BuzzFeed editor and Brother Orange wrap up chapter one of fairy-tale bromance

It’s a long way from Manhattan to Meizhou in northern Guangdong, but American web editor Matt Stopera and the restaurant owner dubbed “Brother Orange” he got to know through a lost iPhone have wrapped up a two-week visit of a lifetime.

Recapping the story that was well covered in the mainland and the US, Stopera lost his iPhone in a bar in New York a year ago and became intrigued when photos of a Chinese man later began appearing in his photo stream.

Stopera, a web editor at the website BuzzFeed, posted photos and an article online entitled “Who is this man and why are his photos showing up on my phone?” It caused a clamour online and eventually he was connected to the man through the help of internet users.

At the invitation of Brother Orange, Stopera arrived in Meizhou to be met by a man whose real name is Li Hongjun, on March 17, and for the following fortnight reported on his special holiday in China.

Li, who earned the moniker “Brother Orange” after a photo showed him standing in front of his orange tree, said the handset was a gift from a relative but was unusable now.