(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-10 21:41

BEIJING -- An 80-year-old Chinese woman who "lives on about 10 yuan (1.4 US dollars) a day" has donated more than 4 million yuan to charity and public welfare over the past 20 years.

Liu Xiufang is a villager in the eastern Fujian Province. The money that she donated was her savings given by her children. Except for her eldest son, all of them were living and working in the United States, the Beijing Times said Monday.

"I can't bear to see others suffer. Besides, I myself don't need that much money," she explained.

In 2003, Liu donated 200,000 yuan to a special school for handicapped children in Lianjiang County where she resides, said Fang Caishu, former director of the county's cultural bureau.

Last year, she gave 380,000 yuan to build a local park, the newspaper said.

Over the years, she had helped nearly 1,000 children who couldn't afford schooling to complete their education, according to the Fuzhou News Network.

Liu, however, was "mean" to herself, said her relative Chen Xingao. "Her daily menu is just rice and vegetables which cost no more than 10 yuan."

Chen recanted a story telling of how Liu had become thirsty on her way back from an outing one day. However, she was reluctant to pay 2 yuan for a bottle of water from a roadside shop. She eventually made it home and quenched her thirst.