December 3, 2022 marks the 31st International Day of Disabled Persons, which has been observed by the United Nations since 1992. On this special occasion, I would like to tell a story about a girl who fulfilled her dream in a wheelchair. Despite the misfortune of her childhood, she remained optimistic and strong. She immersed herself in Chinese calligraphy, through which she created a miracle of life and devoted herself to cultural charity with a grateful heart, making her life beautiful. She's Liu Xiaoqing, "the most beautiful wheelchair sister."

On Oct. 15, 2021, "Sunshine Xiaoqing — Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition by the Most Beautiful Wheelchair Sister" is inaugurated at Shandong Art Museum in Jinan, Shandong Province. This is Liu's ninth calligraphy and painting exhibition.

Painful childhood

Liu was born to a workers' family in November 1976 in Zhucheng County, now a county-level city affiliated to Weifang City, Shandong Province. Her birth brought endless joy to the small family. However, one day in 1981, Liu had an accident on her way to see her grandma with her parents. A walking tractor rolled over and ran over her. She had been in a coma in the hospital for three days and three nights before waking up. The attending doctor told her parents the girl could be paralyzed due to spinal shock, which means she could never get up and walk.

This wrecked the young parents' hearts, and they prayed for a miracle. To get the girl on her feet again, they took her to Weifang, Wuhan of Hubei Province, Beijing, Shanghai and many other big cities where they wished to find a doctor who could save their daughter. However, the girl's condition didn't improve. She was paralyzed from the chest down.

In loneliness, isolation and pain, Liu turned to nine years old. But physical pain didn't quench the spark of hope in her heart. "I want to go to school!" She cried. Indeed, her parents wanted the same thing for her. Seeing children of her age in Grade 3 or 4, they were anxious. But Liu couldn't walk, care for herself, or sit still for too long. How would she be able to go to school?

When it came to 1986, a new school close to Liu's home was open to enrollment. Her parents wheeled her there to apply, and she finally got to go to school. Liu was a bright and diligent pupil. Though she sometimes couldn't go to school due to the inclement weather, her grades were among the best in the class.

A year later, her class moved to a classroom on the second floor. Every day, the teachers and students carried her upstairs and downstairs. As time passed, Liu, a tough girl in nature, felt uncomfortable always needing others' help. At the age of 12, or 18 months after she was enrolled, she said goodbye to her school life with tears in her eyes.