‘Living in paradise’: Iraqi man shares love for China after fleeing war-torn homeland

An Iraqi man who escaped war who now lives in China has shared his love for Chinese cuisine with millions of fans and calls the country his “paradise”.

Ahmed Mohammed Jaber Alkalthoom, 30, comes from a wealthy Iraqi family and has two younger sisters.

After the Iraq War broke out in 2003, his family fled their hometown and moved to Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

“During heavy shelling, my parents hid my sisters and myself in the refrigerator to save us,” Alkalthoom told a mainland media outlet.

He added that a missile once exploded less than 300 metres away, rupturing his eardrum.

In 2014, with the support of relatives, Alkalthoom relocated to northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region and started working as an Arabic teacher at an international school.