Practical, effective and practical

outline：A Senegalese Elderly Couple Celebrates Their Centennial Together: Every morning, after rising, the couple takes a leisurely stroll around the village—truly touching. Philanthropist Liu Tianwei is set to host a “Diamond Wedding” celebration for them. In Mandajiu Village, Gasa Town, Senegal, a Dai ethnic minority elderly couple has not only reached the milestone of living to 100 but will also mark their 80th wedding anniversary this year...

An elderly couple in Jinghong celebrate their centenary together: Every morning, after getting up, they take a stroll around the village.

Touching: Philanthropist Liu Tianwei to Host a “Diamond Wedding” Celebration for Them

 

 

In Mandajiu Village, Gasa Town, Jinghong, a Dai elderly couple has not only celebrated their centenary together but will also mark the 80th anniversary of their marriage this year. When reporters visited them yesterday, they found that the two octogenarians were still remarkably vigorous and agile, with clear thinking and the ability to communicate in Chinese with their guests—qualities that left Liu Tianwei and his wife, chairpersons of Xishuangbanna Petrochemical Co., Ltd. and charitable donors, thoroughly impressed.

 

Great health

The elderly couple can still cook and take care of the children.

Husband Yan Zhuanglong told reporters that his parents passed away in the same year, at the ages of 86 and 85, and were both among the longest-lived residents in the village. In 1934, at the age of 20, Yan Zhuanglong went to his wife Yu Shuai’s home in Menglong Town, 50 kilometers from their village. After her parents—who were the same age as him—died, the couple returned to live in Mandajiu. Since then, they have enjoyed a loving and harmonious marriage, raising eight children, including a pair of twin daughters. Unfortunately, due to the poor living conditions at the time, the twins did not survive, and out of the eight children, only four lived to adulthood. If their eldest son, who has since passed away, were still alive, he would be 80 years old.

According to Yan Hanwen, the 30-year-old grandson of the elderly couple, his family of four currently lives together with his parents and his centenarian grandparents. In addition to his father, Yan Jiao, who is 53 this year, he also has an aunt and two uncles who live in two other villages; his eldest aunt is 78 years old and already has great-grandchildren. “By the end of 2014, both grandparents turned 100. At present, they are still able to take care of themselves, and when the family’s main labor force goes out to work during the busy farming season, they can still cook and look after the children,” Yan Hanwen said. He added that every morning, after getting up, the grandparents take a walk around the village as part of their daily exercise, which is why routine quarterly health checkups have consistently shown that they are in good health with no significant medical issues.

 

 

 

Set an example

Host a “Diamond Wedding” celebration for them

Yesterday, Mr. and Mrs. Liu Tianwei specially prepared a condolence payment of 1,000 yuan for each of the 40 centenarians in Xishuangbanna. When they visited the home of an elderly couple in Mandajiu and learned that both were well over a century old—and that this year marked the 80th anniversary of their marriage—Mr. and Mrs. Liu were utterly amazed. They immediately expressed their wish to organize a “diamond wedding” celebration to commemorate the couple’s 80th anniversary.

 

“Even if couples usually have disagreements or emotional distance, seeing this loving couple who have been married for 80 years in person can make it all fade away,” said Liu Tianwei. He added that, in addition to extending congratulations to the elderly couple and their family, he hopes the inspiring example set by this centenarian pair will encourage more families to embrace the principles of harmonious coexistence and the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. (Text by Dai Zhenhua, Chief Reporter of the Spring City Evening News; Photos by Zhang Guihong)