In 1990, in the remote mountainous area of Yinjiang, Guizhou, a dazzling new star was born, and Yang Kexin's name was like the brightest star in the night sky, which began to illuminate the world.
Since she was a child, she has been passionate about the twinkling stars in the night sky, and whenever a meteor breaks through the silent night sky, her kind grandfather always tells her that if you make a wish for a shooting star, it will come true.
The young Yang Kexin always waited with anticrisy for the arrival of the next meteor shower, and those stars shining in the sky became the most beautiful and precious memories of her childhood.
Perhaps it was from that time that Yang Kexin planted a seed of a dream in her heart - hoping to have a star of her own in the future.
Time flies, and with her excellent academic performance, Yang Kexin was finally admitted to the university of her dreams as she wished, and chose the ore major she loved without hesitation.
After graduating from university, she successfully became a representative of electrical equipment in coal mines.
In 2012, due to the need for career development, Yang Kexin was transferred to work in Hami, Xinjiang. It was this precious experience that allowed her to open a new chapter in her life in the beautiful countryside of Hami, and her unexpected encounter with a mysterious meteorite completely changed the trajectory of her life.
Yang Kexin was deeply attracted by the unique charm of meteorites, and she longed to have a meteorite of her own. The dream in my heart became extremely clear and firm at that moment.
After first encountering meteorites, Yang Kexin longed to have her first one. A friend invited her to go hunting in the Lop Nur area of Xinjiang, and she agreed without hesitation.
In this way, 22-year-old Yang Kexin embarked on a five-year "star-chasing journey".
In October 2012, Yang Kexin received a sincere invitation from Shi friends, hoping that she could go to Lop Nur for a meteor hunt together.
As a result, Yang devoted herself to various physical training and mastered the professional knowledge of finding and identifying meteorites. After thorough preparation, she and three experienced stone friends formed a small team, and at four o'clock in the morning, they were ready to set off for Lop Nur at dawn.
After arriving at the destination, Yang Kexin and the others quickly changed into heavy protective equipment and searched the vast land in an orderly manner with a metal detector in hand.
However, after several hours of unremitting efforts, the team still found nothing.
Until noon and night, Yang Kexin still failed to find any clues, and returned disappointed empty-handed. This is undoubtedly a difficult task like finding an embroidery needle in the vast sea, and Yang Kexin feels extremely lost and almost wants to give up.
When she was frustrated with the team, her teammates suddenly drove by, leaving her alone in the deserted Gobi.
As night fell, wild beasts roamed around, coupled with the huge temperature difference, Yang Kexin was almost in a desperate situation Faced with the sudden predicament, she resolutely raised her head, decided to wait patiently for rescue, and leaned on the rocks around her to find a trace of comfort.
Just as the last touch of sunset dissipated, the teammates finally returned and found Yang Kexin behind the rock. After a night's rest and adjustment, the next day the group embarked on a new journey.
On the vast Gobi Desert, Yang Kexin was lucky enough to find the first meteorite in her life, and this "star" weighing about 20 grams made her excited and cried with joy.
Since then, Yang Kexin's love for meteorites has been as passionate as a volcanic eruption. Whether in the depths of Lop Nur, or in the Mangya and Taklamakan Deserts, she has left a firm footprint.
Despite the difficulties of fierce winds, scorching sun, and strayed into sand dunes, these dangers did not stop her determination to pursue the stars, and in the past five years, Yang Kexin has collected more than 600 meteorites with a total weight of more than 400 kilograms.
Although the process was full of hardships, the final harvest was so rich.
In 2017, due to the transfer of work, Yang Kexin had to say goodbye to everyone in Hami and return to his hometown Guizhou with precious meteorite treasures.
At this moment, the meteorite market is extremely hot, and the price is rising rapidly. It has been learned that the price of a gram of meteorite has reached an astonishing 10,000 yuan! A veteran collector even offered a high price of 40 million yuan in an attempt to buy the black and green meteorite in Yang Kexin's hands.
This astronomical sum will undoubtedly bring a huge change in wealth to Yang Kexin.
However, in the face of this tempting "olive branch", Yang Kexin was unmoved. She never made the pursuit of profiteering her goal, but was deeply attracted by the scientific research value and profound cultural heritage contained in meteorites.
Therefore, long before returning to her hometown, she had selflessly donated part of the meteorite to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, hoping to contribute to the motherland's aerospace industry.
At this moment, holding these rare and precious meteorite collections in his hands, Yang Kexin deeply realized that it is necessary to find the most suitable home for them and maximize the endless value they contain!
