Chinese man reunites with air stewardess he met 15 years ago, but as her colleague

Xu was just a five-year-old boy, taking his first flight when he met Fang — an air stewardess who was working on the flight — and they took a photo together.

Who would have thought that 15 years later, it would be that same photo that led to the pair reuniting, but this time, as colleagues.

Speaking to Beijing Youth Daily on Nov 3, Xu said: "I was taking my first flight in 2004 and my family was flying from Pudong to Sanya for a holiday. As a memento, my mother took a photo of me with an air stewardess (Fang), after we had gotten her permission."

Now, the 20-year-old is a third-year student at the Civil Aviation Flight University of China and he told the Chinese paper that he has decided to pursue a career as a flight attendant after his studies, though it's unclear if it was inspired by that brief meeting with Fang when he was a boy.

After embarking on his internship with China Eastern Airlines in October, Xu chanced upon that fateful photo from 15 years ago and circulated it amongst his friends. Then, something unexpected happened.

He said: "Our team leader approached me the next day and asked if I would like to meet the lady in the photo."

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And that was how the pair met each other again, Xu revealed.

"We both felt awkward at that time, but she remembers me. I was a chubby kid and she liked me, which was why she made an exception to take a photo with me," he said.

It was reported that the airline has also assigned Fang to mentor Xu during his internship on account of their history together.

To celebrate the serendipitous meeting, Xu even recreated their photo from before and while the aircraft model is different and the seats have changed, Xu maintained that "the feeling is still the same".

Their before-and-after photos have also gone viral, with netizens noting that Fang had not aged at all while Xu has glowed up into a strapping young man.

bryanlim@asiaone.com