Fang Weiping, a former beneficiary of the Spring Bud project, attends an interview in her office.

The year 1997 was a turning point for Fang Weiping, who comes from an impoverished rural family in South China's Guangdong province.

It was that year when a local women's federation brought Fang back to school and recommended her to go to Beijing and study in a Spring Bud class.

During an interview, Fang said that the year 1997 was like a ladder for her to climb upwards and that it also opened a new world for her.

Nurture soul and regain oneself

Fang was on the cusp of dropping out of school when she finished the six-year primary school studies in 1997. She thought that school life might came to an end and that there wouldn't be any differences between her and other girls at the small village because of poverty.

To her surprise, officers from local women's federation found Fang and recommended to her to join the first session of the Capital Spring Bud Class in Beijing No. 171 Middle School that year.

The special Spring Bud class was launched by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and the China Children and Teenagers' Foundation (CCTF) in 1997 to recruit 30 outstanding school girls from poverty-stricken families nationwide.

The six-year-long study in Beijing No. 171 Middle School was the most beautiful time for Fang and it did help her embark on a new journey toward a bright future.

Thanks to the caring and assistance of Beijing No. 171 Middle School and people from all social sectors, Fang and other students in the Spring Bud class didn't have to pay for their tuition and meal fees.

Additionally, there were also two teachers to take care of them in their dormitories.

Chang Ye, head teacher of the Spring Bud class, still asked Fang and her classmates to write their compositions and managed to find time to revise the assignment for them when she was in the hospital. She also called on them to grasp all study opportunities available and strive to make a difference in their lives.

Fang said that the love and caring of teachers had nurtured their soul and helped them gain a new life.

Acquire knowledge and devote to public welfare

Fang was a monitor of the Spring Bud class. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to serving the class and the assistance of other students.

Fang often organized her classmates to visit elderly people who live alone and to help clean the streets, hoping to convey the spirit of love and do something for the society within her capacity.

Meanwhile, Fang studied well and won several municipal honorary titles.

In 2003, Fang was admitted by the Beijing University of Technology (BUT). Four years later, she became an exam-free graduate student at the university because of her outstanding academic performance.

During her stay at the BUT, Fang was in charge of publicity affairs in the BUT Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) and the Party-building affairs in the BUT Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). She also proactively organized and took part in public welfare activities and won the award of model student officers and national scholarship.

After graduation, Fang became a researcher in the China-Ukraine Institute of Welding affiliated with Guangdong Academy of Sciences.

Since then, Fang has made full use of her professional knowledge in the development of major sci-tech research projects, done utmost efforts to help colleagues, and engaged in public welfare activities.

Become committed to sci-tech research and spread love to more needy persons

During the past years, Fang and her colleagues have made breakthroughs in the field of aero-engine welding. Their new technologies are expected to be widely used in bio-medicine and aerospace sectors.

Fang said that she feels very proud of the application of her welding technologies in aerospace, aviation, shipbuilding, nuclear engineering and medical equipment production.

Fang has taken part in numerous State-level and provincial-level research projects and won lots of national and international awards over the past decades.

In 2016, Fang and other students in the Spring Bud class jointly launched a charitable initiative under the Spring Bud project. So far, they have extended financial assistance to 64 disadvantaged girls.

Right now, Fang has often visited schools, talked with students about her inspirational story, encouraged them to strive to realize their dream, and invited them to tour around a science popularization base in China-Ukraine Institute of Welding.

Fang said that the Spring Bud class has fostered the untiring spirit and instilled the spirit of doing their bit for the good of society and endeavoring to create a better life among its recipients besides material assistance, adding that she is willing to do more for the education of girls.