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China's first female paratrooper donated her lifelong savings

Ma Xu, China’s first female paratrooper, has donated her entire life savings to her hometown. She gave 3 million yuan ($432,000) in September, with the remaining 7 million to be released next year.

Ma Xu (Photo: CGTN)

Ma, 86, was born to a doctor's family in Mulan county, Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in 1932. 

She joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1947 and participated in the Korean War in 1950. Due to her performance as a military doctor, she was recommended to the First Military Medical University of the PLA in 1954.

The turning point of Ma's life occurred when she joined the then-newly formed Chinese airborne troops in 1961 as a medic, after which she was trained as the country's first female paratrooper.

It was never an easy task for Ma to succeed in her training. At that time, there were no female paratroopers in a division of over 10,000.

She did not even meet the physical requirements to be a paratrooper. "I was only 1.53 meters high and weighed less than 37.5 kilograms, not up to the physical standards for a paratrooper," Ma said, when she was interviewed by Guangzhou Daily. 

But she did not give up. She learned parachuting secretly after her daily training, always deep into the night. The hard training ultimately brought her the astonishing result of being admitted as a paratrooper in 1962.

File photo: VCG

She made over 140 parachuting jumps over 20-odd years, the most for any female paratrooper. 

She also set a national record as the oldest enlisted woman to parachute, after she made her last parachute jump in 1984.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Ma has shared decades of knowledge and experience as a military doctor in the airborne troops by publishing more than 100 academic articles, especially about cancer therapy, together with her husband since 1983. 

The couple also worked together to perfect parachuting equipment and invented new devices, such as the inflatable ankle support and a medical oxygen vest.

“I thank the army for the funds and facilities for our research,” Ma said.

The remuneration from their scientific research accounted for a big part of her donation. 

Ma's donations, the biggest Mulan county had ever received, will be mainly used for educational, cultural and charity purposes, according to the government.

“I have thought about the donation for a long time, believing that better education will boost the county's future development,” she said. 

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And that’s People’s Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.

(Produced by He Jieqiong; text from People's Daily app)