FAMILY TIES: Yang Yueqin, Mohamade Adam and daughter Limya Mohamade (COURTESY OF LIMYA MOHAMADE ADAM)

Born to a Sudanese father and a Chinese mother, 22-year-old Limya Mohamade Adam feels lucky to have been raised as part of a bicultural family in Beijing. Their story is one not always heard in China, where mixed marriage is still somewhat uncommon.

An intercultural romance

"My father came from Africa all the way to China to study, but met his love of life. It's really very romantic," said Limya.

It has been 23 years since the couple first met in the Chinese capital. Back in the late 1980s, Yang Yueqin, a singer with the China National Song and Dance Ensemble, wanted to learn Arabic songs. She knew no one who could teach her, and went to the Beijing Language Institute (predeccesor of today's Beijing Language and Culture University), seeking an Arabic tutor. There, she met a Sudanese student who was studying Chinese. His name was Mohamade Adam.

As can sometimes happen in love stories, the teacher fell for his student. Mohamade chased Yang intently, regularly picking her up at school. But Yang, scared and shy, ran back to her hometown in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. 

Mohamade didn't give up. He tracked down Yang's teacher in the ensemble to ask how to find her. It was a long journey to Yang's hometown, and the temperature outside was minus 20 degrees Celsius by the time Mohamade arrived. He was ill equipped for the weather, dressed in a pair of light-weight pants. Yang was touched.

During his week-long stay Mohamade met Yang's parents and her entire extended family. They rejected his marriage proposal to Yang, but she didn't.

In the 1980s, mixed marriage was a rare thing in big cities and coastal areas – not to mention in inland provinces. Moreover, only a small number of Africans worked or studied in China at that time.

The couple held their wedding at the Beijing International Club. Yang was the third youngest of nine siblings, but only her mother, two sisters and two brothers attended the ceremony. Her family could not understand why, with so many Chinese men available, she had chosen to marry an African.

Yang's father didn't attend the wedding. It took him a long time to accept the marriage – something that only happened when his granddaughter was born in 1988. In a promise letter, Limya's father swore to his father-in-law that he would never marry another woman (since Muslim men may marry up to four wives), and would not take Yang to Africa while her father was still alive.

After the wedding Yang stayed in Ningxia while Mohamade, who by then was at Tsinghua University, finished his studies in Beijing. Once graduated, he found a job with the Sudanese Embassy and moved his family to the capital.

The family grew to include two brothers for Limya. Although she is of mixed parentage, Limya is considered a citizen of Sudan, a foreigner. Her parents aren't beholden to China's one-child policy.

Limya believes true love brought her parents together and their children make the bond tighter.

"They have been together for more than 20 years and have gone through a lot of problems and arguments. But they made it all the way now. They are still happy and laughing and are just very grateful. Despite whatever other people say, they will do whatever they think is right," she said.