Yang Kexin's belief is unwavering, and in June 2017, the 27-year-old "meteorite hunter" founded the premier meteorite culture science museum in southwest China in Guizhou, and personally served as the curator.
She made it clear that the museum will always be open to the public free of charge, without paying any entrance fees.
In order to provide more professional and in-depth explanation services for tourists who come to visit, Yang Kexin specially invited 5 experts with profound knowledge of meteorites to serve as commentators.
She tirelessly spreads the meteorite culture, and hopes to let more people in the society understand the meteorite, especially those young people who are full of curiosity and innovative spirit, Yang Kexin hopes that they can stimulate a strong interest in learning in the journey of exploring meteorites and contribute to the motherland's aerospace industry.
However, this road to public welfare has not been easy. To properly place more than 600 meteorites, it is urgent to build a science museum, but Yang Kexin cannot afford the high site rent and upfront operating costs.
In order to achieve her dream, she had to come up with a down payment that she had planned to use to buy a house, and ask friends and family for the rest.
After unremitting efforts, Yang Kexin finally found a warm home for these precious meteorites on the land of Guizhou. However, the road ahead remains challenging.
Due to the lack of funds in the museum, she had to look around for part-time opportunities outside of work, while selling some meteorite artifacts in the museum to maintain daily operations.
"Life is a blend of reality and ideals, and we need to find a balance in it. Yang Kexin said with emotion. Despite the embarrassment of life, her love and dedication to the cause of popular science have never wavered.
With the passage of time, the Meteorite Science Museum has gradually won the attention and love of more and more people, and many enthusiastic people have generously donated to the precious meteorite collection, and the local government has also given regular financial support.
Time flies like a white horse, and five years have passed in a blink of an eye. Yang Kexin has always maintained that enthusiasm for science and spared no effort to devote herself to the cause of science popularization.
She traveled all over the motherland, went to the campus to give free lectures on meteorite knowledge to the students, actively introduced cutting-edge and advanced testing equipment, in order to explore the rich scientific connotation of meteorites at a deeper level, and carefully planned a variety of activities so that the general public had the opportunity to experience the unique charm of meteorites.
It is precisely because of Yang Kexin's unswerving determination that the meteorite science museum, which could only exist in dreams, has now grown vigorously and become a dazzling local science pearl.
Yang Kexin's pursuit of her dreams has never stopped. Today, at the age of 32, she is still working hard to realize her grand wish of "having a star", and hopes to attract more people to join this great cause.
"If someone asks me, how should young people spend their youth? I will answer without hesitation, to fight bravely, to fight unremittingly!" Yang Kexin's words were full of firm strength.
In her eyes, the younger generation should not be bound by money, fame and fortune, let alone blinded by it, but should have dreams and write their own wonderful life chapter with courage and practical actions.
Looking back on Yang Kexin's tortuous and bumpy life, her experience can be described as magnificent and vicissitudes. Born in a poor mountainous area, she was originally just an ordinary ore student.
However, fate made her indissoluble bond with the mysterious meteorite, and since then she has embarked on a new journey to find her own "star".
In the past five years, she has traveled alone through the vast Gobi Desert such as Lop Nur and Taklamakan desert, and has experienced various dangers such as violent storms, scorching sun exposure, and strayed into sand dunes, but she has always been firm in her belief and finally achieved fruitful results.
After collecting more than 600 meteorites, Yang Kexin could have become rich overnight like other meteorite hunters. However, she was not tempted by the immediate financial benefits, but turned these precious meteorites into seeds of hope and spread love through public welfare.
It is this spirit of persistent pursuit of dreams and selfless dedication that has won Yang Kexin the respect and love of all walks of life. We sincerely hope that she can continue to stick to her original intention, steadily advance her career, and finally realize the dream of "having a star".
In the face of such a young student as Yang Kexin, who is full of longing and fearless in pursuing his ideals, how can we not sincerely pay high respect to her? She has told her ardent pursuit of ideals with her unswerving actions, and has illuminated the depths of the hearts of countless people with a pure and flawless heart.
From the immature girl who is full of endless yearning for the bright stars, to the "meteorite hunter" who is now shouldering a heavy responsibility, and then to a practitioner who selflessly dedicates herself to public welfare, Yang Kexin's life journey has not been smooth sailing, but she has never chosen to give up and has always moved forward unswervingly.
We fervently hope that more people can be like Yang Kexin, bravely chase their dreams, not be confused by worldly financial interests, and use their practical actions to infect and warm the world.
Only by cherishing dreams and daring to work hard can our society be full of positive power and life can shine with dazzling light.