Metro Special

Stars of the capital

By Wang Wei and Todd Balazovic (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-27 08:18

Fighting incinerators, creating micro-sized homes and giving bone marrow, Wang Wei and Todd Balazovic recall the stars of the year.

They might not be celebrities but they certainly should be famous. METRO decided to shine a little light on 10 fantastic people or groups that have gone out of their way to perform selfless acts or create innovative inventions for Beijing and its citizens.

Song Youzhou, creator of a revolutionary bus

Though he has no more than six years of schooling, Song has managed to invent a futuristic vehicle that can straddle car lanes and is hoped to finally ease Beijing's chronic traffic gridlock.

The Elevated High-speed Express Bus pilot project is expected to be completed by 2012. The concept is brilliant, with the bus making use of the space above cars so the flow of traffic is not disrupted. The bus has been designed to run on electricity and solar panels mounted on its roof, providing a clean and green answer to Beijing's road woes.

Guillaume and Delphine Gauvain, charity founders

The Guavains have dedicated their lives to doing charity work around the globe and are now spending their time in Beijing, founding and maintaining the Bethel Orphanage for Blind Children.

With more than 60 orphans in their care, the pair work tirelessly to teach the children English and French, as well as other skills that will help them overcome their challenges in life.

Their philosophy behind Bethel is simple - not to help blind orphans but to teach them how to help themselves.

Huang Rixin, inventor

After reading about the accommodation problems of Beijing's "ant tribe" - young graduates born in the 1980s who work unstable jobs and live on the outskirts of the city - Huang hatched a very small plan.

He designed a capsule apartment that was each less than 2 square meters and held a shared kitchen, shower and living room.

The most important factor Huang considered was keeping down rental prices, so they could survive on tight salaries until they had developed their careers.

Huang Xiaoshan, lawyer

Huang first came into the media spotlight when he was detained during a rally against a proposed garbage incinerator in Beijing.

He was later invited to join a government-funded fact-finding mission to Japan, to learn more about the technology such as garbage treatment facilities and garbage classification.

Huang is now working full-time as an environmental activist, campaign leader, government adviser and advisor to the media.

He has lead local residents in repeated campaigns.

Jeffery Yu, leader of Greenkeepers

At the age of just 16, Yu was the youngest speaker at the United Nations International Year of Youth.

He has managed to have a big impact on a small Beijing community through Greenkeepers, an environmental group started by students at the International School of Beijing.

Through small step environmental activism, Yu has transformed the way his community operates - by creating recycling programs, discouraging unneeded use of paper products and planting more than 100 trees throughout the Shunyi area.

Luc Picard and Aki Kishi, model workers

Both Picard (right) and Aki (bottom-left) were awarded Beijing Model Workers by the Beijing Federation of Trade Union this year, the first time foreigners have been given the title.

Picard is an expert on interventional neuroradiology and has trained more than 10 Chinese doctors. He is also known for continually importing advanced methodology and techniques into China since the 1970s.

Aki came to Beijing in May 2005 and has helped with the construction of pharmaceutical factories and production lines that can meet the international standard.

Michael Crain, founder of Chi Fan for Charity

By offering Beijing's philanthropists the chance to donate money by enjoying a fantastic meal, Crain (holding cheque on left) has managed to raise more than 300,000 yuan over the course of two years for local charities.

The former US embassy worker gathered more than 300 Beijingers and organized more than 50 restaurants for his annual Chi Fan for Charity event.

Crain put it best when he said: "Good times, good eats and good causes."

Twelve foreigners, honorable volunteers

In order to acknowledge the role that 12 expats have played in helping Beijingers learn foreign languages, they were named "honorable volunteers" by the municipal government.

Among them is Ernst-Jan van Hurne (center), from the Netherlands, who has been organizing weekend classes on English and Western culture and customs at community schools in Shijingshan district since 2004. Another is David Tool, an English professor in Beijing, known for correcting English in public areas such as road signs and museum information cards.

Hua Xinmin, protector of ancient buildings

Hua Xinmin, a "blue-eyed Beijinger" as she calls herself, has been trying hard to protect historical neighborhoods in Beijing - known as hutong (traditional alleys) and siheyuan (courtyard houses) - from being turned into rubble in citywide demolition projects.

Hua was born in Hongxing Hutong in Dongcheng district in 1954. She grew up there before her family moved to France in the 1970s.

She said the hutong is the only place she has felt comfortable and she still cherishes all her memories.

Hua said her desire to protect the city started with childhood memories and her ties to her birthplace.

"The atmosphere will be gone if the residents and hutong are no longer there," she said.

Shao Shuai, courageous son

METRO reported in February the story of a 12-year-old boy from Jiangsu province, who tried to save his mother's life by donating his bone marrow to cure her leukemia.

After the operation, Shao Shuai left school to care for his mother. While other kids are playing outside, Shao Shuai saves every penny just to buy himself a bottle of mineral water.

"All I want is for my mother to be healthy," Shao said.

The story of this boy touched many citizens and he went on to receive donations totaling more than 600,000 yuan.

Shao was offered a place at the middle school affiliated to the Central Academy of Fine Arts in June, with a schedule that lets him care for his mother. She is currently recovering at home in Beijing.