Olympian wins new roads for home village

By Chen Hong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-10 07:56

SHENZHEN: Weightlifter Chen Xiexia's success at the Olympics has been doubly rewarded - her village is to get better roads.

Chen won the women's 48 kg weightlifting title, the first of the country's gold medal haul.

The planning authority of Panyu district visited Da'ao village, Guangzhou, home to Chen and about 4,000 others late last month. It plans to allocate 2 million yuan ($294,000) toward the building of new roads, Southern Metropolis Daily said.

Chen Xiexia

Chen has not been home for almost two years preparing for the Games, and still has not had time to visit her parents and fellow villagers following her victory.

However, this has not deterred her village in holding a celebration. To mark her success, it held a big dinner party.

Chen's parents have received numerous visitors from the village and neighboring provinces eager to offer their congratulations.

He Chong, another gold medal winner in the men's 3 m springboard diving, has also been unable to return home to Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, because of a busy schedule.

"We will not be hosting a banquet when he returns," his father, He Ping, said.

"My son needs a good rest. He must be very tired."

Guangdong continues to fete its medal winners. They have received numerous awards and have been invited to a number of celebratory events.

In Shenzhen, several table tennis stars and their coaches, including Ma Lin and Zhang Yining, attended a charity evening last Wednesday.

A table tennis table used at the Olympics was auctioned for 3.3 million yuan and a bat signed by six Olympic gold medial winners was auctioned for 1 million yuan.

The event raised more than 12 million yuan. The money will go toward helping children the earthquake-stricken areas.