"Her eyes seem to be able to talk to the hearts of hundreds of millions of people." In April 1991, documentary photographer Xie Hailong photographed the "big-eyed" girl at Zhangwan Primary School in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province. This photo later became a promotional photo for P

"Her eyes seemed to be able to talk to the hearts of hundreds of millions of people."

In April 1991, documentary photographer Xie Hailong took a picture of the girl with "big eyes" at Zhangwan Primary School in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province. This photo later became a promotional photo for Project Hope, expressing the desire of children in poor areas to "I want to go to school".

The fate of the girl with "big eyes" has touched the hearts of countless people since then. This girl’s name is Su Mingjuan. More than 30 years later, she has changed from a recipient to a sponsor, helping more people continue to write stories about “hope” and witnessing the strides forward of Chinese education along the way.

Today, CCTV News National Day special plan "I Love Someone Its Name is China" tells the story of big-eyed girl Su Mingjuan.

1

met

In 1986, the "Compulsory Education Law of the People's Republic of China" was promulgated, increasing the number of years of compulsory education to nine years. At that time, many children's "path to school" was interrupted because of poverty. In order to help these children, in 1989, the Youth League Central Committee and the China Youth Development Foundation launched the public welfare project "Project Hope".

Xie Hailong, who has always been concerned about basic education in rural areas, volunteered to become the "number one volunteer" for this public welfare project. He carried a camera deep into the mountains and used photos to record the current educational status of children in the mountainous areas.

△Xie Hailong with the children

In April 1991, Xie Hailong came to Zhangwan Primary School in Jinzhai County. In the simple classroom, he was deeply moved by a pair of "big eyes". "When she looked up at me, it was as if she was asking me: Do you know how difficult it is to go to school?"

Xie Hailong used his camera to freeze the scene. When he wanted to take a few more pictures, he found that the shutter could not be pressed - it was the last negative.

That year, Su Mingjuan was only 8 years old. In order to go to school, Su Mingjuan and her classmates need to cross rivers and climb mountains, traveling more than 20 miles every day. She would set out every time before dawn and could only return home after dark.

△Su Mingjuan (second from right) and her classmates on their way to school (photo by Xie Hailong)

The school was renovated from an old ancestral hall, with no lights and no glass on the windows. In winter, strong winds pour in through the windows, and almost every student has frostbite on their hands.

The grain Su Mingjuan’s family collects from the fields every year is only enough to last three or four months. Her parents worked from dawn to dusk to cut firewood and catch fish, using the money they earned to make ends meet. The cost of schooling is a big burden for their family.

Su Mingjuan, who was on the verge of dropping out of school, didn't know that her life was about to change because of a photo.

2

Hope

When Xie Hailong developed the photo, those "big eyes" that reached people's hearts became a promotional photo for Project Hope, appearing in various newspapers and magazines.

In order to help "big-eyed people", some people saved a few cents from grocery shopping, some saved money for taking the bus, and some people who had been out of school donated their savings to make up for their regrets... In just 8 months , donations exceeded 100 million yuan.

However, in the small mountain village that was isolated at the time, Su Mingjuan did not know that she was already "famous". It wasn't until letters and donations from all over the country were sent to the school that the teachers discovered that the child they were looking for was Su Mingjuan.

△Su Mingjuan’s mother (first from the right) took out her daughter’s top and compared it with the “big eyes” photo (Photo by Xie Hailong)

Faced with the donations sent by caring people, Su Mingjuan and her family only kept the first two donations, and the rest Then it was handed over intact to the local Project Hope office . They also entrusted the county to transfer any money sent to "Big Eyes" directly to Project Hope.

Su Mingjuan put the letters from all parties into tin boxes and kept them carefully. Everyone's encouragement and expectations for her were firmly kept in her mind: Study hard and rely on knowledge to change your destiny.

In 2002, Su Mingjuan successfully entered university. Looking back at where she came from, she lamented that without that photo, her studies would probably have ended long ago.

△Su Mingjuan takes a group photo with Zhou Tong, the first student to donate to the Hope Project (photo by Xie Hailong)

3

relay

In 2001, the year before Su Mingjuan entered university, the central government allocated funds to start providing nine-year compulsory education to countries that have not yet popularized it. Textbooks are provided free of charge to rural poor primary and secondary school students in key counties for poverty alleviation and development work. Subsequently, the central and local governments intensified their efforts to implement the "two exemptions and one subsidy" (i.e. exemption of miscellaneous fees, exemption of book fees, and subsidies for boarding students' living expenses), and countless poor students benefited from it.

