Cui Jiuxiu, born in Juxian County, Shandong Province in east China, set off for Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the country’s northwest to pursue her dream—to become a public servant and help locals in underprivileged areas im- prove their lives eight years ago following college graduation. Today, Cui is deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) of Opal Township Committee in Kashgar, Xinjiang. At the foot of the Pamir Plateau, Opal is home to fruit cultivation, forestry and farming. However, limited arable land and a dry climate meant villagers’ farming efforts previously yielded little profit. The national anti-poverty campaign brought more farming technologies and applications as well as rural tourism to the area, lifting residents’ living standards. Cui is one of the pioneers who educate farmers about new ways to increase their yield and cultivate new channels for employment. Over the years, she has witnessed local people climbing out of extreme poverty by setting up rural cooperatives, manufacturing workshops or even clothing design studios. They use advanced technology to grow vegetables, breed crops and manage greenhouses, with fruits and vegetables grown in the area now sold across the country. “I spent the best years of my youth in Xinjiang; it is because of this choice and because of Xinjiang that I lead a very different life,” Cui said.  

Huang Zhen, 39, is one of the youngest deputy chief designers working on China’s manned space program. He has conquered a number of key technologies in just a few years with his teammates and was honored with the China Youth May Fourth Medal. Huang has been directly involved in the national key space project since he started working at the fifth institute of the China Academy of Space Technology in 2010 after being awarded a doctorate. From Shenzhou-8 to Shenzhou-11, Huang managed to break multiple bottlenecks in stopping, orbiting and docking with the space station after countless ground simulations and experiments along with his teammates. They have laid a solid foundation for the implementation of China’s manned space missions. In 2020, Huang, who was pro- moted to chief designer’s assistant, led the team to make a new generation of manned spacecraft test ships, which re- turned to Earth from an altitude of 8,000 kilometers for the first time. The young team with an average age of 35 has made considerable progress, with breakthroughs in manned lunar lander technology and surviving abilities in extreme lunar environment.  

Pan Zhongyong is the only teacher at the Pingyu education center in the small rural village of Songbai in Guizhou Province, and his wife Zhu Muqun is the center’s only non-teaching member of staff. Over the past 20 years, the couple has supported the dreams of lower-grade and kindergarten pupils in the mountainous Zhenyuan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. The local pair are responsible for teaching, safety and cooking for the dozens of students at the center. The center currently has 20 first-grade and kindergarten pupils. More than 300 students have passed through the school over the past two decades and some have even gone on to obtain master’s and doctoral degrees. “Without the center, the young students would need to walk several kilometers on dirt mountain roads every day,” Pan said. With the integration of more local educational resources in recent years, the number of students at the Pingyu education center has been falling. While all primary and middle school students are exempt from paying tuition and other fees by the government, Pan only charges preschool pupils 40 yuan ($6) in textbook fees each semester. “I will stay here until there is no student left. It’s a promise I made more than 20 years ago and I intend to keep it until I am no longer needed.” As a result of the government’s poverty alleviation efforts in recent years, the education center has been renovated, with a new road leading to students’ homes and a new basketball court.  

Lu Qi, founder and chairman of the board of Dawa Tech, is a recipient of the China Youth May Fourth Medal, the top honor for outstanding young Chinese people. Since the foundation of Dawa Tech in 2014, Lu has led his team to achieve breakthroughs in multi-fields of digital contents industry. His team developed the first self-developed and controllable real-time digital human technology in China, breaking the block- ade on techniques of some countries of more than a decade. “We mainly focus on digital industrialization, in addition to exploring traditional fields including film and television, games, and animation, we are also working on virtual simulation and metaverse,” he said. “Digital content industry has a promising future.” The preparation of a comprehensive industrial park of digital contents in Chongqing is progressing, aiming to attract 200 com- panies and integrate IP research and development, operation, production and promotion, within three years. This will also help Dawa seek further improvement to create more jobs and better serve the real economy.  

Yang Hongqiong, who won three gold medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, was born in a rural village in Yunnan Province, southwest China. At the age of 14, she fell down a hill and suffered a spinal cord injury, rendering her unable to stand or walk. She took a turn for the better in 2014 after joining the wheelchair basketball team of Yunnan. She was later selected to join the national team for Para cross-country skiing. “I deeply feel that the improved national strength and better treatment for people with disabilities have enabled many physically challenged people like me to participate in winter sports,” Yang said, adding that they are more confident to realize their dreams on the international stage. She was the flag-bearer of the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. On April 8, Yang was commended for her outstanding contribution to the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games and spoke on behalf of Olympic and Paralympic winners at the Great Hall of the People. “I want to tell all disabled people that everyone has a right to pursue their dreams and is qualified to challenge their fate,” she said. “As long as you set your own target and make the ef- fort, you can realize your value in life and even win glory for the country.”  

Victor Lo Wai Tak, 29-year-old, togeth- er with his good friends and now business partners, Leung Lap Fung and Tam Wai Man, all hail from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. They have settled in the city of Jiangmen, in Guangdong Province, South China, a short six years ago to become farmers. Their farm in Jiangmen produces more than 400 metric tons of green vegetables a year, and pulls in an annual profit of more than 10 million yuan ($1.56 million). “The annual vegetable output is expected to increase to more than 3,000 tons as the farm area expands to 337,000 square meters in the following years,” Lo said. “The farm has been given the green light to sell vegetables to the Hong Kong and Macao regions because of the high quality of our produce,” he said. In addition to the vegetable crop, the farm is dabbling in animal husbandry and is using an innovative fish breeding practice to create a symbiotic fertilizing system. Due to the excellent performance of the business, Lo was awarded the title of Young Pioneer of Rural Revitalization of China last year, while Lo’s team won the May 4th Youth Medal in 2020. “As a farmer in the new era, I am proud of my work.” Tam said she hoped more young people from Hong Kong would come to the mainland to take advantage of the business opportunities. “We have witnessed the development of the mainland at the same time as our own business growth in recent years,” Lo said.  

Yuan Wanfu, 31, has worked with the China Road & Bridge Corporation branch in Kenya since September 2015 and is now the project manager for the East Ring Road expansion project in Nairobi. Yuan works with his Chinese and Kenyan colleagues at the construction site every afternoon to identify and resolve difficulties in the construction process as quickly as possible. Yuan is also involved in a variety of social welfare programs in addition to everyday work. He and his colleagues made numerous visits to schools and communities along the project, assisting in the construction of infrastructure needed. Like Yuan, many Chinese young people working in Kenya have dedicated themselves to the Belt and Road Initiative. They are donating their knowledge and effort to East Africa’s growth.  

Chinese athletes Ling Zhi and Fan Suyuan presented the U.S. duo of Christopher Plys and Victoria Persinger with gifts after their mixed doubles curling contest at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in the National Aquatics Center in Beijing on February 5, 2022. Despite losing their third straight match, 7:5, to the Americans, China’s Ling and Fan presented two sets of the Games’ commemorative pins as gifts to their rivals during the post-game handshakes. Persinger and Plys later tweeted that they were “honored to receive these beautiful #Beijing2022 pin sets in a wonderful display of sportsmanship by our Chinese counterparts this afternoon.” According to China News Services, Ling and Fan also received gifts from Persinger and Plys. “We all maintain very friendly relationships,” Ling added. “The pins are beautiful and so special. We’ll remember this forever,” said Persinger. Plys also talked about Ling’s hometown Harbin, a city in northeast China that boasts a long history of ice and snow sports. “I would love to go back to Harbin again, and it’s always nice,” said Plys.