China Local News

An Undying Love Story: 93-Year-Old Finds Lost Husband After 77 Years

After her husband did not return from the battlefield in 1937 wartime China, Zhang Shuying never forgot about him. After 77 years, the 93-year-old finally finds what she has been looking for.

Published

11 years ago

December 15, 2014

Manya Koetse

The story of 93-year-old Zhang Shuying has been shared on China’s social media thousands of times over the past few days. After her husband did not return from the battlefield in 1937 wartime China, she never forgot about him. After 77 years, the 93-year-old finally finds what she has been looking for: her husband’s soul.

Zhang Shuying was only 14 years old when her mother arranged a blind date between her and army officer Zhong Chongxin in downtown Fuzhou. Although Zhang disliked the men she had met on previously arranged meetings, Zhong Chongxin was different: she immediately became smitten with the tall and gentle military officer. They got married in 1935 and settled down in Nanjing, while the Second Sino-Japanese War was on the way. The newly-weds were still very much in love when Zhong was sent to the battlefield in 1937. He told his young wife not to worry and promised to be back. In the meantime, the 16-year-old Zhang moved to her husband’s hometown of Chongqing. The Chinese tried to fight off the Japanese invader during the battle over Shanghai and the Nanjing Massacre, but thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians died. As the war continued, Zhang Shuying stopped hearing from her husband. For seven long years, she waited for him to come home.

The young Zhang Shuying in Nanjing.

In 1944, Zhang met one of her husband’s comrade-in-arms on the streets in Chongqing. After he heard that Zhang had tried to get word from her husband for seven years, he contacted his officers. Finally, Zhang got the news she had been dreading for years; her husband had died in battle. Although she knew of his death, the young widow could not let go of her husband – there was nothing tangible about his death. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, Zhang’s parents and brother left for Taiwan. She decided to stay behind in Chongqing, because she wanted to spend the rest of her life in her husband’s city.

The young newly-weds Zhang Shuying and Zhong Chongxin.

Zhang got remarried in 1949 and had three children. Although she was still heartbroken over her first husband’s death, she did not tell her children the story until 1988 as she did not want to burden them with her past. Zhang had one wish: she wanted something tangible on her husband’s death, she wanted to know where his last resting place was. When her son heard about his mother’s biggest wish, he went on the search for Zhong Chongxin. After decades of research, assisted by volunteers, Zhong Chongxin’s name was finally found on a war memorial (a spirit tablet) in the Martyrs’s Shrine in Taipei. This is where Zhong was enshrined together with other fallen soldiers.

On November 22nd 2014 the moment finally arrived that Zhang Shuying travelled to Taipei to visit the shrine in order to find her long-last husband’s name in between that of his fellow serviceman. A reporter from China’s Haidu News heard about Zhang’s 77-year “reunion” with her husband and decided to cover the story. Because of Zhong’s enshrinement at the temple, Zhang explains she felt that she had “finally found her husband” and had found “where his sprit was.” She stayed in Taipei for seven days and visited the shrine three times before saying goodbye to her husband a final time.

The ‘spirit tablet’ or memorial plaquette at Taipei’s Martyr’s Shrine, displaying the name of Zhong Chongxin (4th from right, lower row). Top photos show Mrs. Zhang Shuying at the tablet.

The story, first reported by Haidu and then other Chinese media, quickly went viral. Thousands of netizens showed their sympathy for the old woman who had searched for her lost husband for 77 years. The popularity of this personal account coincides with the Nanjing memorial. December 14th of 2014 was the first time that China arranged its an official memorial dedicated to the Japanese invasion of Nanjing, now 77 years ago.

Zhong Chongxin at his graduation.

– by Manya Koetse

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Manya Koetse

Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.

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China Local News

Six Chinese Students Dead After Falling Into Flotation Tank During Mine Visit

After six students drowned in a mine tank, social media users question safety precautions and media framing.

Published

4 months ago

July 25, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

The tragic death of six Chinese students during a visit to the Wunugetushan Copper-Molybdenum Mine (乌努格吐山铜钼矿) in Inner Mongolia has been trending on Chinese social media this week.

The students, who study mineral processing engineering at the School of Resources & Civil Engineering Northeastern University (东北大学), visited the site as part of their studies on Wednesday, July 23.

The facility, which operates under the state-owned China National Gold Group Corporation (中国黄金集团), includes a mineral processing plant where ore is crushed and processed using flotation cells to separate copper and molybdenum concentrate from waste rock.

