Millions of people across China mourn ‘Father of Hybrid Rice’ Yuan Longping

Yuan Longping at a rice field in Liande Village in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in August 2017. - IC

BEIJING (Global Times): Throughout Changsha in Central China's Hunan Province, the chrysanthemums that are used to send condolences were sold out. In front of Mingyangshan Funeral Home, more than 100,000 people lined up in the rain to lay flowers in memory of Yuan Longping, a renowned Chinese agronomist dubbed the "father of hybrid rice." The number of people continued to grow and stretched for several kilometres.

After the news that Yuan passed away on Saturday (May 22) at the age of 91, countless Changsha residents flocked to Xiangya Hospital to say a final goodbye to Yuan, as the hearse carrying his remains drove away. Along the motorway where the hearse passed, vehicles honked in mourning, and people gathered on the sidewalk shouting "Farewell! Grandpa Yuan!"