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Frugal, childless Chinese couple who split US$2.5 meals leave US$735,000 to sick children
Selfless Shanghai pair who lived in ‘old, shabby’ home, remembered by 455 children with congenital heart disease who received their support
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Alice Yanin Shanghai
Published: 2:15pm, 6 Jul 2026
A late childless couple in China donated five million yuan (US$735,000) to help 455 children with congenital heart disease, despite living an extremely frugal life themselves
The couple’s story was revealed at a charity exhibition late last month in Shanghai, according to the news website The Paper
Du Yingrong passed away in 2018 at the age of 81, while his wife, Lu Suying, died last year at the age of 92. Before their deaths, Du was a retired teacher, and Lu was a retired doctor from the same college in Shanghai
In early 2018, Du noticed a poster in front of Shanghai Yoda Cardiothoracic Hospital that called on the public to help children with congenital heart disease
Du and Lu instantly donated half a million yuan to support 10 children
Shortly afterwards, they decided to donate another 4.5 million yuan. Even an employee at the hospital in charge of the charity project urged the couple to keep some money for themselves, as she had visited their home and found it “old and shabby.”
“Neither of us has much time left. We receive pensions and still have some savings. We don’t need much money,” Du told the worker, insisting on making the donation
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