From Baghdad to Beijing: Iraqi Journalist Gets Engaged to Chinese Fiancée

An Iraqi-born journalist who grew up amid war and later rebuilt his life in China has announced his engagement to his Chinese girlfriend, drawing widespread attention online.

Fang Haoming, a reporter with China-Arab TV, proposed in the snow, kneeling on one knee as his girlfriend tearfully accepted, according to photos she shared on social media on March 10.

The couple met as university classmates and have been together for five years. Fang has previously said his fiancée is from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Shanghai Morning Post reported.

Born in Baghdad in 2000, Fang spent much of his childhood in conflict zones. From the age of 1 to 11, Fang said he lived either in shelters or hiding from airstrikes, rarely experiencing a normal childhood.

In 2011, Fang moved to China, where he entered a classroom for the first time and experienced what he has described as a life without the constant fear of war.

"China is the place where I was reborn," he said in past interviews.

Over the following 15 years, Fang built his life in the country, studying in Chinese schools and later joining China-Arab TV as a journalist in 2022. He has said the role suits him because he can share what he has personally seen in China.

"I can simply say what I've seen with my own eyes," he said in an interview.

Fang's ties to China have deepened over time. His sister married a Chinese man, and he jokingly calls himself a "Chinese uncle" to his niece and nephew.

Earlier this year, Fang also appeared on the Spring Festival Gala, later writing on social media that the experience felt "like a dream." From Baghdad to Beijing, Fang has long embraced the customs of his second homeland.

Now, with his engagement to a Chinese partner, many online users say his life story — from a war-torn childhood to building a career and family in China — reads like a remarkable turnaround.