President Xi presents awards to Yunnan role model Zhang Guimei

President Xi Jinping attended a gathering in Beijing on February 25 to mark the country's accomplishments in poverty eradication, presenting medal, certificate and plaque to Zhang Guimei, a Yunnan role model in provincial poverty battle.

Setting China’s first free senior high school for girls in west Yunnan’s Lijiang City, Zhang has helped thousands of local girls from impoverished rural families achieve their dreams.

Over the past decade, all of the graduates from Zhang’s school were admitted by colleges and universities, and she thus created an educational phenomenon.

“Mom Zhang, I miss you so much, missing the days when we were urged by you and told of the inspiring heroic stories from you,” said Yang Jingjing, who used to be Zhang's student but is now a traffic policewoman.

Hu Yixiao, another student of Zhang, now an apprentice lawyer, said she is really grateful to Zhang for the quality education that made a big difference in her life.

Suffering from a few serious diseases, Zhang is not in good health, but she sticks to her mission to help poor girls from rural families in education.

Her efforts paid off. Some of her students, who lost their parent(s), have seen Zhang as their new mother, calling her mom instead of teacher. 

Source: Yunnan Daily App; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue