Ahead of its anniversary celebration, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics received a special donation: 1,440 grams of gold. The donor is Gu Xianjue, a member of the Class of 1953 in the Instrumentation program, who is now 91 years old.
In the fall of 1953, Gu Xianjue carried an old suitcase from Wuhu, Anhui Province, to Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, and walked through the gates of the university. After graduation, 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 was sent to Beijing to help build Asia's largest aviation instrument factory — Factory 232 (Beijing Qingyun Aviation Instrument Co., Ltd.).
After retiring, Gu Xianjue was rehired by the China Academy of Railway Sciences and Time Company, where she continued working on standardization, reviewing technical documents, and training 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.
Ahead of the 2010 anniversary celebration, Gu Xianjue (second from left) returned to her alma mater for a visit. In 2023, she donated her lifetime collection of treasures to the Wuhu City Museum free of charge. In 2026, she donated 1,440 grams of gold to her alma mater. In her heart, her hometown is the land that raised her, while her alma mater is the starting point of her career in serving the country through aviation.
Gu Xianjue accumulated these 1,440 grams of gold over a lifetime. When she was young, she converted her savings into gold. Over decades, she built up this weighty token of affection. "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 the university has a bright future, and I believe the school will make good use of this fund."
University leaders visited Gu Xianjue at her home to express their care and appreciation. She left the decision to the school and also entrusted her hopes to the younger generation. This gesture is not just about the gold itself, but about the trust an elderly woman accumulated over a lifetime. She believes the university will make good use of the donation and that its young people will walk the road ahead well.
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