How 'Minci Bulao', 89, won the internet

Strong headed

After graduating from high school in the 1940s, Jiang went to a railway school to study mechanical engineering. She resisted pressure from her elders to become a teacher, as many bright young women were encouraged to do back then.

After graduation, Jiang became an engineer and worked on planning the laying of railway tracks around the country.

In 1988, she retired and went to a university for the aged to undertake health courses.

In recent years, Jiang began to show an interest in computer science and network technologies.

"I wanted to acquire new knowledge," she said. "If senior citizens can live a healthy and happy life, they don't become a burden on their families and society."

Jiang usually gets up at 6 am and performs tai chi exercises with neighbors and friends at her housing estate before visiting the vegetable and meat markets.

She cooks lunch at home and later prepares supper for her family. Jiang lives with her son, daughter-in-law, Dou Dou and a granddaughter.

In the afternoon, she chats with her fans online while also regularly using her mobile phone to send her blood pressure and other health data to her physician. Her doctor is her teacher at the university for the aged. In the evening, she discusses her upcoming videos with Dou Dou.

Jiang said she now prefers reading e-books via her computer and mobile phone, instead of printed ones.

Her embracing of new technology extends to documenting her own life. Jiang said she prefers shooting videos to share her life experiences with netizens, rather than writing them down in an autobiography.

Dou Dou said he was impressed that his grandmother had learned to shoot and post videos online, as this skill was usually the domain of young people.

"Young people should care about their grandparents and teach them to use mobile phones, computers and other high-tech equipment to help seniors get in touch with them," he said.

"Old people will feel less lonely if they can share their feelings and stories with young people."

It only takes patience for children and grandchildren to teach their elderly relatives how to use new technologies, Dou Dou said.

In addition to shooting and publishing videos online, Jiang can operate her mobile phone, pay bills online, register to see doctors and chat with netizens, he said.

Liu Xiaolin contributed to this story.