Chinese girl overcomes her disability and fulfills her dream

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‍Many people in China may still remember the captivating performance of Thousand-hand Bodhisattva at the 2005 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, when 21 hearing-impaired dancers from China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT) brought the grace and radiance of the Bodhisattva to life, casting purity and benevolence to the mundane world.

Thousand-hand Bodhisattva at the 2005 CCTV Spring Festival Gala. /Source: Internet

During that year, Wei Jingyang turned 10 years old. For her, Thousand-hand Bodhisattva was not only a great performance but also a chance to change her life.

'Mom, I want to learn how to dance!'

Wei Jingyang, 22, lost her sense of hearing when she was one year old, as the result of a medical malpractice. She never felt that she was different from the others until she went to elementary school at the age of 6 years old.

Wei Jingyang‍

Later, the school launched dancing lessons. Seeing other students attending the class, Jingyang asked her mother if she could enroll in the class.

But her mother said, “How can you dance if you can’t hear the music?”

Jingyang thought that was the end of the discussion, but an unexpected turning point soon happened.

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After watching Thousand-hand Bodhisattva on TV, Jingyang's mother changed her mind. At Jingyang's 10th birthday, her mother asked her what gift she wanted for her birthday.

Jingyang responded with a simple answer. She wanted to learn how to dance.

This gift started her life as a dancer.

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Proving the existence of miracles with her own language

At the age of 12, Jingyang’s wish to become a professional dancer was granted and she started attending professional dance lessons.

Hearing-impaired dancers undergo different training procedures. As they can't find the rhythm by listening to the music, the tutors use sign language to conduct them.

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They split the dance into small pieces and learn one by one.

“I believe that being disabled is not pitiful, but only inconvenient. We also have dreams, and we can prove the existence of miracles to the world with our own language,” Jingyang said.

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Jingyang may have lived in silence all her life, but what mattered to her was her success and the ability to dance to her own music.

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This story is one in "The 1.3 Billion" series exploring the diverse lives that help empower the development of China.