Wuxi torchbearer attends 2022 Paralympic Winter Games torch relay

Yan Sanyuan holds a torch for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing on March 2. [Photo/WeChat account: wuxifabu2013]

Yan Sanyuan, a national self-improvement role model and president of Haoqingsong Blindman Tuina & Massage Company in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, served as a torchbearer at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing on March 2.

Yan was the sixth torchbearer to complete the relay, which was held at the Beijing School of the Blind. The three-day relay, featuring 565 torchbearers, will cover Paralympic zones in Beijing, the capital's Yanqing district, and Zhangjiakou in Hebei province.

At 9:00 am, Yan, wearing red and white sportswear, ran about 445 meters with the torch, accompanied by the singing of blind children at the school.

Yan studied at the school from 1997 to 1998. She felt excited to be back as a torchbearer. 

Yan expressed her hope that more blind people can pursue their dreams, find their self-worth, and become strong and independent.

Yan was basically blind at the age of 19. After studying massage, she founded Wuxi's first massage center for the blind, Haoqingsong Blindman Tuina & Massage Company, in 2000. The company now has 10 branches and more than 300 employees and has served thousands of customers.

Yan also makes efforts to improve the living and working conditions for the disabled and help them find jobs. More than 70 percent of employees at her company are disabled. In 2019, Yan Sanyuan was elected as a national self-improvement role model for her work.