appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Fran Lu

Five years after she lost her left arm and leg in a car crash, a Chinese influencer started a shoe-cleaning business that provides jobs for disabled people.
Weng Xinyi has continued to move people with her optimistic life attitude.
The 30-year-old’s left arm and leg were amputated after her friend crashed a Porsche sports car in 2020.
She suffered three heart attacks and 14 rounds of surgery to survive.

Weng’s boyfriend left her and her friend, who survived the crash intact, stopped paying for her treatment.
It took her a year to finally accept her condition, and she marked the moment of her rebirth with a new name: Youyou, which means “right right” in English.
Weng worked harder to prove to the world that the disabled woman she had become was no different from the previously strong and optimistic Weng Xinyi.
In 2022, she established a yoga suit business and modelled the suits herself.

Last year, Weng opened a new shoe-cleaning factory in southern China’s Guangdong province, next to her hometown, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
She hired 10 staff, half of them disabled and assigned them roles according to their respective conditions.
For example, she let a person with brittle bone disease sort the shoes they received and record them in a digital file.

She also asked a person with a hearing impairment to operate the loud shoe-cleaning tools and a man with polio to clean the details because he works slowly and “more carefully”.
“Disability does not define a person’s boundaries, but their uniqueness. Disabled people have their own advantages. All they need is an opportunity,” Weng said.
Her factory now cleans 700 to 800 pairs of shoes a day. Its monthly revenue is 300,000 yuan (US$43,000).

Weng said her dream is to open a shoe cleaning branch in her hometown so that she could be closer to her parents, who have always been supportive.
Weng’s new plan received support from the Disabled Persons’ Vocational Service Association in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi.
Weng also volunteered as a public voice for the Disabled Persons Federation, spreading her optimism to more people.
Weng’s social media account now has nearly 500,000 followers. She also helped promote other disabled people’s businesses and raise funds for those who need help using her influence.
Weng helped a 12-year-old girl with leukaemia raise 800,000 yuan for her treatment. The girl has received a bone-marrow transplant.

She helped promote a homestay run by a paralysed woman and another who suffered from burns to find a job.
Weng has an independent and courageous image on social media.
She never hides her prosthetic leg and lost arm when going out. Sometimes she dresses in futuristic style to look like a “warrior”.
She also told some patronising men who offered to marry her that they are “out of my league”.
“Weng Youyou is the pride of all women. You are more able than a lot of able-bodied people,” said one online observer.


Artworks reveal Chinese rulers and Cixi loved role-playing long before modern cosplay

Chinese son’s video of mum’s final 14 days before sudden leukaemia death moves hearts online

Chinese doctor quits 20-year medical career to open steamed bun shop for mental health relief

Chinese woman, 65, plays dual roles of beautiful doctor and mum to con man out of US$25,000

Trending in China

China woman who lost limbs in car crash assigns disabled staff to jobs based on their strengths

A woman who lost her left arm and leg in a car accident, recently opened a shoe-washing factory in China, hiring disabled workers and creating roles based on their strengths. Photo: SCMP composite/Zhihu/Sina

Weng Xinyi lost her limbs when the car she was in was crashed by a friend who was driving. Photo: Douyin

Weng inside the shoe cleaning factory she set up and in which she employs people with disabilities. Photo: Douyin

Weng with her father. She says her dream is to open a branch of her business in her hometown. Photo: Douyin

Weng exercising at the gym. She never hides her disability or her prosthetics. Photo: Douyin

Weng, in a white top, holds a meeting with some of the staff at her factory. Photo: Douyin

‘Hold on tight’: China woman wins 22 pig-catching contests, with biggest hog weighing 73kg

A woman in rural China has won 22 pigs in 26 pig-catching contests over the past year, the heaviest of them weighing in at 73kg. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

Wen Fengqin gets down and dirty with a struggling pig during one of the many contests she has taken part in. Photo: thepaper

Wen grapples with a squealing porker as another woman tries to muscle in. Photo: thepaper

Wen gets to a running pig ahead of her competitors in a muddy field. Photo: thepaper

Wen said she will slaughter one of the pigs she took home to make cured meat for the Lunar New Year. Photo: thepaper

China woman, 62, gets pregnant through IVF after death of only child, sparking controversy

A 62-year-old Chinese woman became pregnant through IVF after her son, who was her only child, died in January. Photo: Shutterstock/Douyin

The unnamed expectant mother relaxes on a sofa. This is the second time in her life that she has been pregnant. Photo: Douyin

The pregnant woman attends one of her regular medical check-ups. Photo: Douyin

The 62-year-old, above, believes she is carrying a baby boy because she craves sweet food. Photo: Douyin

Hong Kong singer G.E.M. praised for debut sci-fi novel nominated for China Galaxy Award

Cantopop singer G.E.M. is celebrating the recent nomination of her debut sci-fi novel for the prestigious Galaxy Award in China. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo

Cantopop singer G.E.M. flicks through the pages of her debut novel. Photo: QQ.com

G.E.M.’s first novel, pictured above, was published in July 2025. Photo: QQ.com

The book above is set in the world of artificial intelligence and digital clones. Photo: QQ.com

G.E.M. performs on stage during the 2019 Super Star Christmas Concert in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Photo: Getty Images

China beauty influencer pays off US$57,000 family debt; accused of faking cerebral palsy

A Chinese girl with cerebral palsy who became a beauty influencer to help her family pay off a US$57,000 debt has faced accusations of faking her condition. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

Lin Ling poses for a photograph as a little girl. She was diagnosed with jaundice at birth. Photo: Douyin

A back pose by Lin showing off one of her many styles in a live-streaming session. Photo: Douyin

Lin applies make-up during another live stream. Her condition means she finds it difficult to do so. Photo: Douyin

One online fan described Lin as an “angel with broken wings”, but other people have not been so kind. Photo: Douyin

China police officer praised for mediating dispute among 7 kids as if it were serious case

A police officer in Zhejiang province settled a dispute between seven young children as if it were as serious as any other case they dealt with before, receiving praise online. Photo: Shutterstock

Upon entering the station, one child affectionately referred to the officer as “Uncle Police” and promptly asked for assistance in resolving their argument. Photo: Sina.com

Officer Guo Guanwei invited them into the station’s mediation room, approaching their dispute with the same gravity he applied to any other case he had handled. Photo: Sina.com

After 30 minutes of mediation, the children began to empathise with one another, ultimately resolving their disagreement with a handshake. Photo: Sina.com

News

People & Culture

China Personalities

Gender & Diversity

30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online


30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online.


Disability

China woman who lost limbs in car crash assigns disabled staff to jobs based on their strengths

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online

30-year-old who suffered 3 heart attacks, 14 rounds of surgery dresses like a ‘warrior’; is described as the ‘pride of all women’ online