The musical Ah, Kuling!, set in an ancient town in Fujian province, is about hope, homesickness, friendship and love. It will debut in Fujian in June and then tour the rest of the country. Photo provided to China Daily

When musical producer Li Dun happened to read an article about Guling, an ancient town nestled in the mountainous area of Fujian province, he was instantly hooked.

"Its tranquility and natural scenery won Guling the nickname 'village on the clouds'. It also has a beautiful story, of an American's dream in China," the article stated.

Li read the article on a flight from Beijing to Fuzhou, the provincial capital, three years ago. He instinctively believed that it would make a good story for a musical.

As he continued reading, he found that Milton Gardner (1901-86), an American professor of physics at the University of California, who was born in Guling and had spent 10 years of his childhood before moving back to the United States in 1911, had been dreaming of returning to the small town and revisiting his childhood friends.

However, because of wars and his poor health, Gardner died before making the trip.

His widow, Elizabeth Gardner, had heard her husband talking about Guling for years but did not know its exact location until a Chinese student named Zhong Han told her that the Chinese words on the postmark Milton kept was Guling, Fuzhou.