A 50-year-old college freshman

(People's Daily Online) 08:32, September 16, 2015

Chang Fajun (left) looks around his dormitory. (Photo/Liberation Daily)

At the Semester Opening Ceremony of Shanghai Maritime University on Sept. 13, a wrinkled face was rather abrupt among all the other young faces. He is the 50-year-old freshman Chang Fajun, majoring in navigation technology. Not like other students, whose luggage was prepared by their parents, Chang's luggage was packed by his wife and daughter, the Liberation Daily reported.

Born in 1966, Chang lives in Suifenhe, northeast China's Heilongjiang province. In 1987, he graduated from Heilongjiang Posts and Telecommunications School and became a technician in the post office. Later, he got the junior college degree through higher education examination program for the self-taught and became a communications engineer in Suifenhe branch of China Unicom.

In 2010, his daughter was admitted to university. Chang often read his daughters' high school textbooks. He found that although the contents were different from what he learnt in high school, he could still understand them. After inquiring about the policy of college entrance examination, he knew that he was still eligible for the exam.

In the following four years, he got up at 5 a. m. and went to bed at 12 a. m. every day. Though the study was hard, he felt that his life was full and meaningful. In 2015, he got high marks in the college entrance examination and was admitted to Shanghai Maritime University.

The university has also made preparation for this special student to help him adapt to the college life.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily onTwitter andFacebook)(Editor:Kong Defang,Bianji)

Add your comment