( CNN ) It 's the Internet bromance that 's electrified China . Two men from different worlds — a BuzzFeed editor from New York and a man in southern China known as `` Brother Orange '' — have united dramatically after social media helped them bond over a stolen iPhone . Matt Stopera , 27 , was greeted with bouquets of flowers , hordes of photographers and screaming fans as he arrived in Meizhou , southern China Wednesday , embracing Li Hongjun -- a restaurant owner who somehow came across the iPhone that Stopera lost in New York over a year ago . Li does n't speak English and Stopera does n't speak Chinese — but Chinese social media users are convinced they are soul mates . The star-crossed pair first connected when Stopera noticed strange photos in his iCloud image gallery of a man taking selfies with an orange tree . Confused , Stopera took to the Internet to see if anyone knew who the mysterious man was . The story went viral in China , where Internet users banded together to search for the stranger , who they nicknamed Brother Orange . That man was Li , from Guangdong province , who was snapping pics with Stopera 's old iPhone without realizing the photos were being uploaded to the BuzzFeed writer 's cloud account . With the mystery solved , thousands of Chinese Internet users demanded a `` happy ending '' and clamored for the two men to meet . Brother Orange made the first move . `` Matt , I welcome you to come to Meizhou and try some local food , '' he said on Weibo , China 's microblogging platform . That post was `` liked '' over 12,000 times . Matt quickly accepted . `` Everybody wants me and Brother Orange to unite , '' he told CNN last month . While Stopera waited for his visa to be approved , the two swapped messages -- Stopera began learning Mandarin phrases , while Brother Orange posted videos of himself learning English . But when they finally met , the smiles and hugs said it all . According to images posted to social media , the two spent their first hours in China eating noodles and walking around tourist sites . They also planted a tree together . Chinese Internet users were over the moon . `` Matt crossed the ocean to meet you , how touching ! '' said one . `` It really is an international bromance . '' Another put it simply : `` I wish you a happy ever after . '' CNN 's Shen Lu contributed reporting .
BuzzFeed editor Matt Stopera has arrived in China to meet `` Brother Orange '' The two connected after `` Brother Orange '' ended up with Stopera 's stolen iPhone . Chinese Internet users are convinced the two are soul mates .