Memorial Hall of Yin Xuemei

Memorial Hall of Yin Xuemei

The Memorial Hall of Yin Xuemei is a patriotic education base.

Yin Xuemei was born in 1954 and started working in 1976. She taught at several primary schools in Jintan City, including those in Sudu, Chengdong, Hongqiao, and Chengnan, and served as a homeroom teacher for many years. For thirty years, she worked diligently, dedicated to teaching and nurturing students, indifferent to fame and fortune, and selflessly devoted. At the moment of life and death, she gave the chance of survival to her students and the risk of death to herself. She heroically sacrificed her life to protect her students, forging an exemplary model of teacher ethics admired by all with her blood and life. Her heroic deeds moved countless people, earning widespread praise from society and reverence from the public, creating a strong social impact. To commemorate the revolutionary martyr Yin Xuemei and promote her noble spirit, the Jintan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the People's Government of Jintan City specially established the Memorial Hall of Yin Xuemei at Yin Xuemei Primary School for people from all walks of life to pay their respects and learn.

People will never forget March 31, 2005, when faced with an oncoming car, Teacher Yin spread her loving arms like an angel, shielding the children with her body and saving the lives of six students, while she herself was thrown more than twenty meters away, lying alone in a pool of blood...

Teacher Yin fell, and millions of hearts were touched.

Leaders, colleagues, relatives, friends, students, parents came, as did many unfamiliar citizens. In those days, the corridors outside the intensive care unit were filled with flowers, and the walls were covered with strings of paper cranes. People prayed for a miracle—that Teacher Yin would smile again and return to the podium.

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival. On this day, an ordinary yet great heart stopped beating. Teacher Yin etched herself forever in this moving moment, forever marked at the age of fifty-two. When the sad news spread, people rushed from all directions. There were white-haired elders and babbling children; there were locals from Jintan and residents from surrounding counties and cities. In just two days, over 40,000 people came to mourn. On the day of the funeral, more than 100,000 people saw Teacher Yin off, turning the ten-mile-long street into an ocean of flowers and tears.

The deeds of Teacher Yin Xuemei attracted widespread attention from major media across the country. More than 100 journalists from over 40 organizations, including CCTV and People’s Daily, gathered in Jintan. Major Chinese portal websites set up special features on “The Deeds of Yin Xuemei,” with nearly 10,000 comments on each site discussing the social values behind the heroic act.

Li Yuanchao, Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, issued an important directive. All levels subsequently called on people to learn from Teacher Yin Xuemei, speaking highly of her heroic act. After her sacrifice, the State Personnel Ministry and the Ministry of Education posthumously awarded her the title of “National Model Teacher.” The Communist Party Committee of Jiangsu Province posthumously recognized her as a member of the Communist Party of China, and the People’s Government of Jiangsu Province honored her as a “Revolutionary Martyr” and “Hero of Bravery,” among other prestigious titles. The Yin Xuemei Deeds Report Group has given over 20 lectures across the province.

In the hometown of the heroic teacher, the spirit of Xuemei has become a precious spiritual asset, quietly integrating into every corner of the small city and touching the hearts of everyone.

There is a kind of life that is the most beautiful, and that is dedication; there is a kind of spirit that is the most enduring, and that is the soul of a teacher.

Her beauty blossomed in thirty years of dedication to her work, eagerness to learn, love for her students as her own children, and selfless devotion; her greatness was captured in an instant of loyalty to duty, composure, fearlessness in the face of danger, and willingness to sacrifice her life.

Teacher Yin Xuemei is the pride of the people of Jintan, the pride of the education sector, and even more so, the pride of the Chinese nation.