‘Star in the sky’: moving China university tribute for student who perished with family in highway collapse

Tragic Xu Zinuo has been described as a dedicated student and a compassionate friend. Photo: Weibo

• May 1 landslide causes Meizhou-Dabu road to collapse, killing 48 people
• Xu Zinuo, 21, dies alongside parents and 4-year-old sister trapped in car

A university in China has published an obituary paying tribute to a student who died in the Meizhou-Dabu highway collapse, moving many people online.

An 18-metre-long section of the highway in Sothern China's Guangdong province collapsed about 2am on May 1, killing 48 people and injuring 30 more, according to a press conference held on May 2.

Xu Zinuo, a 21-year-old student, was in one of the 23 vehicles trapped in the sunken area of the road. He perished along with his parents and 4-year-old sister.

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On May 6, Xu's university, Tianjin College of Media and Arts in the northern municipality of Tianjin, published a beautifully written obituary to remember him.

The article meticulously documented Xu's many roles, which included that of deputy representative of Class C of the Theatre, Film and Television Literature major and a lead member of the theatre school's media centre.

It also told of Xu's dedication to his studies and his friendly personality.

One of his teachers, Zhang Cheng, wrote an essay about Xu.

In it he said his student had been curious about the world and showed compassion to others.

He said that Xu has become a star in the sky and those who miss him will see him when they look up.

The online community was deeply moved by the obituary.

Many applauded the university's gesture, saying it showed the victim as a person who lived vividly, as opposed to just a statistic.

"I want to thank the university for letting people know his name, life and the traces he left in the world," one person on Weibo said.

"Zinuo will be remembered by a lot of people in this world. He did not die silently," wrote another.

"He was alive and happy. He had a great future ahead of him just a few days ago. He should not just be a number," someone else commented.

Xu's cousin also posted a message on Douyin.

He said he was trying to come to terms with the fact that he would never see his relatives again.

May 1 was the first day of China's five-day May Day holiday.

Many chose to hit the road on April 30 and drive off the highway on May 1, to avoid traffic jams and take advantage of the highway's toll-free holiday policy.

Xu's death has prompted many to request a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.

An official investigation by the Guangdong province is under way.

A geotechnical engineer, surnamed Chen, told the mainland media outlet Jiemian News the cause might have been the continuous heavy rain in the region, which resulted in the landslides that led to the collapse.

Chen added that such landslides could usually be spotted in their early stages, but an adequate warning system was "not properly in place" at the location.

The Meizhou-Dabu highway cost six billion yuan (US$830 million) to build, and had been in operation for a decade.

Nearby villagers told the mainland news outlet The Paper that they had seen signs of landslides three days before the collapse.

On the day before the incident, the weather department in Dabu county, where the collapsed section is located, also warned of heavy wind and rainstorms.

Road maintenance staff nearby told The Paper that small landslides occurred every time there were rainstorms.

Some also questioned whether the highway hazard warning system was effective enough.

It was reported that heavier casualties were avoided thanks to the heroic actions of two men.

Huang Jiandu, 64, who knelt down in the middle of the road to stop more vehicles driving towards the sunken area and 32-year-old truck driver Wang Xiangnan, who used his truck to create a barrier on the highway.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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