One-legged man moves Chinese for his unyielding spirit

A short video has thrust a one-legged man into the spotlight in China.

The video is about Zhang Qinghong, 22, from Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, doing sports, including hurdles, weight-lifting, and running.

Zhang lost his right leg at the age of 12 when an overhead power line fell and burned his body, leaving him with severe physical and mental trauma.

However, the televised 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, became a life changer to Zhang, inspiring him to become a competitive swimmer.

In 2017, he took part in the Chinese National Para Swimming Championships. In 2018, Zhang brought home a gold medal in 100 meter backstroke, a silver medal in 50 meter freestyle and a silver medal in the 200 meter medley relay during the 11th Yunnan Provincial Games for Persons with Disabilities and the Fifth Special Olympic Games.

In 2019, an accidental back injury during his training forced him to bid farewell to swimming.

To fight depression and confusion, he spent 32 days cycling from his home town in Yunnan to Tibet and then back home, pedaling with just one leg. The total mileage was about 7,500 kilometers.

The kind-hearted people he met and things happened along the journey "made me rethink my life and encouraged me to center myself," Zhang said.

After the cycling trip, he accepted the invitation of a coach in Honghe and became a track and field athlete.

He has registered for the 12th Yunnan Provincial Games for Persons with Disabilities to be held in Yuxi this September.

"My goal is to take home gold medals in running and long jump," Zhang said with confidence.

"A physical disability doesn't mean I'm not good," he said. "Face the reality, accept the reality, and make the future better through my own efforts. This is what I'm thinking and pursuing.”