Du Jingxia 

A modern-minded senior from the city of Mudanjiang in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, recently spoke to interviewers to share her story of learning English, having an active lifestyle and maintaining a positive outlook.
Du Jingxia, 91, is originally a native of Harbin in Heilongjiang and transferred to Mudanjiang where her husband was assigned to work decades ago. In spite of her advanced age, Du's sight and hearing are both in good condition, and she still talks agilely.
"I have been copying from the book 900 Sentences in New English on my laptop beginning March 23, 2016 and I just finished transcribing the whole book on June 17 this year," said Du during the interview, which was conducted via the WeChat social media app.
She keeps a detailed record of the dates, weeks and places where she has typed and transcribed English sentences every day.
Du has six children who lives in different places across the country and she often visits her children's homes. So, every time when she goes somewhere visiting her daughter, she would mark the location together with the date of doing the transcribing.
Though this might not seem a big deal to an ordinary person, it is not easy for a 91-year-old woman.
According to Dai Qian, Du's second son, she can also takes photos with her smart phone, send red-envelope gift money on WeChat, read news on her iPad and search for websites using Baidu, a google like search engine.
"In the past, when my mom was not yet equipped with those facilities of her own, she would always love watching us use a phone or computer," Dai said with a smile. His mother is an old lady who especially loves to try new things.
When she is free, Du often goes to the activity room at her former working unit.
Jia Dongyan, former administrator of the activity room, praised Du, saying: "I am only 51 and I have just retired, but I cannot use the computer or WeChat as well as Du. She lives a more modern life than me. She would give a try to whatever is trendy."
Du started to learn English in 1996.
"When I was young, Russian was popular in the country, but I missed the opportunity to learn the language, because my kids were all too young then. This became a small regret in my heart," Du said.
"After retiring, my grandchildren have also reached school age. I watched the children speak English and thought it was interesting. My second daughter was an English teacher who self-learned the subject. Her story encouraged me. And I began to learn English from her," said Du.
"In 2003, the elderly people's university in Mudanjiang opened an English class, so I signed up for systematic study," Du added.
She confessed that learning English at her age was not as easy as for young people, so she could only write and memorize letters and phonetic symbols on paper to remember them.
Five years ago, using the old laptop that was left to her by her daughter, Du started to learn to operate a computer. It was then that she developed the habit of copying English.
Du said she had been copying English on the computer for many years without a break.
"My children all supported me to use computer and learn English: My son made me a Chinese pinyin comparison table, and my grandson bought me a new phone," Du said.
Du's children do not care whether her English is good or not, but feel that it is most important to help elderly people to delay aging.
Now, Du lives with her youngest son. Although in her 90s, she is healthy enough to take care of herself.
She can cook and go to the elderly people's university all by herself. In addition to using computers and mobile phone, Du can also play traditional games, competitive mahjong and the electronic organ.
"Gateball is a particularly good sport for older people. It is a bit like golf, but it's about who can swing accurately instead of how far. It specially exercises your mind and brain," said Dai.
Du said that after she retired in 1983, she joined the gateball team which was set up by her former unit and played for over 30 years. Only because of her knee problems did she have to stop playing.
Jia said Du is a learning-type person who always organizes the elderly people to compete in various competitions.
As a learning-enthusiast, Du has become a role model for her children, and grandchildren to follow.
"Living like mom is our goal!" said Dai.