Shanghai Teens Lied About Wuxi Trip to Help Guangxi Flood Victims

Two Shanghai high school graduates told their families they were going to Wuxi in neighboring Jiangsu Province for a trip, then traveled to south China's Guangxi to help with flood-relief work.

Wu Yulun and Xin Ziyu, graduates of Fuxing High School, left Shanghai by high-speed train on July 9 with bags of supplies. Their families only learned where they had gone after photos of the mud-covered teenagers appeared on social media, Knews reported today.

Wu said he saw information about the disaster in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on July 7, along with a call for volunteers from the Nanning Youth Volunteers Association. After learning that workers were needed to unload relief materials, he decided to go. Xin quickly agreed to join him.

The two said they had checked safety conditions and made a practical plan before leaving. They arrived after 11pm at a warehouse in Maling Town, Hengzhou, donated the supplies they had brought and began unloading relief goods from across the country. They worked into the early hours and then moved between different sites over the next several days.

They said the supplies they bought were based on a local shortage list and included women's hygiene products and emergency food such as cup noodles, ham sausages and canned congee.

To avoid worrying their parents, they said they were traveling to Wuxi and explained away their heavy bags by saying they were afraid they might not have enough water on the road.

Wu said he had heard family members talk about the massive floods in 1998 and wanted to help when he saw the latest disaster. Xin said he initially worried that two city teenagers might not be strong enough for front-line physical work, but adjusted after two days in Guangxi.

The pair returned safely to Shanghai in the early hours of July 14. After receiving widespread praise online, they said they felt embarrassed by the attention.

"We really only did the tiniest bit that two high school city boys could do," they said. "Among all the people working together in the disaster area, it was the least worth mentioning."