The movers and shakers of 2008

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-09 09:23

A special group of men and women has been singled out as the "People Who Moved China in 2008". They are:

-- 13 chivalrous men from Tangshan who helped save 25 survivors of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake and also joined relief efforts in snow-hit Chenzhou of Hunan province in February; [Full Story]

-- Wu Wenbin, 26, a young soldier who died from exhaustion while helping with earthquake relief efforts;

-- Jing Dazhong, 44, county magistrate of Beichuan who organized some 8,000 survivors to help themselves and didn't have time to save his six family members; [Wenchuan Earthquake]

-- Li Long, 31, a firefighter who risked his life to dig out 57 earthquake survivors;

-- Zhang Yimou and his team for the Olympics ceremonies that showcased the charm of Chinese culture to the world; [Slideshow: Grand Opening Ceremony]

-- Jin Jing, a wheelchair-bound torchbearer who defended the Olympic flame from assaults in Paris; [Golden Girl Lifts a Nation]

-- Ji Ji, a Tibetan torchbearer who took the Olympic flame to the world's highest place; [Full Story]

-- Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, Shenzhou VII astronauts who realized the dream of spacewalk for China; [Shenzhou VII Manned Space Mission]

-- Li Guilin and his wife Lu Jianfen, who have been teaching in an elementary school hanging from a cliff for 18 years; [Full Story]

-- Han Huimin, a resident of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, who has been taking care of his paralyzed girlfriend for 34 years; [Full Story]

-- Special Award for the entire Chinese nation, which showed determination, courage and wisdom in the face of disasters as well as victories. [Full Story]