Survivor of Wenchuan Earthquake leads rich, varied life

Hu Yue, a survivor of the devastating Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, has continued to lead a rich and varied life with the aid of her prosthetic left leg.

Photo shows Hu Yue.

Recently, Hu has become a hit on the Internet thanks to a video of her walking at night with her self-customized prosthetic leg accompanied by flashing LED lights, capturing the attention of many viewers with her confidence and optimism.

Hu lost her left leg in the earthquake when she was only 12 years old. She struggled for quite a long time because she worried that people would look at her in a very strange way.

That was until 2018 when Hu began to wear short pants to show off her prosthetic leg. In March this year, she participated in a performance during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. Since then she has become more confident.

Hu Yue (L) poses for a photo at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games.

“I make friends with many amputees like me, including Chinese climber Xia Boyu, who scaled Mount Qomolangma even though his feet were amputated,” Hu said, adding that Xia’s story inspired her to chase after her dreams without caring what others think of her.

Photo shows Xia Boyu, the first double-amputee Chinese climber who climbed to the top of Mount Qomolangma.

Recently, Hu and her friend, who is also an amputee, re-designed her artificial limb to incorporate flashing LED lights, which gave her even more confidence.

Hu likes to laugh and has a passion for sports, such as skating and dancing. Dreaming of taking a world trip, she also wants to be a surfer and a skydiver someday.

“I don’t like people making sympathetic eyes at me. Although I lost my left leg, I have always found joy in sports,” Hu said.

Photo shows Hu Yue.