Message in a bottle forged a relationship with Jiading that has lasted two decades
Print Edition
WHEN Sharday Koekemoer was a 7-year-old girl living in South Africa, little did she know that when she picked up a bottle from the seashore that a 20-year connection with Jiading District had begun.
On January 30, 1994, 120 Shanghai students threw 1,060 bottles into the sea, and Sharday was the only person in the world to find one.
In July that year Sharday was invited to visit Shanghai with her parents and joined the 1st Shanghai International Children’s Art Festival.
“I heard drift bottle girl Sharday’s story from friends, and I asked for her signature on that day. She was very patient and wrote down her name for a dozen kids like a film star,” Wang Ruimiao, one of the children in the reception team, said.
Artist Zheng Xiaotong said: “Sharday is a very lovely girl. She likes to write Chinese characters and I taught her to write one stroke after another.”
Liu Hairong, who was in charge of the reception of the little guest, said: “We accompanied Sharday to visit Confucius Temple and explained the history of the imperial exam in ancient China. Though she was only 7 years old, she listened attentively. When she understood the meaning of zhuangyuan, or champion in the imperial exam, she shouted: ‘I want to be a zhuangyuan!’ in front of the image of Xu Fu, a zhuangyuan of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).”
Jiading Youth Activity Center gave Sharday a cloth bear as a gift, and she took it back to South Africa, and went to sleep with the bear in her arms.
On July 29 this year, Sharday again visited Jiading at the invitation of the organizer of Shanghai International Children’s Art Festival. The artist Zheng, now grey-haired, was waiting for her. “I waited for about an hour and Sharday came bare footed,” Zheng said. “She gave me a hug when she saw me. Later on I found out that her shoes got dirty and she had to take them off, so I gave my wife’s shoes for her to try, and it was amazing that the shoes fitted her well.”
Zheng also invited those who received Sharday 20 years ago and took out an old picture of her first visit. Sharday recognized them all and hugged them one by one, recalling her childhood visit.
Children from Jiading Children’s Palace brought gifts for Sharday, including straw weaving items, bamboo carving art ware and calligraphy. She also enjoyed performances of guzheng (a Chinese stringed instrument) playing and yellow straw weaving.
“There are so many changes here with so many skyscrapers, however, old buildings still exist,” Sharday said. “I like art, and I like architectures in Jiading, I like friends here as they are so friendly and passionate.” Sharday said when she returned to South Africa after her first visit, talking about the amazing trip to Jiading to her friends and teachers, almost none of them believed her. They thought the stories were from her imagination.
Movie director Li Shiliang says he is going to make a film about Sharday’s journey. “We hope more people will know the 20 years’ connection between Sharday and Jiading”, he said.
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