On October 13, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing and delivered a keynote address. He highlighted the crucial role women play in creating, advancing, and carrying forward human civilization.

Across China, countless individuals are quietly shouldering this responsibility through their actions – and Zhang Guimei, principal of Huaping Senior High School for Girls, is a shining example. She has brought light to the hearts of girls in the remote mountains. Zhou Yunli, one of these girls, grew up nurtured by that light; now, she has returned to her alma mater to teach, becoming a beacon for the next generation herself. Generation after generation, this light has spread like sparks across the hills, guiding more and more mountain girls to step beyond the peaks. This is how women's empowerment is passed on: one generation lifting up the next, forging an enduring legacy of change that ripples through time.