| |
 |
Learning changes life
|
Song Yingwen
WHEN Lai Xiutian, a 63-year-old who runs an apiculture business, processing and selling bee and honey products, here in Shenzhen, was introduced to me, I thought he was actually much younger.
With a red cap on his head, Lai, once a member of China's national basketball team, was full of vitality. The camera in his left hand and notebook computer in the right gave away his current hobbies: photography and surfing the Internet. Panting for breath, Lai told me he'd just come back from the conference table for a new business project.
"What's the secret to an energetic old age?" I asked.
A love of new things and a hunger for knowledge, came the reply. "Actually this is also the key to a rich and meaningful life," said Lai.
He knows what he's talking about.
Born in Dongguan in 1938, Lai was one of the earliest students in China to receive higher education in physical education. The professional training in basketball he received in the Wuhan Institute of Physical Culture made him an outstanding basketball player in his early twenties. And his background as a graduate in sports medicine of the Beijing University of Physical Culture brought him work as a doctor for basketball teams in his late twenties. In his thirties he became a fitter in a machinery plant in Guilin and then fulfilled his dream of becoming an engineer by finishing the five-year engineering course in only one year. After moving to Shenzhen in 1983, he worked as a sports teacher in a middle school, a sports magazine editor, a company manager, and finally, following his retirement, the owner of his own business.
"Though some of the choices in my life were not made on my own, I treasured every chance to learn new things," said Lai.
His life experience proved to him that learning is never a waste of time or effort because the more you learn the better prepared you are for the future.
His many hardships and frustrations in life, he says, were overcome thanks to his education.
"I gained a lot out of learning: a better understanding of life, a rich experience, and a lot of friends with whom I exchanged ideas. What will I do in the coming days? The Internet has brought a completely new world to me and I'll spend a lot of time exploring it. Learning and searching for new opportunities for business will continue to be my interest in the new century," he said proudly.
"I gained a lot out of learning: a better understanding of life, a rich experience, and a lot of friends with whom I exchanged ideas. What will I do in the coming days? The Internet has brought a completely new world to me and I'll spend a lot of time exploring it. Learning and searching for new opportunities for business will continue to be my interest in the new century," he said proudly.
"I gained a lot out of learning: a better understanding of life, a rich experience, and a lot of friends with whom I exchanged ideas. What will I do in the coming days? The Internet has brought a completely new world to me and I'll spend a lot of time exploring it. Learning and searching for new opportunities for business will continue to be my interest in the new century," he said proudly.
|
|
|
|