The students were standing on a metal grate above a deep industrial tank used for mineral processing. The grate then suddenly collapsed, and they fell into the flotation tank, which was filled with mineral slurry (see this video to better understand the situation).

The tank was deep, and once inside, the slurry made it impossible to swim.

By the time the students were taken out of the tank, they had already drowned. They were all aged between 20 and 22. One of their teachers was injured in the incident.

According to Sohu News, citing a preliminary accident investigation report, the direct cause of the incident was a pre-existing crack in the grate above the tank, which caused the entire panel to flip and fall off. The grates had been replaced in February but were not properly tested. The site also lacked warning signs about load capacity and reportedly did not restrict the number of people allowed to stand on it.

Three people responsible for safety measures at the site, including the deputy general manager, have now been placed under criminal detention.

Besides the many questions surfacing online about how such a gruesome accident could have occurred, there is also criticism of how the media has reported on the incident. Some outlets mentioned that the 45 other intern students—presumably also present during the visit—were “emotionally stable,” and that the teacher who was injured was in a “good mental state.”

One blogger criticized these phrases, which are often used in media reports following similar incidents. While they appear to describe the psychological condition of survivors or bystanders, the author argued that they are more political than psychological: their real function is to signal to readers that—despite the loss of life—the situation remains under control.

After the online criticism, the Weibo hashtag “45 Intern Students from Northeastern University Are Emotionally Stable” (#东北大学45名实习学生情绪平稳#) has since been taken offline.

At the time of writing, the official website of Northeastern University has been changed to black and white.

By Manya Koetse

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China Local News

The Liaoyang Restaurant Fire That Killed 22 People

Published

7 months ago

April 29, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 18
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

An enormous fire that happened at a restaurant in Liaoning’s Liaoyang on the afternoon of April 29 (see video) has gone top trending on Chinese social media, mainly due to the fact that it caused so many fatalities.

By 7pm, Chinese official media reported that the fire, which happened at 12:25 in the city’s Baita district, had killed 22 people. Three people were injured.

The fire started on the second floor of the restaurant Sanli Chuniang (三里厨娘/Sanli Chef’s Daughter) on Minzhu Road (民主路) and quickly spread throughout the entire two-story brick-concrete structure, which covers an area of about 260 square meters. The windy weather also played a part in how quickly the fire spread. The fire broke out around lunchtime, when there were many customers.

The restaurant before and after the fire.

Some sources on Xiaohongshu report that, according to witnesses, toxic smoke filled the entire building in less than five minutes. The thick smoke, small spaces inside the two-story building, and limited escape routes — some of which were allegedly blocked — all contributed to the high number of fatalities. Some victims were reportedly just ten meters away from the exit, yet still failed to escape.

According to Caixin, the restaurant’s second floor had several private rooms without windows.

To make matters worse, some nearby vehicles were not moved in time, hindering the rescue operations.

Sanli Chuniang was a locally popular restaurant serving various Chinese dishes, snacks, and dumplings. It was in business since 2016.

On social media, many commenters are expressing shock and sadness over the deadly fire. They also want answers into why there seemed to have been little to no fire safety precautions at the establishment.

The last time a restaurant fire with many fatalities made major headlines in China was in 2023, when a gas explosion inside a BBQ restaurant in Yinchuan resulted in 31 deaths. Nine people, including the restaurant owner, were later arrested in connection with the fire and the lack of safety precautions.

Some reports on the Liaoyang restaurant fire have now been removed, but it appears that the restaurant had been operating illegally since 2023 and that its fire safety inspections were not up to date.

Guancha reported that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the restaurant owner has been taken into custody.

🔄 Update 1: Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a statement regarding the devastating fire, calling on local authorities to hold those responsible accountable and to properly handle matters related to the victims and console their families.

Premier Li Qiang also emphasized that local authorities across China should screen for fire hazards and strengthen safety measures to prevent such major accidents from occurring.

🔄 Update 2: Preliminary investigations have ruled out arson or gas leakage as the cause of the fire. The specific cause of the incident is still under investigation, focusing on leftover cigarette butts that might have started the fire or possible electrical faults. The restaurant’s furniture and interior materials were highly flammable, and strong winds outside caused the fire to spread quickly and block the exits. This made it difficult for those trapped inside to escape. Most victims died from asphyxiation after inhaling large amounts of toxic smoke in a short time.

As definite results have not yet been issued at the time of writing (May 6), some netizens are wondering: “When can we expect to hear more?”

By Manya Koetse

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