When millions of graduates left university campuses and became busy finding a job, 23-year-old Yu Yanqia of Lisu ethnic group, graduating from Kunming Medical University, had already made her decision – to serve as a local medical worker in her hometown - Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province.
Back in 2007, when Yu was a little girl, the formidable Nujiang River in her hometown was an insurmountable natural chasm which separated her village from the outside world.
Like other people living here, the 8-year-old girl and her fellow students had to use a pulley to cross the river down a steel cable to get to school every day.
"I could feel the whispering wind in my ears, the thundering river below me and my quick heartbeat," Yu said when recalling the experience of hanging over the river.
One day, a photo from media showing her wearing red and sliding across the river brought her under the national spotlight.
With a nationwide fundraising was initiated, the first bridge was built over Nujiang River, near Bula Village Primary School, her school. From then on, Yu and her classmates no longer had to risk their lives just to get an education.
Yu was photographed by a reporter when sliding on a steel cable across Nujiang River to school in 2007. [Photo from web]
"It was like a beacon light, lighting up the dark road in my life, which drove me to study harder."
In 2018, Yu entered the Second Clinical Medical College of Kunming Medical University with a score of 568 points, becoming the first child in her village to be admitted to college.
While Yu was on the road of further study, targeted measures had also been taken in her hometown to help the locals overcome poverty. Thanks to the poverty alleviation, new houses were built on the riverside, roads lead to the villages and more modern bridges opened to the traffic.
"In my past, I met so many people who "lit a path for me", without their help, I would not be who I am now. I'm really grateful to their help." Yu said.
"The moment I became a college student, I've decided to give back by dedicating myself to my hometown," she said.
