Xie Yongfu, a PLA soldier, eats a steamed bun during the flood relief work in Hubei province, on July 4, 2016. (Photo/Weibo)
Steamed bun heroes
Xie Yongfu, a PLA squad leader, has become an online celebrity after a photo of him eating steamed buns with other soldiers in wet and muddy clothes was posted online by a PLA Daily reporter.
Xie said he was doing nothing special other than being a Party member performing flood relief work, and he never thought so many people would be interested.
Xie was sent with other soldiers to the town of Caishan, by the Taibai Lake, Central China's Hubei province, on Monday morning. He and his fellow soldiers had been carrying sand bags to reinforce the banks for more than five hours when villagers brought them some food.
Around 2:20pm, Xie and other soldiers ate the buns, and a PLA Daily reporter took a photo.
Xie joined the army in September 2010 with his young twin brother Xie Yonggui. His brother was sent to the town of Huangtugang to help relocate residents on July 1.
Coming of age in flood relief work
The hard work performed during the flood relief has become a significant gift of sorts for young people coming of age in Feixi county, East China's Anhui province.
Hundreds of young people, who either just took the national college entrance examinations this year or were already college students, voluntarily joined the fight against the floods in Feixi.
They carried 15kg sandbags about 800 meters to reinforce the banks of the Paihe River.
These young people may not have done such hard work in the past, but they enjoyed the experience, even though they were left with blisters on their hands and shoulders.
Volunteer Liu Fangfang said it was tiring, but that she was proud of her work securing people's lives and properties.