Su Mingjuan has not forgotten the way she came. During college, she always paid attention to poor students who were like her. At that time, she forwarded the 900 yuan living allowance per semester to other poor students, while she earned living expenses through work-study studies.

Later, Su Mingjuan entered a bank job. When she received her first salary, she donated it all to Project Hope so that they could "use it in a more meaningful place." Since then, she has donated part of her income every month and has been doing so for more than ten years.

△Su Mingjuan

In 2018, she used another 30,000 yuan of her savings as start-up capital to establish the "Su Mingjuan Student Aid Fund." At present, the fund has raised a total of 4.628 million yuan, raised charity materials with a total value of more than 5 million yuan, funded a total of 773 needy students, and participated in the construction of 7 hope primary schools.

△Su Mingjuan visits the children

To this day, she still keeps the red plaid top in the photo of "Big Eyes". She often tells her past experiences to her two daughters, and uses her own stories to tell the children that they must pass on the baton of love.

△Su Mingjuan has always kept the top with the "big eyes" photo

4

Witness

Looking back on her childhood experience, what makes Su Mingjuan most emotional is that besides her, there are many, many children who have been educated to change their destiny, among which there are "big snot" ” and “Little Baldhead.” The scenes of them studying in a difficult environment when they were young were all recorded by Xie Hailong.

△In 2005, Su Mingjuan (left) took a photo with "Big Nose" Hu Shanhui (middle) and "Little Baldhead" Zhang Tianyi (right). This was the first time the three of them got together. (Photo by Xie Hailong)

Hu Shanhui, a boy with a "big nose" who read aloud in a drafty classroom when he was a child, joined the army when he grew up and realized his dream of being in the military camp. After changing his career, he became a high-speed railway youth and participated in the establishment of the "Shanhui Charity" service team to provide assistance to key passengers such as the elderly and children.

△"Big Nose" Hu Shanhui

Zhang Tianyi, who was shaved into a "small bald head" due to sores at the time, became the technical backbone of a company after graduating from university, and later started his own business and participated in the creation of an automation company. After the "Su Mingjuan Student Aid Fund" was established, he also took the initiative to donate his savings.

△ "Little Bald" Zhang Tianyi, on the right is Zhang Tianyi and Xie Hailong embracing.

The small step taken by Su Mingjuan and "Big Nose" and "Little Baldhead" is a big step for China's education.

Children today are already living a life that she could not have imagined when she was a child. The primary school she attended was renovated into Hope Primary School, equipped with multimedia teaching equipment, and later merged with a middle school. Children in the village can complete nine years of compulsory education at home.

With the improvement of China’s education system that benefits the people, children no longer have to worry about being unable to enter the classroom due to poverty like Su Mingjuan did when she was a child:

• In the preschool education stage , the Ministry of Education, together with relevant departments, promotes the construction of inclusive education systems in various places. It is a kindergarten-running system with sexual resources as the main body, and provides subsidies to children from economically disadvantaged families, orphans and disabled children in inclusive kindergartens.

• In the compulsory education stage , currently, all urban and rural students have been exempted from tuition and miscellaneous fees; since 2011, the nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students has been launched, and the subsidy standards have been increased many times.

• Ordinary high schools , the country has implemented the national scholarship policy for ordinary high schools since 2010. Students can apply to their school, and the school will assess the difficulty and provide corresponding levels of funding.

• In the higher education stage, , a diversified college funding policy system such as National Scholarship , National Inspirational Scholarship , National Bursary , National Student Loan, Work-Study and "Green Channel" has been built. Among them, the student loan policy has been continuously improved, the maximum loan amount has been continuously increased, and the "promise" of "Just work hard and leave the rest to the country" has been fulfilled for countless students.

html Over the past 375 years, New China’s education has bore fruitful results. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, our country has built the largest education system in the world, and the overall level of educational modernization has entered the ranks of middle and upper-class countries in the world.

Today, many "big eyes" eager to go to school are sitting in bright classrooms and heading towards a broader future. Just like Su Mingjuan, they shine in all walks of life, use their own power to drive more power, and let "hope" fly farther!

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China. As generations of Chinese people forge ahead, some memories will last forever. CCTV News specially planned "I Love Someone Its Name is China" to relive these unforgettable stories together.

Source: CCTV News WeChat public account