Wang Weiguo (left), the kind protector of the photos he purchased 12 years ago, narrates his experiences in searching for the heroine, Joanna Syson (middle), while returning them to her during the ceremony in Beijing Wednesday. Photo: Jin Jianyu/GT

Joanna Syson, the Norwegian owner of a photo collection lost for over a decade, excitedly received the recovered pictures yesterday when they were handed over by their faithful protector, Wang Weiguo, in the Lobby Hall of China Radio International (CRI) in Beijing. 

“I never thought I would see these pictures again. It is an incredible surprise,” Syson said at the ceremony. 

“Finally I meet you, my old friend,” joked Wang Weiguo, the protector of the photos, when he greeted Syson at their first encounter in Beijing on Tuesday. For years, Wang searched for the real-life subject of the black-and-white photos. 

Memories lost

Joanna came to China to study Chinese as a student in the 1990s and expected to make a home for herself in Beijing. She took with her a succession of family photographs, some of which encapsulated her golden memories of childhood. 

One photo depicted her mother’s affectionate gaze upon the little Joanna on her first birthday. The other showed her father telling a fairy tale to his young daughter during a hiking journey, making the hours pass more pleasantly. 

Joanna entrusted all her belongings, including the family photos, to one of her friends in Beijing when she had to take a break from studies and return to Norway for personal reasons in 1999.  

Miserably, after returning to Beijing six months later, she found that all of her luggage had disappeared. Nor could she find the friend to whom she had given all of her belongings. 

Although she made several visits to Beijing to recover the pictures, and made inquiries about the whereabouts of her friend, all efforts were in vain during the 12 years. 

Joanna Syson's mother Julie Ege, a former Miss Norway, affectionately gazes upon the little Joanna on her first birthday. Photo: CRIENGLISH.com

A coincidental purchase

In another corner of the capital, another person also felt a great attachment to the photos. 

Wang Weiguo, an actor with the National Theatre Company of China who often shops at the Panjiayuan flea market for second-hand items and curiosities, was wandering around the vendors’ stands as usual one day in 1999. 

Suddenly, an ancient wooden picture frame, held together without a single nail and containing a picture of a little Western girl wearing fashionable makeup and a black feather bow, attracted Wang’s eyes. 

Coincidentally, it was the same frame that Joanna, charmed by the special design, had bought at the same market.  

“The elegant little Western girl in a traditional Chinese frame seemed so distinctive to me,” Wang recalled. 

Wang said he bought all the frames of that kind from the vendor, and upon returning home was astounded to find that nearly all of the pictures in the frames were of the same person, tracing her growth as a child, toddler and teenager.  

“These photos must have been sold by mistake,” Wang said to himself. “No one is willing to sell pictures that capture the days of their youth.” 

Wang said he took the pictures with him every time he moved, as “someone at the other end of the world must be eager to find their memories.”



Where is she?

In the 12 years that followed, Wang tried every means to reach the owner. 

He resorted to a friend in the police force for a name list of foreigners who had reported losing photographs in recent years. He also asked the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Beijing, domestic media and TV stations for help. 

All of his efforts, however, led to dead ends. 

Nevertheless, December 27, 2010, was a remarkable day to both Wang and Joanna. 

Wang came to the CRI that day for another try. A video composed by the English center of the CRI titled “Where is she?” and showing the old pictures as well Wang’s quest to find the owner was uploaded to CRI's website, and posted on several microblogs . 

Wang’s perseverance touched the net users, who did not know each other but labored together to locate the owner through the clues and details revealed by the posted photos. 

On the morning of March 16, 2011, a net user named Signar Berger moved the search forward with a post saying that one of the pictures was of a famous actress and a former Miss Norway named Julie Ege, with her daughter Ella Syson. Ege had also risen to fame when she was a Bond girl in the 007 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969. 

The inspiring post sparked another round of discussions online. Ten minutes after Berger’s message, Eva Bendiksen, another net user, provided further details to the information about Julie and sent the video link to the Norwegian Broadcasting Company for help. “Tea,” a third crucial net user, contributed to the endeavor by sending the link to Ella Syson’s page on an online social network. 

“My sister Ella informed me that someone was looking for me,” Joanna said. “I was overwhelmed by the news and could not wait to see the photos that I thought were lost forever.” 

Joanna Syson wears a fashionable makeup and a black feather bow when she was a teenager. Photo:CRIENGLISH.com

Lost memories found

“This is the most beautiful day for me,” Joanna said at the ceremony. “Mr. Wang is indeed a wonderful man who has a wealth of kindness in his heart.”

“I was always taught by my grandmother not to keep other people’s belongings, even if I found them myself,” Wang said. “I could not feel at ease if these memorable pictures were not returned to their owner.” 

The pictures are now all the more precious to Joanna, as most of her family photos were burnt in a fire in their Norwegian home several years ago. 

“I finally found her,” Wang said. "All’s well that ends well."