According to an October 24 announcement on the official WeChat account of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the university received a special donation just before its anniversary celebration: 1,440 grams of gold.
The donor is Gu Xianjue, a 1953-class alumnus of the instrumentation program, who is now 91 years old.
The gold donated by Gu Xianjue. Image source: The university's WeChat account.
In the autumn of 1953, Gu Xianjue carried an old suitcase from Wuhu, Anhui Province, to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, and walked through the gates of NUAA.
After graduating, she went to Shenyang Factory 119 (an aviation instrument factory). In the early winter of 1958, as one of 17 elite employees at the factory, she went to Beijing to take part in building Asia's largest aviation instrument factory — Factory 232 (Beijing Qingyun Aviation Instrument Co., Ltd.).
Gu Xianjue in her youth. Image source: The university's WeChat account.
After retiring, Gu Xianjue was rehired by the China Academy of Railway Sciences and Times Company, where she continued standardization work, reviewed technical documents, and trained employees at all levels in standardization knowledge. She only truly retired after training a successor for the company.
She compiled and published the Concise Standard Manual for Aviation Instrument Product Design, participated in the formulation and revision of multiple aviation industry standards, and received a fourth-class award for major scientific and technological achievements from the Ministry of Aviation Industry.
Before the university's anniversary celebration in 2010, Gu Xianjue (second from left) visited her alma mater. Image source: The university's WeChat account.
In 2023, Gu Xianjue donated her lifetime collection of treasures to the Wuhu City Museum without compensation. In 2026, she also donated 1,440 grams of gold to her alma mater.
In her heart, her hometown is the native land that raised her, while her alma mater is the starting point of her career in serving the country through aviation. She saved these 1,440 grams of gold over a lifetime. When she was young, she converted the money she saved into gold. Over decades, she accumulated this heavy-hearted gift.
"Keeping these things by my side is not as good as giving them to places that need them more," she said. "I have long been away from the front lines of society, but NUAA has a bright future, and I believe the university will certainly make good use of this fund."
University leaders visited Gu Xianjue's home to see and comfort her. Image source: The university's WeChat account.
Public information shows that Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and is located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The university was founded in October 1952 and is one of the first batch of aviation higher education institutions established by New China.
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