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original title: reporters go to the grassroots | meet the paralympic champions to spend a special mid-autumn festival

"look everyone, do i look alike my older sister zhou hongzhuan? and do i look alike my older nephew yan panpan too?" on the morning of september 14, a relaxed and lively mid-autumn festival gathering for the disabled was held at the sunshine service center in yunhe district, cangzhou city, amid the hearty and humorous words of yan shujing, head of the sunshine service center in yunhe district, cangzhou city.

on september 14, yan panpan (first from left) and zhou hongzhuan (first from right) participated in the mid-autumn festival party organized by the sunshine disabled service center in yunhe district, cangzhou city. photo by wang yanan, a reporter from hebei daily

paris paralympic champion yan panpan and five-time paralympic veteran zhou hongzhuan arrived here early in the morning and chatted about family matters, performed shows, shared mooncakes, and had reunion dinners with 50 disabled friends from all over the city, spending a special mid-autumn festival together.

"this is our second home," said yan panpan, who won the gold medal at the paris paralympic games on september 7 and returned home on september 10. he received an invitation from yan shujing and came happily before he could rest for two days. "i was not used to everything in paris, but after coming back to see everyone, i feel better and my appetite has improved," he said with a smile.

yan panpan talked about the story of how he got connected with the center. "yan shujing and i are from the same village. in terms of seniority, i have to call her aunt. auntie couldn't walk because of polio, but she didn't give in and insisted on going to school. later, she taught herself english, computer application and other courses." yan panpan said that yan shujing is not only self-reliant, but also willing to help others. he was able to get connected with sports because yan shujing recommended him to participate in the selection, which made him find his lifelong career and he has been practicing for 12 years.

in 2013, yan shujing came to work at the sunshine disabled service center in yunhe district, providing life skills training and employment guidance for disabled friends in need throughout the city. in the past 11 years, this center has created employment opportunities for many disabled friends, provided a window for them to talk, and has become another home in the hearts of yan panpan and many disabled friends. "zhou hongzhuan and i are old acquaintances here. when we are not training, we often come here to take a look and get together with everyone."

although they were familiar with everyone, yan panpan and zhou hongzhuan were a little shy when they were invited to the center of the venue to tell the story of the paralympics. yan panpan told everyone about his experience of winning the gold medal. hearing the brothers and sisters cheering for them, yan panpan, who had a tough image, blushed and quickly shouted to draw a lottery for the brothers and sisters, and then entered the next link.

after chatting with these enthusiastic disabled friends, i found that there are not only paralympic champions here, but also other people with hidden talents: there is a young man from botou who has run 60 marathons and opened two repair shops; there is a man from wuqiao who designed an electric wheelchair that can run more than 70 kilometers and just came back from a trip to luoyang; there is also a girl from dongguang with a sweet singing voice who participated in the selection of "the voice of china"... everyone had a sunny smile on their face and shared their stories with us.

"i watched the paris paralympics from beginning to end, including swimming, wheelchair racing... i paid attention to all events. i just finished the full marathon in changchun marathon myself." luo bin, a disabled person from botou city, cangzhou, said that the 37-year-old loves sports very much and has been running marathons for 6 years. he is a member of the botou ideal running group. every time he runs, luo bin will push his wheelchair and run at the front of the team.

"even though i'm in a wheelchair, my speed is not slower at all. you know, professional wheelchair racing athletes like zhou hongzhuan are not allowed to compete with healthy people because they are faster than healthy people!" said luo bin.

"i pick up and drop off my children by myself, i also opened an online store, and i even tried to get a driver's license this year. i drove here by myself today! i even picked up a disabled friend on the way." sun meng happily shared her life. she said that no matter what situation she was in, she would work hard to bloom like a flower.

yan shujing watched everyone share their lives and said with satisfaction that this is the significance of the friendship activities they organize every mid-autumn festival. "the mid-autumn festival brings us even stronger feelings. inspired by the paralympic champions and through communication with other disabled friends, we find the motivation for life and the strength to be confident and self-reliant. this mid-autumn festival is even more complete." (reporters zhao ruixue and wang yanan of hebei daily)