□Huo Liwen Yu Leiwen/Photo
In July, the exhibition hall of Sinopec Building was crowded with people. 12-year-old Dongxiang girl Zhang Shuna stood in front of her painting, her eyes flashed across the exhibition wall, and was attracted by a warm orange: a small orange star was pasted in the lower right corner of dozens of works, which was a new logo of the “Glimmer Plan”. The painting of the stars was pasted, which means someone claimed it. At that moment, she felt like she was hugged by the world, and her heart was warm.
This rural youth calligraphy and painting exhibition called “Glitter Lights the Future” is one of the countless silhouettes in the five years since the implementation of the “Glitter Plan” of Sinopec Easy Company. Since 2021, this public welfare brand with the mission of “gathering the glimmer of light and lighting up the world” has sowed the seeds of hope in China’s vast rural land through brand activities such as “Going out of the mountains to watch the Asian Games”, “I plant quinoa in Dongxiang”, and “Rural Youth Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition”, so that the spark of education has gradually become a prairie fire.
The dream of getting out of the mountains
“We need to pave the way for children to go out of the mountains”
In September 2023, on the eve of the opening of the Hangzhou Asian Games, on a flight from Lanzhou to Hangzhou, Mr. Ma from Gansu Dongxiang Petrochemical Easy Primary School held the handrail tightly, but his eyes were staring out the window. “The first time I took a plane, my palms were covered in sweat.” Recalling the scene at that time, Teacher Ma smiled, “But I was very excited when I thought about bringing back the experiences of the Asian Games to the children.”
This is the “Going Out of the Mountains to Watch the Asian Games” charity event organized by EasyJie’s “Great Light Project”. A total of 160 rural teachers from all over the country, including 60 paired schools of Sinopec, were invited to visit the Asian Games in Hangzhou and participate in teaching and training.
At the opening ceremony of the training class, Mr. Wu Xiaolu from Linhe Town Primary School, Siyang County, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province unfolded a special map of China. Before leaving, her students begged with their little faces raised: “Teacher, can you touch the Asian Games torch?” “Teacher, we also want to know rural teachers from all over the country!” This map was quickly passed on, and 160 teachers marked the location of their school on it in turn.
When the dense red dots were connected together, the scene suddenly became quiet. Teacher Ma Xuezhen from Aba, Sichuan pointed to the distant southwest corner on the map, and his voice was choked: “I took a carriage and changed into cars and trains to catch the plane to Hangzhou, but the children need to use knowledge to pave the way out of the mountains.”
What the teachers remember most was the torch relay site. The moment Principal Li Wen of Hangzhou Olympic Sports Experimental Primary School lifted the Asian Games torch, Teacher Yongji from Yushu, Qinghai couldn’t help but shed tears. She knew that as the 51st torchbearer, Li Wen was once a rural teacher. “Twenty years ago, I lit a kerosene lamp to prepare lessons; today, I want to use this torch to tell the children that persistence will eventually make the glimmer of light a torch.” Principal Li Wen’s sincere expression was moving.
Back at school, Cairen Yongji launched a class meeting on the theme of “Torch Spirit”. Three months later, her students spontaneously organized the “Simulation Asian Games” and used old desks to form a podium. The prize was the Asian Games mascot brought back by Cairen Yongji, and it was signed with the names of the teachers in the training class.
Hope in the quinoa field
These quinoa have been refined and transformed into 9,000 bags of quinoa rice and sent to the homes of employees of various recognized companies.
In the winter of 2024, in the fields of Suonan Town, Dongxiang, Gansu, golden quinoa ears hung heavily. Maabdu was busy in the field with his two children, his face filled with joy of harvest.
“In the past, growing corn earned 800 yuan per mu, but now growing quinoa can earn 3,000 yuan per mu!” Ma Abdu said, “This quinoa is a ‘golden egg’. The two children will have money to go to college in the future.”
Changes to the “I grow quinoa in Dongxiang” project originated from EasyJie’s “Gream Project”. This innovative assistance project, which adopts the “enterprise seed recognition + farmer planting + product repurchase” model, ushered in a turning point at the 2024 winter seed recognition signing ceremony.
After seeing the special beer and quinoa biscuits produced from Dongxiang quinoa, Yu Bo immediately signed a 4 mu of seed recognition agreement. This demonstration effect spread like ripples, and eventually attracted 19 companies including Sanrenxuan, Lai Mao, Mengniu, Yili, etc. to participate, and a total of 60 acres of quinoa fields were claimed.
Half a year later, these mature quinoa were refined and turned into 9,000 bags of quinoa rice and sent to the homes of employees of various recognized companies.
At the same time, another health assistance plan is also being promoted simultaneously. Sinopec and other caring companies have donated 2,024 customized health packages to rural teachers, each package is equipped with professional medical supplies. A more long-term plan is the “Easy Enjoy Health – Send Health to Campus” plan: 10 million yuan will be invested in the next five years to establish a comprehensive health management mechanism for 200 rural schools, including Internet medical services, health education lectures, etc. The first phase of standardization of 20 schools has been completed.
The future under the brush
In just two hours, more than 100 companies claimed 152 works on the spot.
This summer, in the exhibition hall of Sinopec Building in Beijing, 12-year-old Zhang Shuna nervously clutched the corner of her clothes. Her work “Cultural Relics Hezhou” – a painting created with Dongxiang red clay is being exhibited at the “Light Lighting the Future” Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition.
“This is our hometown.” The little girl pointed to the ancient painted pottery pattern in the painting and explained to the visitors, “The teacher said that there is the wisdom of our ancestors in the soil, and our future.”
This exhibition brings together nearly 500 student works from 40 schools across the country, and each one has a moving story behind it. Zhang Shuna’s instructor Ma Tingting is one of the protagonists of the story.
Teacher Ma almost gave up his art dream due to family difficulties. Now, she is standing in the exhibition hall of Sinopec with her students, looking at the children’s works, and she seems to see her who she was back then. She said that the children were so lucky that they walked into the art hall from the leaking earthen house and realized that “the world is not only what I see, but it turns out that I can shine too.”
On July 26, at the 2025 mid-term outstanding partner conference of “AI Chain New·Zhi Run Future”, Yijie and Great Wall Lubricants jointly launched the “Great Wall Gathering Love·Hanmo Wei Guang” love calligraphy and painting claim action. In just two hours, more than 100 companies claimed 152 works on the spot, and all the funds raised will be used to support the development of rural teachers.
Five years have passed, and more light is quietly growing in those corners that were once illuminated by the “glitter light”. Perhaps it is the clearer gas station in Wu Guangxuan’s paintings, the more vivid hometown in Zhang Shuna’s paintings, or perhaps it is the brighter hope in the eyes of a rural teacher than the Asian Games torch. The gathering of light is never the end – when every beam of light blooms bravely, the world will be endless in the warmth.
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1.What is the Glimmer Plan?
The Weiguang Plan is a public welfare brand initiated by Sinopec Easy Company in 2021 with the mission of “gathering Weiguang and lighting up the world”. Named “Glimmer Plan”, it means gathering individual strength and forming a brilliant galaxy that illuminates rural education.
2. What achievements have been made in the Glimmer Plan?
Up to now, the cumulative public welfare funds have been raised more than 2 million yuan, benefiting more than 2,000 rural schools in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country, and directly benefiting more than 10,000 teachers and students. The Weiguang Project has successively won the honors of Sinopec’s top ten social responsibility projects, China Broadcasting Innovation Gold Partner Award, and the Top Ten Huaxia Charity Projects of 2023, and was included in the Sinopec’s charity brand family tree in 2023.
