China volunteer directs traffic for decades after wife, kids, sister killed in car accidents
74-year-old man lost his wife, two sets of twins, sister in road accidents, processes grief for 36 years by keeping streets safe
Millions of social media users in China have been moved by a 74-year-old man who has spent the past 36 years directing the traffic in his home city after car accidents took the lives of his wife, sister and four children.
The tragic deaths in Zhang Aiqing’s family took place in Kunming, southwestern China’s Yunnan province.
His efforts in the years since their deaths has led him to be dubbed Kunming’s Good Samaritan by locals.
Many people grew up watching him voluntarily directing the traffic on the street outside the city’s Yan’an hospital. The traffic police knew him and let him help.
Zhang’s story went viral on social media, receiving 4 million views after key opinion leader (KOL) @yizhiguazier shared it.
A car accident took Zhang’s sister’s life in 1990. Six years later, another car accident killed his wife and their two pairs of twins.
