Lu had only been in Boston since September 2012 but the outpouring of public grief in the US over her tragic, early death was particularly striking. It took only 10 minutes on April 17 for the Campaign for Boston University Board of Trustees to raise $560,000 for a scholarship in her memory.

"It has always been her dream to come to America to study," Lu's family said in an open letter published on the university's website. "While she was here, she fell in love with Boston and its people. She loved her new friends and her professors at Boston University. She wanted to play a role in international business, specializing in applied mathematics. She has been studying very hard toward her goal. Sadly, it was not to be."

Thousands of Chinese Internet users expressed their sorrow and condemned the bombings. Lu's death haunted Americans as well. Chris Combs, 25, who had a narrow escape at the finish line, told The Boston Globe: "It is weird when you realize how close you come to something like that. I think about all the people hurt and the people who died, that little boy." He added, "I'm thinking of that Chinese girl who was studying at BU. That's who I'm thinking of."

Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his younger brother Dzhokhar were identified as the suspects. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police, while his wounded brother was found in a boat parked in a backyard in the Watertown area of the city. The owner spotted blood on his boat, lifted the tarpaulin and saw the suspect covered in blood.

Bostonians and law enforcement officials breathed a huge sigh of relief while remembering those who were gone and those whose lives were blighted forever.

The extensive Chinese and US media coverage of the marathon bombings highlighted our shared humanity instead of accentuating our differences. It was a tragedy we all had to bear.

The author, who grew up in Boston, is assistant director of the international news department at China Daily.

(China Daily 04/24/2013 page8)