Video and photos by Liu Xudong.

On the hot early summer afternoon of May 7, Amorn Samuel and his family were walking to a newly opened bookstore near their apartment in eastern Shenzhen's Pingshan District.

The family of five pose for a photo.

The two boys of the family, Robert and Peter, were leading the team, riding self-balancing scooters and carrying footballs. Following them were their little sister Anna and their mother Xu Liufeng, a spirited woman. The six-year-old girl, with two high pigtails, was riding a scooter in her modern-style cheongsam. Samuel showed up at last, walking slowly while constantly wiping sweat from his forehead.

Samuel came from Ghana and has been married to Xu for over 12 years. Now they run a logistics company together. For the family, life is happy and gratifying.

Samuel takes a look at a displaying board of Zhou Guoping near the Pingshan Book City.

Their story started when Samuel met Xu, an inspiring young woman, while doing business. It was not love at first sight, but after they met they started to talk, “freely and nicely.” That touched the heart of Samuel, and love came unexpectedly to the man who never dreamed of getting married in China.

Things have been going well for the couple after marriage. They started a company together, and after they had two boys, little Anna came as part of an unexpected blessing. “Back then my wife was pregnant with twin girls. One was lost, but fortunately, the other survived. That’s where the girl came from,” said Samuel while little Anna was playing with her brothers.

Xu (L) reads a book with her daughter Anna.

To Xu, Samuel is an attentive husband with a gentle heart. “We seldom fight. When I’m down, he would know how to make me feel better. Also, we live with my parents. When they’re upset, he would talk to them, offer to analyze their problems and set their mind at rest,” said Xu.

To Samuel, the key to dealing with family issues is understanding. “When someone's married in a foreign land, he should read more books and learn the local culture to know what's really happening. Then we'll know how to deal with the problems and move forward,” said Samuel.

Currently, the boys are studying in Pingshan Experimental School and are members of the school’s football team, while little Anna is in kindergarten and will attend primary school in the coming September. 

“They have lots of friends in the neighborhood. The boys can play Dou Dizhu (a poker game popular in China) really well,” said Xu.

When work is over, the family might visit Pingshan Library or the newly opened bookstore every now and then for some reading together, or take a walk in the Pingshan Central Park.