasionally struggle to get up and walk, managing to reach the bathroom before having to stop. He can no longer go anywhere, and even returning home has become a luxury. Most of the time, he lies in bed, dozing off surrounded by white walls. Occasionally, when children bring flowers, he shows his humor—holding the flowers and shaking hands with them, pretending to accept an award.
On the evening of May 11, netizen Guo Lingfeng saw Ling Yifan’s Weibo post. This young man, who had just learned two weeks prior that his grandmother had been diagnosed with lung cancer, said he could deeply relate. Together with friends, he brought "Grandpa" to a basketball game in Los Angeles. He liked Ling Yifan’s "idea" and felt that "today’s youth are not lacking in compassion, just a good outlet for it."
Now, Ling Yifan hopes all of this will pass like a breeze, and afterward, "everyone can live normally and think normally." She doesn’t care much about the so-called "social impact," only about whether Grandpa is happy. In her view, she is just a bridge between Grandpa and the netizens. Meanwhile, many other netizens believe that "Grandpa" is a bridge that connects the shared emotions in their hearts.
Undoubtedly, this bridge has taken Ling Ruilai to countless sights. On his granddaughter’s computer screen, he can see himself traveling the world. "I’m very happy," he says. The successive visits from journalists excited the elderly man even more, with tears often welling up in his eyes. Yet, after mustering the energy to face countless cameras, "our grandpa" quickly came down with a high fever.