A single mother of two from China’s Sichuan province literally carried the burden of sending her daughters to better schools so they could have a brighter future. Zou Pinzhi, 48, did not want her children to follow in her footsteps. She completed only Primary One because her poor family could not afford her education. She took on odd jobs, most recently working as a laborer carrying six-meter-long steel pipes, each weighing 20 kilograms, at a construction site in Chengdu for the past decade, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

Her hard work paid off as her daughter, Liu Fang, was among the top scorers in the recent national college entrance examination, assuring her of a college scholarship.

Meanwhile, Jin Yanwei, 24, graduated from Xian Traffic Engineering Institute in Shaanxi province this summer and became an internet sensation after displaying his medals during graduation rites on 23 June.

After receiving his degree certificate from two school officials, Jin stepped off the stage, picked up a shoulder pole hung with dozens of medals, and carried it back onstage for his official graduation photo, SCMP reported.

Jin did not earn the 70 medals for academic excellence. They were marathon medals he won over the past few years.

He began joining running events across China on weekends in 2021 and has logged a total of 7,835 kilometers.

Jin won the gold medal in the 5,000-meter race at the 42nd Shaanxi Provincial University Sports Meeting in 2023.

He said he wanted to keep running to win cash prizes, which he used to support his studies and ease his family’s financial burden.