Nina at ninety: China's Russian babushka

By Xinhua writers Lou Chen, Liu Kai, Wang Zichen

JINAN, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nina is a mix of Slavic and Chinese features: brownish eyes, high cheekbones, and a rural dialect distinctive to eastern China that is hard to understand for most Mandarin speakers.

Ninety-year-old Nina was born in Vahevo village of Vologda Oblast in northern Russia in 1926. Her father, a Chinese merchant whose hometown was in northern China's Hebei Province, brought her to China when she was seven. She never returned.

The nonagenarian caught public attention in November last year when she celebrated her 90th birthday. Her foreign roots and a legendary life that survived tumultuous wars and found peace in a remote Chinese village fascinated the public.

She lives in Mansi River village in eastern China's city of Zibo, about four hours by train from Beijing. She shares a six-room courtyard, about 200 square meters, with her daughter-in-law, 66, who takes care of her. Nina's husband, adopted son and daughter have all died.

"I've lived here for so long that I don't speak the language of the Soviet Union any more. Here I'm called Liu Molan," she says.

"WAR TOOK THEM"