Chinese hydropower worker's 30-year journey of giving

NANNING -- In the rugged karst mountains of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, one hydropower worker has spent 30 years transforming lives. Today, facing a health crisis, Tan Lianqiao has found herself embraced by the same community she quietly served for decades.

Born in Guangxi's Du'an county, Tan, who is a member of the Maonan ethnic group, is known as a benefactor, and is also affectionately referred to as "Auntie Baobao," a warmhearted neighbor who has never turned away from those in trouble. Since the 1990s, she has treated charity not as an occasional act, but as a way of life.

In 1995, when she heard that a young girl might have to drop out of school due to poverty, Tan took it upon herself to help. With her modest income from her job at a hydropower plant, she funded the girl's education. Years later, the girl graduated from university and returned to Du'an as a teacher.

"This is the result we most hope for in doing public service," Tan said. "To change a person's difficult circumstances and closed heart, and make their future brighter and more hopeful."

Since then, Tan has sponsored scores of students, supported burn victims and raised funds for disaster relief. In 2012, she helped found the Du'an county Aixinfang Volunteer Association, which has become a major platform for grassroots philanthropy in the region.

"Tan has donated over 100,000 yuan ($13,886) from her own pocket," said Wei Guimian, Party secretary of the volunteer association. "When we visit remote villages, we often use her personal car, and it's her husband who quietly fills up the tank every time."

One of Tan's most well-known cases was a boy from Gaojia village who suffered severe burns at the age of 8. Without timely treatment, his legs became fused together, and he had to crawl to school using his hands. Tan helped raise the funds for his surgery.

Today, he can walk, has won gold medal in a regional para-swimming competition, and now volunteers with the association that had supported him.

Since 2012, Tan and her team have held over 1,000 events, reaching more than 50,000 people. They have built educational support files for over 400 underprivileged children and raised over 2 million yuan in donations. Many of the children she has helped have grown up to become teachers, police officers or volunteers.

"Charity is not just about material assistance," Tan said. "It's about helping children see that they have a future."

Tan's husband, Zhou Ge, remains one of her most steadfast supporters. "She always paid out of pocket for the charity work," Zhou said. "We never imagined she would one day fall seriously ill. She never thought about saving for something like this."

In February 2025, Tan was diagnosed with multiple serious conditions, including breast cancer and pelvic cancer. For the first time in a long life of giving, she was forced to take a step back. But her absence from the front line has only garnered her more support. Many people she has helped -- some of whom she has never met -- have come forward to give back. Donations, voice messages and handwritten notes are pouring in.

"Auntie Baobao, I just learned about your condition and have been thinking about you," reads the message attached to one donation from a young woman Tan once supported. "Medicine has come so far, and I believe you will recover soon. Focus on treatment and stay positive. We are all here for you."

Now undergoing treatment, Tan is no longer able to travel to villages or organize donation drives. But her legacy burns on like the local fire pit in her hometown -- a lasting source of warmth for generations to come.

In recognition of her 30 years of service, Tan has received numerous honors, including the March 8th Red-Banner Individual Holder award, which is one of the highest honors given to the country's outstanding women by the All-China Women's Federation, and she was nominated for the National Moral Model award.

"I will keep walking this path of public service and never stop," Tan has said more than once. "Charity isn't about one person doing a lot -- it's about many people doing a little."