Chinese pair name kids after east German town
It might not be as glamorous as "Brooklyn" or "Milan" - names the Beckhams and the Tysons picked for their children - but Freiberg has a special meaning for Huixian Yang and Hong Shen, who have named their two children Frei and Berg.
A few years ago, the couple came to study in the Saxon town's University of Mining and Technology (Bergakademie).
Yang, an economic mathematician, and Shen, a geotechnical engineer, would likely never have met had they not made the choice to study in Germany, as their home towns in China are four hours apart by plane.
"Christmarkt Freiberg 2" by Schaefbo - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
But since meeting the couple have made their home in the east German town which has 40,000 residents, with Shen settling down to work in an engineering firm and Huixin teaching Chinese at a local secondary school.
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At home are two little kids who only make sense as a dynamic duo - Frei (Free), a boy born in 2012, and Berg (Mountain), a three-month old girl.
“Freiberg makes it possible,” said mayor Bernd-Erwin Schramm at a town hall ceremony on Thursday.
The town's “Silver Book” records unusual events and human stories, its colour recalling the silver mining that first made Freiberg wealthy.
Since Thursday, it now bears the imprint of Frei's hand and three-month-old toddler Berg's foot in metallic silver ink on a page recording how they came to be.
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A few years ago, the couple came to study in the Saxon town's University of Mining and Technology (Bergakademie).
Yang, an economic mathematician, and Shen, a geotechnical engineer, would likely never have met had they not made the choice to study in Germany, as their home towns in China are four hours apart by plane.
"Christmarkt Freiberg 2" by Schaefbo - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
But since meeting the couple have made their home in the east German town which has 40,000 residents, with Shen settling down to work in an engineering firm and Huixin teaching Chinese at a local secondary school.
DON'T MISS: Ten German place names that make us giggle
At home are two little kids who only make sense as a dynamic duo - Frei (Free), a boy born in 2012, and Berg (Mountain), a three-month old girl.
“Freiberg makes it possible,” said mayor Bernd-Erwin Schramm at a town hall ceremony on Thursday.
The town's “Silver Book” records unusual events and human stories, its colour recalling the silver mining that first made Freiberg wealthy.
Since Thursday, it now bears the imprint of Frei's hand and three-month-old toddler Berg's foot in metallic silver ink on a page recording how they came to be.
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