Sanitation worker from central China's Hunan adds color to life through literature

Over the course of more than four years, Huang Xinsheng, a 51-year-old sanitation worker from Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, has written over 300 poems and novels in her spare time.

Photo shows Huang Xinsheng at work in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. (Changsha Evening News/Liu Qi)

Every morning at 6 am, Huang heads to Yuehua Road in Changsha and starts cleaning a street that is about 1 kilometer long. After she comes back home from work, Huang becomes a writer, cleansing her mind by writing poems and novels.

Huang grew up in a village in Hunan Province, and had a passion for writing when she was young. She had always wanted to go outside her village and see the wider world.

However, after failing the national college entrance exam, Huang chose not to repeat her grade but instead decided to work in the city to support her family and her two younger brothers' education.

Photo shows Huang Xinsheng at work in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. (Changsha Evening News/Liu Qi)

As a migrant worker, Huang would write poems in her spare time, which her co-workers often read. Later, after marrying, Huang returned to the countryside.

"Many villagers were satisfied just with having enough food to eat, but I was not. I wanted to have a job for myself. I also wanted to have a study room where I could read books in my spare time. I believed that I could live a life like that in the future," Huang recalled.

After her husband passed away due to an accident, Huang moved to Changsha and became a sanitation worker in 2014. For her, writing became a way to fight misfortune and overcome despair.

Huang's home is filled with books. She is thrifty with her spending but never stingy when it comes to buying books. She also visits the library every month to borrow books.

In 2019, Huang joined an online group chat made up of sanitation workers from Hunan who love reading and writing. Editors in the group chat published Huang's works online, which were met with great acclaim by many readers.

Huang Xinsheng reads a book during a break. (Changsha Evening News/Liu Qi)

Seeking spiritual nourishment from books and encouraged by people around her, Huang became more determined to write. "I realized that I was not lonely and useless. I'll stay true to my original aspiration and always chase my dreams. As I wrote more, my inner world started to get better and more people came to me with job offers," said Huang.

In 2019, Huang applied to sit the self-taught higher education examinations, choosing to major in Chinese language and literature. In 2020, she passed three exams on her first try and continued her studies. Huang says she wants to apply for undergraduate studies after completing her college studies.