She saved money to buy things for her family, such as a microwave oven and a refrigerator, or gifts for her brother, Zhao said.

Zhang Yingying's mother, Ye Lifeng, said her daughter was always ready to aid others. She wanted to assist those who were in poverty and in desperate need of help, and volunteered to teach in rural areas of China when she was in graduate school.

Hou, Zhang Yingying's boyfriend for eight years, said their relationship was "characterized by inspiring one another, mutual encouragement and continued support" and she had made him a better person.

When her murder was reported, the couple had been planning to marry four months later.

Wu said, "She told us a few days before she died that her professor had agreed to let her enter the PhD program, which was a great joy to her."

A friend of Zhang Yingying wrote anonymously in a pamphlet that was handed out at Friday's memorial service: "Do you still remember that we made a promise that we would attend each other's weddings, and have a close relationship with each other's family? I'm still waiting."

Megan Christine, who graduated from the University of Illinois last year, said, "Yingying sounds like a wonderful person-someone anyone would be lucky to consider a friend.

"I wish nothing but healing to her family. I believe that the soul lives on, especially when remembered so beautifully by those who loved it. I can only hope her soul has been called elsewhere to continue spreading love and light. Safe travels, Yingying," she said.

Parker, the Urbana resident, said, "When it comes down to it, millions of people who did or didn't know Yingying will miss her for all the right reasons.

"And we'll think of her when we see anything good that reminds us of her-the memorial garden and the mementos people leave there, beautiful birds singing, beautiful flowers blooming, the weeping spruce hedge."