

Wu Zhongliang (file photo)
A 96-year-old Chinese American named Wu Zhongliang has donated more than 20 million RMB to his hometown over the past 30 years. He also set up a 3-million-RMB scholarship to support outstanding students there. On May 20, Wu told his nephew that he hopes to finally return for good to Lezhi, Sichuan province.
Wu became an orphan at the age of 3. He started working in a restaurant when he was 14, and took the opportunity to master Sichuan cooking. Later, he spent time living in Chongqing, Taiwan and New York. With his extraordinary cooking skills, he opened several Chinese restaurants in New York City. In 1976, he obtained U.S. citizenship.
But no matter how successful his career was, Wu never forgot the friends and loved ones he had left behind in his hometown. In the past three decades, he paid for the cities of Neijiang and Ziyang to build a kindergarten, a senior home and more than 30 primary and middle schools. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, Wu donated 300,000 RMB, the sum of his birthday gifts from his sons and grandsons, to local schools.
Wu's nephew remarked, “My uncle has donated almost all his savings, but he himself leads a frugal life.”
“Whenever he comes back to Sichuan and visits the beneficiaries of his donations, he always takes the bus,” noted Jiang Yixiang, former headmaster of Wu Zhongliang Middle School in Lezhi. “He eats very simple meals every day. If there is anything left unfinished, he always takes it home to have for another meal.”
Fire brigade in Shanghai holds group wedding
Tourists enjoy ice sculptures in Datan Town, north China
Sunset scenery of Dayan Pagoda in Xi'an
Tourists have fun at scenic spot in Nanlong Town, NW China
Harbin attracts tourists by making best use of ice in winter
In pics: FIS Alpine Ski Women's World Cup Slalom
Black-necked cranes rest at reservoir in Lhunzhub County, Lhasa
China's FAST telescope will be available to foreign scientists in April
"She power" plays indispensable role in poverty alleviation
Top 10 world news events of People's Daily in 2020
Top 10 China news events of People's Daily in 2020
Top 10 media buzzwords of 2020
Year-ender:10 major tourism stories of 2020
No interference in Venezuelan issues
Biz prepares for trade spat
Broadcasting Continent
Australia wins Chinese CEOs as US loses