10/01/2025
China's Most Incredible Mother. The story of Lu Xiaoyin, the woman who saved thirty babies thrown into garbage cans.
She is being called a true hero. Lu Xiaoyin, an 88-year-old woman from Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, dedicated decades of her life to collecting babies abandoned by their parents from the streets and garbage cans.
Together with her husband, Li Jing, who died seventeen years ago, she raised over thirty children. She kept four of them with her, and entrusted the others to relatives and friends, to give them a chance at a new life.
Although she earned her living by collecting garbage, Lu found within herself the strength and courage to raise souls that others considered unworthy of love. Her youngest son, Zhang Qilin, now only seven years old, was discovered in a dumpster when she was already 82 years old.
“Even though I was old, I couldn’t just ignore a child and let him die in the garbage. He was so small, helpless and defenseless. I took him home to our modest country house and nursed him until he regained his strength. Today he is a healthy and happy boy, loved by everyone. I chose a name for him that means ‘rare’ and ‘precious’,” Lu says.
Her unusual fate began in 1972, when, while collecting garbage, she first found an abandoned little girl.
“She was just lying among the debris thrown on the street. She would have died if I hadn’t saved her. When I saw her grow and become strong, I understood that I was given the gift of taking care of children. If we have the power to pick up trash, why don’t we also have the power to save and protect what is infinitely more valuable — human life?”
Lu always emphasizes that all these children deserve love and care.
“They are all priceless human lives. I can’t understand how someone could leave their own child defenseless,” she says.
Lu has a biological daughter, Zhang Caiying, now 49, and her entire family helps raise little Zhang Qilin.
Stories about Lu have spread throughout China, where thousands of children are still abandoned — often because of the “one-child policy,” which has pushed parents to give up girls in favor of boys.
People call Lu an example of genuine compassion. One of them said:
“She shames the government, the schools, and all those who watch from the sidelines. She has no wealth and no power, but she snatches children from the clutches of death.”
These heartbreaking stories highlight the greatness of Lu Xiaoyin’s work — a woman with a heart bigger than the entire social order that throws such children into the trash. Her example inspires and awakens consciences: each of us can save the world — even for one child.