Bao Shirui (right) tutors Yu Xiaonan in English at her home in Hefei, Anhui province, on May 28. GUO RUQI/XINHUA

July 18, 2024 -- Yu Xiaonan, a visually impaired student from Hefei, Anhui province, celebrated tearfully after being accepted by Anhui University of Arts on Monday.

Her acceptance, after a grueling second attempt at the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, marks a significant milestone for Yu, who has defied limitations throughout her life.

Yu's journey to higher education, where she will pursue a major in musical performance, has been fraught with challenges. Born in 2005 with congenital eye disease, her best-corrected vision remains extremely limited.

Last July and August, she went to Beijing with her family for two surgeries, which, while alleviating the pain, did not restore her vision.

From her earliest memories, the world was a blurry image, her mother, Sun Ru'ao, said.

"She would run around home, playing games and laughing, but in the dead of night, my husband and I would toss and turn, worrying about her future," she said.

To ensure Yu could attend school, her parents made inquiries and discovered the Hefei Special Education Center could accept blind students. The family then decided to move from Bengbu to Hefei in 2011.

As Yu cannot see sheet music, Sun became her daughter's exclusive assistant at home.

Because of her sensitive hearing and incredible memory, Yu was able to memorize every section of music played by her teachers, her mother or on the phone, and repeatedly practiced playing them.

"The piano is very important to me," she said. "Sometimes when I'm alone at home, it's the only companion that will listen to me pour out my heart.

"My thoughts are reflected in the pieces I play, giving me a kind of invisible comfort."

Sun said her daughter's journey to the college entrance exams was exceptionally arduous.

"A question that an ordinary child could answer in a few paragraphs or lines might require her to write on a whole page, or even several pages, in Braille," Sun said.

"What surprised me was that she did not resent her daily studies, but instead persisted and persisted."

After the gaokao, Yu had a long talk with a blind best friend who she met at the school but who now works at a local massage parlor.

Despite choosing different paths, the friend said she believed Yu was brave for taking the examination twice, and for persistently pursuing her dream.

Bao Shirui, a third-year English major at Anhui University, said she had learned about Yu's story through media reports and volunteered to tutor Yu in English.

After learning about her admission, Yu immediately shared the good news with friends and teachers.

Looking ahead, Yu aspires to become a special education teacher, using her experiences to empower others facing similar challenges.

"A weight has been lifted off my shoulders," Yu said with a smile, already looking forward to her university life.

The Ministry of Education provided specialized Braille test papers to 80 visually impaired gaokao candidates this year.

At least three have been admitted to arts colleges, according to media reports.

The other two are Ma Cheng from Jiangsu province, who was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and Wang Yagi from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, who was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music.