Pic story: Senior woman's love for farmland and deceased husband

With one hand scooping holes and the other one sowing seeds, Zhang insists on farming despite her age.

"Everywhere in our village looks so clean and vivid. This land would look bad with weeds if I don't plant something here," said Zhang.

She has lived as a widow for over half a century in this village. Zhang's husband died at 31, when Zhang herself was not yet 30. She refused to remarry, and decided to take care of herself and four children.

Life was tough, but she was tougher. Zhang's children, now grown up, are all doing well at their jobs. And what makes Zhang even prouder is her grandsons studying for their master's degrees.

Still, she is unwilling to leave the land she's relied on her entire life, and the memory that has accompanied her all these years – a faded photograph of the young and radiant face of her husband.