Zhao Xinying: Inspiring individuals

Best story: The one I wrote in January about Chinese students studying Arabic. I read a lot about the history of the language and its spread in China, and interviewed linguists, college teachers and students. Thanks to the background knowledge I had gained, I was able to draw a picture of how this ancient and mysterious language is being embraced by China.

Most interesting person: Zhao Xi, 25, suspended her doctoral studies at Colombia University in the United States and returned to Beijing and start a business selling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or drones, with two friends. As COO of their company and the only woman among the founding team, Zhao is full of energy, ambition and ideas. She is very different from most of the women I know who were born in the 1990s.

Most memorable reporting experience: I was in Southwest China's Guizhou province in early August to witness the installation of the reflectors on FAST, the world's largest radio telescope, located in Pingtang county, about 200 km from Guiyang, the provincial capital. The distance is not great, but the rugged, mountain roads meant it still took four hours for my colleague and I to make the trip by car.

Two hours into the interview, my colleague fell down a steep slope while taking some photos. Her leg hurt badly, but we were unable to call an ambulance because there was no mobile phone signal within 5 km. We had to suspend the interview and send her to the hospital in Guiyang. Fortunately, she had only strained a muscle.

Best quote: "Although we married young, as undergraduates, we are progressing and growing more mature as time goes by. Life is the best teacher, and it helps you to understand the meaning of marriage."

Fan Jingyu, 24, from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, who married her Brazilian boyfriend in 2013 while still at college. Now living and working in San Paulo, Brazil, Fan said love has helped her and her husband overcome many upsets and difficulties.