During its Labour-Appreciation Month in May, the Open University of China (OUC) invited staff and students across its system to share stories of “Craftspeople and Model Workers Around Us.” The call received an enthusiastic response. These stories vividly illustrate how students and staff stay grounded, strive for excellence and devote themselves to serving their communities.
1. Shenyang Branch - LIU Qianqian: Fourth-Generation Guardian of Huiyang Gao (Reviving-Yang Herbal Plaster)
“Keeping the craft alive is hard; passing it, even harder.” To break the deadlock, LIU Qianqian - the fourth-generation inheritor of the LIU-family Huiyang Gao (a traditional Chinese medicated plaster for reviving yang energy - the body’s warming and vital functions) has built an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) digital archive to preserve her ancestors’ handwritten formulas. She also launched a free “Ancient-Formulary Workshop” that has trained over twenty apprentices and released parts of the recipe for academic research. For children, she developed a gentler and safer plaster, easing the concerns of many parents.
In 2025, LIU’s Huiyang Gao was inscribed on the Liaoning Provincial ICH list for traditional Chinese medicine. Four generations of devotion are condensed into every pot of thick herbal paste. In the clang of iron spatula on clay jar, they write a millennium-old medical creed - “put the people first.” From the late Qing dynasty to today, from the shoulder-pole medicine chest to glazed pots on display, times have changed, but the artisan’s spirit remains.
2. Sichuan Branch - YE Guangqin: Guide to Rural Revitalisation
YE Guangqin graduated from Leshan Open University (Law, 2019) and now serves as Party Branch Secretary and Village Committee Director of Shizhangkong Village, Qiaoba Town, Mabian Yi Autonomous County, Leshan. She is also director of Mabian Qiaoxiaoer Agricultural Technology Development Co. and a senior agronomist. Recognised as an “Outstanding Individual in Sichuan’s Poverty Alleviation Programme” (2021) and a National Model Worker (2025), YE believes “the people’s hearts are the field, our footsteps the plough” - a work style that measures public sentiment with every step and wins people’s hearts through solid deeds.
Under her leadership, the once-remote village has gained paved roads, thriving industries and higher incomes. “The National Model Worker title affirms my past and spurs me on,” she says, “I will carry villagers’ hopes further down the road to rural revitalisation and make Shizhangkong a beautiful homeland for all.”
3. Chongqing Branch - FENG Qiurong: Where Sweat Enriches the Soil and Diligence Wins the Laurels
For ten years since returning to his hometown, the National Model Worker FENG Qiurong has transformed agriculture in Shuiyuan Village, Dayou Town, Nanchuan District, Chongqing. Starting as a novice farmer, he now earns a gross income of more than 50,000 yuan (approximately 7,050 dollars) per mu (about 0.067 hectare) and has helped neighbouring farmers increase their collective earnings by over 35 million yuan (approximately 4.94 million dollars) . By adapting vegetable-grafting techniques to local conditions, he has created a far more profitable model than traditional vegetable growing and has become a local “Vegetable King” and a leader who has brought villagers along the road to common prosperity.
4. Fujian Branch –LIN Yudeng: Craftsmanship in Service of Precision China
LIN Yudeng, Deputy Manager of the Tooling Centre at Fujian Wide Plus Precision Instrument Co., Ltd. and a senior technician, wins a 2020 National Model Worker and leads a State-level Master Craftsman Studio. He is also an OUC Fujian Branch student (Public Administration, autumn 2022).
In 2020, when LIN received the National Model Worker title, he said with emotion, “A craftsman’s calibration equals the nation’s precision.” Now in his fifties, he still works eight hours a day at his four-square-metre workbench, contributing to China’s smart manufacturing.
By OUC