She climbed Siguniang Mountain at 99 and spent two months in Sanya at 100.
After turning 60, she goes on a trip every year after National Day, with her longest trip lasting nearly three months... This is the life of Pu Yunde, a 101-year-old retired nurse from Chengdu’s Second People's Hospital. The outpatient party branch of the hospital visited her and conducted a health check. Surprisingly, her blood pressure was 110/70, heart rate 62, and she is in excellent health.
Group Tours
Her Kids Found It Tiring, But She Didn’t
Recently, the outpatient party branch of Chengdu’s Second People's Hospital visited Pu Yunde, the hospital’s oldest retired nurse—now 101 years old—with flowers.
When visitors arrived, Pu Yunde stood up to greet them, shook hands with everyone, and beamed with joy. Her 65-year-old daughter, Zhang Shaoping, stood nearby and smiled, saying her mother just loves being around people.
Then, Zhang Shaoping showed a pile of photos: “My mom went to Sanya at 100, climbed to the top of Siguniang Mountain at 99, and visited Lijiang at 95...” The photos showed beaches, snow-capped mountain peaks, ancient towns, solo shots, and family portraits.
It turns out that since retiring at 60, Pu Yunde has taken a trip every year after National Day. “She hasn’t been abroad, but she has traveled to all Chinese provinces except Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, even visiting the gambling city of Macau,” Zhang Shaoping explained.
In the past, she often traveled with tour groups. Her kids found it tiring, but she didn’t. Even when not traveling, she loved visiting agritainment spots to breathe some fresh air.
Mountain Climbing
No Altitude Sickness, She Felt Completely at Ease
When she climbed Siguniang Mountain at 99, the family drove to the scenic area entrance, then took the scenic shuttle bus up the mountain.
Once, when her children all needed to use the restroom, they left her sitting alone on a bench by the toilet. Soon after, the scenic area staff approached her twice, asking, “Ma’am, do you feel unwell?”
Pu Yunde smiled, quickly stood up, walked around, and replied, “I’m fine.”
The staff then looked around for her family and nervously reminded, “Does she have altitude sickness? If she feels unwell, please let us know immediately.”
Unexpectedly, at over 5,000 meters above sea level, she had no altitude sickness or soreness in her waist or knees. She walked around on her own, completely at ease.
Beach Time
Ticket Purchase Rejection — But She Made It in the End
Last December, after hearing that Sanya was nice, she told her granddaughter she wanted to go there.
The family thought her wish must be fulfilled, so they asked their granddaughter’s husband to book the flight tickets. “He travels often and knows the staff well.” Unexpectedly, he was turned down—the ticket seller didn’t dare sell the ticket because the elderly woman was simply too old.
Zhang Shaoping took her mother’s ID to the civil aviation ticket center and spoke to the management, but was told, “Those over 75 need a health certificate from a hospital to fly, and those over 80 are generally not allowed to fly.”
Zhang Shaoping immediately brought her mother’s medical report and asked a doctor to issue a health certificate. The next day, she returned to the ticket center with photos of her mother’s travels over the years. “I begged for two hours, talked my mouth dry, and finally got the tickets.”
She stayed in Sanya for over two months.
Where will she travel this year? That’s a dilemma for Zhang Shaoping, as the elderly woman suffered a serious illness last July or August—senile pneumonia and heart failure. Doctors asked the family several times to prepare themselves mentally, but she pulled through. Still, the family remains very worried.
Her Health Secrets>>>
Morning Honey Water, Two Taels of Red Wine After Lunch
The elderly woman is 101 years old in East Asian age reckoning. Zhang Shaoping said longevity might be related to genetics, as many elders in the family live long lives. Speaking of secrets, Zhang Shaoping rattled off a list: “Open-minded and cheerful. My dad passed away early, and for all these years, it’s just the four of us siblings keeping her company.”
Over the years, her daily habits haven’t changed much. She wakes up at 7 a.m. and gets out of bed at 7:30.
The first thing she does after getting up is to drink a glass of honey water, then climb up to the rooftop to admire the flowers and watch the fish. “She likes to stay active and can’t sit still.”
Breakfast is very important to the elderly woman. She chooses steamed buns, milk with oats, and eggs, and takes a multivitamin tablet after the meal.
After that, she insists on reading books, newspapers, and watching TV every day. “I never miss the news broadcast, health programs, or health magazines.”
For lunch, she doesn’t have any particular preferences, but she likes her rice to be a bit softer.
After lunch, she had a habit she kept up for over 30 years—drinking two liangs (about 100 ml) of red wine. Zhang Shaoping said, “Mom just loved the taste. She used to buy it, but later we made it at home.” However, more than three years ago, she had gastrointestinal bleeding, and since then she has only had a little occasionally.
After drinking, she would usually take an afternoon nap.
She eats less for dinner. After resting a bit, she goes to bed before 9 p.m. Zhang Shaoping also mentioned that none of her teeth have fallen out, and she loves eating peanuts.
Her past stories>>>
Patients always say my injections don’t hurt
This year marks the 120th anniversary of Chengdu Second People’s Hospital. The younger generations specially gave the elderly woman an internal publication called Century of Benevolence. One chapter in it tells the story of the hospital rescuing Hu Deming, Chengdu’s first patient with extensive burns. Pu Yunde was one of the patient’s special caregivers at the time.
When she flipped to this page, the elderly Pu Yunde looked at the photo and said, “I used to wear clothes like this when I worked at the hospital.”
Her specialty was public health. She recalled that she initially worked in health and epidemic prevention at the Ministry of Health, around the 1950s. Because her husband was in Chengdu, she came to work as a nurse at this hospital until she retired. The elderly woman chatted animatedly with the reporter, “Back when I was a nurse at the hospital, patients all liked to ask me to give them injections. They all said my injections didn’t hurt.”
Character Profile>>> Great-grandchild is 100 years apart from her
Pu Yunde, aged 101, is the oldest retired nurse at Chengdu Second People’s Hospital. She has four children, one granddaughter, one grandson, one granddaughter from her daughter-in-law’s side, one grandson from her son-in-law’s side, and two great-grandchildren. In her joyful four-generation family, the oldest great-grandchild is exactly 100 years younger than her.