Triple Threat: Quanzhou Triplets Sisters Achieve Unprecedented Feat, Accepted to Fuzhou University Together

Recently, at the Hong Family Temple in Yingdu, Nan’an, the Nan’an Yingdu Education Foundation issued scholarships to outstanding students. Among them, three sisters who looked exactly the same became the focus of the whole audience. They are the triplets Hong Yilan, Hong Qilan, and Hong Shenglan from Yingdong Village, Yingdu Town. They were born in 2005 and have studied in the same kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, and high school since childhood. After the college entrance examination this year, they originally applied for different colleges in different provinces, but unexpectedly they were admitted to the same 211 university, Fuzhou University. “This is a magical fate.” Their mother Hong Yashuang said, “The names of the three sisters are also carefully chosen. The three characters in the middle of the names are homophonic to ‘born together’ and ‘win together’.”

The triplets received scholarships from the Yingdu Education Fund in their hometown

No one should be left behind at birth

The name is full of beautiful meaning

At the scholarship distribution site, the three sisters wore clothes and shoes of similar but not identical styles, showing their different “personalities”. After receiving the scholarships from their hometown, the sisters, who have lived in Xiamen since childhood, expressed their gratitude. “Thank you for your hometown’s attention to our studies.” The eldest sister, Hong Yilan, said that she hopes to achieve academic success in the future and give back to her hometown.

The close relationship between the three reminded Ms. Hong of their childhood. In 2005, when the prenatal checkup revealed that they were identical triplets, the doctor suggested that Ms. Hong reduce the number of fetuses for the safety of mother and child. “I finally decided to give birth to all three,” said Ms. Hong. Pregnant with triplets was much harder than pregnant with a single baby. Her belly grew very fast. In the late pregnancy, she could not lie straight or sideways, and could only sleep half-leaning. In the last month of pregnancy, I had to breathe oxygen morning and night, so their father rented an oxygen tank. In September, the baby was born safely, one month earlier than the normal due date.

Image source: Strait Education News Quanzhou Online

When choosing names, Ms. Hong consulted her primary school teacher and decided on Yilan, Qilan and Shenglan. “In addition to the homophonic sounds of ‘born together’ and ‘win together’,” she said, “if you look closely, the middle characters of their names also contain the characters ‘big’, ‘two’ and ‘three’. Each character has a different meaning, and the three characters together are homophonic to ‘win the first prize in one fell swoop’ and ‘win the first victory’. The character lan means ‘the disciple is better than the master’.”

Self-discipline and independence since childhood

Sisters and mentors

The three sisters, whose names are full of good wishes from their parents, have been self-disciplined and independent since childhood. When the three sisters were young, their grandparents took care of them more because their husband and wife were busy with work. Their grandmother taught them to recognize words, draw, and count, which provided a good enlightenment. “When they were young, they spent most of their time drawing and reading. There were many books at home, and we let them draw on the walls as they pleased without any restrictions.” Ms. Hong recalled that they also liked to sing. When they were in the sixth grade, they participated in the performance of the Minnan nursery rhyme “The Moon and the Moon” at the evening party of the Xiamen BRICS Leaders’ Meeting and the Dialogue of Emerging Market Countries and Developing Countries held at the Minnan Grand Theater in Xiamen, which left a deep impression on the audience. The hobbies of drawing, reading and singing have been maintained since childhood.

“In terms of study, the three sisters compete with each other, help each other, and surpass each other.” Ms. Hong said that the three sisters were in the same school and class from kindergarten to junior high school, and they were in different classes in high school because of different subject selections. After each exam, they would rank themselves, the one who ranked last would review, and the one who ranked first would take the initiative to help the sisters improve their grades. “At school, I focus on studying, and at home, I focus on playing.” Because the three of them look very similar, sometimes family members who haven’t seen each other for a long time can’t tell them apart, and teachers and classmates at school will mistake them for each other. In this regard, the three of them have long been accustomed to it, and sometimes they will make the best of a bad situation to resolve unnecessary embarrassment.

Like other siblings, they also have conflicts, but they will make up soon. “When we are at home, the three of us sleep together. When we were in high school boarding school, we would secretly go to sleep together.” Yilan said that they have their own friends, but the three sisters are each other’s best friends. When they are under great pressure from studying, they talk to each other and the pressure is relieved.

Have set goals before enrolling

Hometown Fund helps start the journey

In this year’s college entrance examination, the three scored 602, 605 and 590 points respectively. When filling out their applications, they each chose different colleges in Hunan, Shanghai and the province, and the ranking of their preferred colleges was also different. As a result, all three were admitted to Fuzhou University. Although they were admitted to the same college, their majors were very different, namely Information Management and Information Systems, International Economics and Trade, and Mineral Processing Engineering. The three have set the same goal – to obtain a master’s degree and make a study plan. Ms. Hong was not surprised to learn about their plans, “They have been worry-free since they were young. I hope that after entering university, they can continue to support each other and make progress together.”

Image source: Strait Education News Quanzhou Online

The three sisters went to college at the same time, and the family needed to spend a lot of money on education. In order to help reduce the family pressure and encourage the three sisters to study hard, the Yingdu Education Foundation gave each of them a scholarship of 10,000 yuan. “I hope they will continue to help each other and study hard in college, and make achievements in the future and contribute more to society.” Hong Zaishhuang, executive vice president of the Yingdu Education Foundation, introduced that since its establishment in 2008, the Yingdu Education Foundation has invested more than 5 million yuan. In previous years, more than 3.94 million yuan was used for awards and aids to nearly 1,000 students. This year, 5 students including the triplets were awarded a total of 38,000 yuan in scholarships and aids, and the Yingdu Chamber of Commerce jointly awarded teachers a total of 280,000 yuan, encouraging teachers and students to pursue excellence, helping outstanding students realize their dreams, and promoting the good style of respecting culture and education.