'Uncle Dwarf' stands tall pursuing booklover's dream

YINCHUAN - As the sun descends below the horizon and the light of the day slowly fades, several children remain buried in their books in a rural cultural center until "Uncle Dwarf" appears, telling them it is time to head home.

"Uncle Dwarf", or Wu Xuejun more formally, is the owner of the cultural center in Ganchengzi village in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Suffering from dwarfism and poliomyelitis, 50-year-old Wu has a baby face and stands no more than 1.3 meters tall.

Wu's cultural center, a two-story building on a sprawling plot of farmland, consists of a library with more than 5,000 books, a table tennis room and an activity room. It provides several entertainment and fitness devices including a Chinese chessboard and jump ropes for local villagers.

"Although I have disabilities, anything other people can do I can do just as well," said Wu.

Wu has loved reading since childhood. He dropped out of school after obtaining a middle school diploma. Since then, he has tried various jobs to make a living, such as licorice seller, deliveryman and customer service worker for an e-commerce platform.

He had saved some money after years of hard work, which he decided to spend fulfilling his dream -- helping more rural people to discover the joy of reading.

"Reading makes my mind strong, so I want to provide rural kids and the elderly with a venue where they can enjoy themselves spiritually," Wu said.

In 2013, he opened a cultural center and donated more than 600 books to the center's library with free access for the public. Supported by the local government and generous donors, the library has more books now, and receives new donations every two months.

The cultural center has become a multi-functional venue for local villagers, where they can read books, do exercises and attend art performances.

"It is silent here, not like my home. We can read, play badminton and draw pictures in the center. We all like coming here after school," said 13-year-old Tian Le.

On each World Book Day, Wu organizes reading and writing contests for students and buys watercolor pens and notebooks for them as prizes.

Liu Shiwen, a 60-year-old villager, is also a frequent visitor to Wu's cultural center. He and his five friends came here to perform shadow puppetry, a Chinese folk art known for its unique storytelling techniques via figures made from cowhide and an illuminated backdrop that creates the illusion of moving images.

"We have few hobbies except for shadow plays. We used to practice in my courtyard. Wu invited us to this spacious center, and now we have a bigger audience," Liu said.

As the cultural center is non-profit, Wu has to make ends meet by farming and raising sheep. In 2017, he opened a farm tool shop beside the cultural center.

"I finally closed the more profitable shop because I was too busy to keep these two jobs. When I saw kids waiting outside the cultural center full of curiosity and hope, I knew what was more meaningful," he said.