‘Read when you miss me’: pining China girl, 9, gives university-bound sister box of letters to read while away from home

A nine-year-old girl in China who is dreading saying goodbye to her university-bound sister has written her a box of letters to read whenever she feels homesick, touching many people on mainland social media.

The university-bound sibling, surnamed Zhou, said she left for her school in northeastern China’s Jilin province, about 2,000 kilometres away from her home in China’s southeastern Fujian province, on September 1.

On the day she left home, Zhou received a surprise gift from her younger sister – a box of heartwarming letters.

The younger sister wrote five letters intended for different scenarios, with thoughtful instructions on the back of each folded letter for Zhou to read when she felt “happy”, “sad”, “angry”, “sick”, or “missing me”.

She wrote in the “read this when you miss me” letter: “I miss you, too. Although you are so far away from me, I will come and meet you during the holidays.”

The primary school girl wrote in another letter: “See, your campus is large. You are a university student now. You should be proud.”

Zhou said the recent three-month summer holiday after the gaokao college entrance exam was the longest period of time she had spent with her younger sister, and had grown dependent on her during that time.

She said she was in tears when she read the letters on the train.

The sister’s soothing gesture has also moved people on mainland social media.

“This is so romantic, and she is only nine years old,” said someone on Weibo.

“I want a sister now,” said another.

“This is the meaning of having two children,” a third person said on Douyin.

China’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.09 in 2022.

The legacy of family planning policies in the country is a large age gap between the first and second child in many Chinese families.

While the decision of some parents to have another child following policy changes caused some anxiety for firstborns, stories about loving siblings tend to go viral on mainland social media.

In January, an 11-year-old boy from central China was so reluctant to see his sister get married and move away he refused to speak to his brother-in-law and cried throughout the wedding ceremony, according to a report by the mainland media outlet Rui’an News.