Suzhou senior’s kitted sweaters warm hearts in remote Qinghai

An elderly woman in eastern China has been praised for knitting sweaters for children living apart from their parents in Qinghai province every winter since 2015, Yangtze Evening News reported.

Wei Zhenying, 71, of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, was spurred into action by an online charity appeal for children in remote areas of Qinghai, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Guizhou province who have insufficient winter clothing.

“It was heart-wrenching for me to see those kids’ hands severely frostbitten and swollen as big as steamed buns,” she said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about them.”

Wei immediately bought over 5 kilograms of cotton yarn and began knitting each day as early as 7 am. Within a month, she had sent 10 handmade sweaters to Qinghai.

The sweaters are specially designed for children, decorated with cute animal patterns and brightly colored thread.

“Wei’s kind actions not only warmed up the poor kids, but also motivated every single worker dedicated to the charity project,” said Zhao Dong, secretary-general of the Qinghai Youth Development Foundation, who works as a liaison between Wei and the children.

Photos of cheerful children in their new sweaters with handwritten letters began pouring in soon after Wei mailed her gifts.

“Knowing that those kids were able to cope with the winter cold in the sweaters I made, I felt all my hard work was worth it,” Wei said.

This year, Wei has been unable to knit sweaters due to lower back pain and dizziness. So instead she offered to buy a dozen winter jackets and donate them to the children.

“I can no longer knit sweaters, but my efforts to help them will continue. I will keep sending clothes to them — that’s the least I can do,” she said.

Wang Xiaoyu contributed to this story.