In a quiet neighbourhood of Changsha, China, a small grocery shop has been a beacon of light for more than a decade.
Photo via South China Morning Post
Its owner, 60-year-old Sun Meihua, is known to locals as the “street light aunty”, a nickname she has earned for a simple but powerful gesture she has kept up every single night for the past 13 years.
The habit began in 2012, when a group of young women told her that the light outside her shop made them feel safer walking home late from work. From that moment on, Sun decided she would never switch it off at night. She even pushed her shop’s closing time to 2am, sometimes escorting timid girls home herself.
But her acts of care do not end there. Inside her shop, a landline phone sits by the counter, free for anyone in the neighbourhood to use. Elderly residents, unfamiliar with mobile phones, and children, who are not allowed to bring their devices to school, often use it to call their families. The phone is used so often that she replaces it every year, without complaint.
She also keeps spare keys for neighbours at no cost, a small service that has become a big reassurance for those living nearby. “I trust Meihua,” one elderly woman said, explaining how Sun is the first person she turns to whenever she needs help.
Photo via South China Morning Post
For Sun, who has lived in the neighbourhood with her husband for more than 20 years, this generosity is personal. There was a time when they faced financial struggles and relied on their neighbours’ support. Her kindness now, she says, is simply her way of giving back.
“I just want to help those in need,” Sun says. In doing so, she has turned her little shop into a safe haven where the light never goes out.
