Heroes from Everyday Life >> Long Mei & Yu Rong

On February 9, 1964, an exceptionally severe snowstorm ravaged the Wulanchabu Grassland in Inner Mongolia. Two young Mongolian sisters, Long Mei, who was 11 years old, and Yu Rong, who was 9, trudged 50 kilometers across the freezing plateau to take care of a herd of sheep. None of the sheep were lost in the devastating storm, which lasted an entire day. But the two little girls were frozen by the penetrating cold as the temperature plummeted to minus 37 Degree Celsius. They were discovered unconscious the following day. Long Mei lost the big toe off her left foot. Yu Rong was tragically left disabled after undergoing a surgery to amputate the lower parts of her legs. The girls were honored as the "Heroine Sisters of the Grassland".