When Matt Stopera had his iPhone stolen from a New York City bar in February, 2014, he had no idea that it would eventually lead him on a journey across the planet to make a lifelong Pengyou.

It all started when Matt started noticing strange photos he hadn’t taken appear on his photo stream:

Matt says that he got photo updates from this mystery person (later dubbed ‘Orange Brother’ by Chinese netizens for his tendency to pose in front of orange trees) for a month until a friend mentioned to him that it was probably because his stolen iPhone was still active, and that he should deactivate it to safeguard his personal information. Although he was a little sad to say goodbye to the mystery ‘Orange Brother’, he deleted the old phone and thought that was the end of things…until the Chinese internet found the Buzzfeed post he had written and went on a nation-wide manhunt to track down Matt’s ‘Orange Brother’.

Chinese netizens were touched by Matt’s story, and through the power of the internet, he and his mysterious ‘Orange Brother’ were eventually put in contact, but the real fun began when Matt went to China to visit his new Pengyou!

Though it was a truly strange turn of events, Matt got to experience Weibo-fame, the warmth of a Chinese host family, and in the end, true friendship:

Matt wrote that the language barrier didn’t matter all that much in the end, and that the smiles in the photos went from awkward to genuine. It just goes to show that some cultural barriers are imagined. Everyone can be a Pengyou if they are open to the experience. Well done, Matt and Brother Orange! However strange the circumstances of your meeting, we are glad to share your heartwarming story.

—UPDATED—

Brother Orange recently had the opportunity to visit Matt in America, where he had the chance to meet Matt’s family, Britney Spears, and was even invited on the Ellen Show. Be sure to read the Buzzfeed article he wrote about the things he loved bout America below.

Read the Matt’s blog with a day-by-day recounting of the trip here and Brother Orange’s “Top 10 Things I Loved About America” here!

All images courtesy of buzzfeed