Heroic Mountaineer

(XINHUA)

Pan Duo, 75, the first woman to ascend the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, from its more dangerous northern face, passed away in Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, on March 31.

Born in Tibet Autonomous Region in 1939, Pan lost her father when she was 8 years old, and her mother raised the family alone. She said her hard life nurtured her strong body and will. At the age of 20, she joined the China Female Mountaineering Expedition.

In January 1974, Pan was elected as deputy captain of the China Mountaineering Expedition. On May 27, 1975, Pan, a mother of three children, reached the top of Mount Everest along with eight male expedition members.

Phenomenal Player

(XINHUA)

Golf prodigy Guan Tianlang received the Star of Hope award at an annual ceremony called You Bring Charm to the World—Chinese Influencing the World on March 29. The event was launched in 2006 by Phoenix TV to honor outstanding Chinese individuals and is jointly sponsored by a dozen of Chinese media organizations.

Born in October 1998, Guan qualified for the 2013 Masters Tournament when he won the 2012 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand. On April 12, 2013, at 14 years and 5 months of age, he became the youngest player to make the cut in PGA Tour history.

"Many countries in the world have national cemeteries for military personnel. As the military service is associated with the sacrifice of one's life, we must properly bury those sacrificing themselves for us."

Gong Fangbin, a professor at the National Defense University PLA China

"Discussions about the China Railway Corp.'s debts are mainly about the scale of its investment in high-speed rail, the main body of the corporation's investment. The high-speed rail network is our railway system's lifeline."

Zheng Xinye, a professor at the School of Economics, Renmin University of China

"The percentage of female senior managers in China is higher than the global average. Women hold 38 percent of corporate senior management positions in China, compared with an average of 24 percent globally."

Rose Zhou, partner of the Chinese branch of Grant Thornton, a global organization of independent audit, tax and advisory firms, talking about a survey conducted by her company

"We should strengthen the management on 'naked officials,' whose wives and children have moved abroad, by limiting the power to their positions. The Guangdong Provincial Government has taken the lead in this issue, which should be followed by other places."

Guo Yuanpeng, a netizen on People.com.cn

"Instead of maintaining the GDP growth above 7 or 8 percent, a focus should be placed on how to elevate the sales-output ratio of Chinese enterprises... Large state-owned enterprises should adapt themselves to customized production, so that their products can better meet market demand."

Huang Guoxiong, a professor at the School of Business, Renmin University of China, in an interview with Beijing Business Today