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ABOUT ME
Throughout high school, I’ve allowed one of the strengths I’m proudest of, curiosity, to wander free and uninhibited. I dedicate my time to exploring interdisciplinary questions at the intersection of academic fields like astronomy, linguistics, classics, mythology, art history, physics, and environmental science. I strive to make my own decisions and draw my own conclusions, with a focus on truth—no matter how difficult.
Carl Sagan, my role model as a science educator and humanities researcher, inspired me to become an active advocate in the DarkSky Movement, fusing my passion for Astronomy and Art History. In particular, I’m inspired by his ingenious design of the Voyager’s golden records, one of the most daring philosophical and scientific experiments and, in my opinion, the most poetic interpretation of human civilization. His usage of literature and documentaries in public education has also given me new insights into how to solve light pollution. |
Darksky Guardian
As an ardent advocate for the DarkSky Movement, I’ve been a close member of China’s first International DarkSky Community in Xichong, Shenzhen. For the past three years, I’ve frequently collaborated with the Shenzhen Astronomical Observatory as a student advocate, educating audiences, volunteering, and completing light pollution internships. I resonate with this community because it’s home to people who, despite their diverse backgrounds, all share my ambition. For the past seventeen years, I’ve lived in metropolitan areas where, whenever I look at the sky, I only see a glowing haze rather than stars. It pains me even more to realize how millions of future generations will live forever in this tragedy if I don’t do something. Therefore, I vow to bring back the unpolluted night sky back to the public memory of Shenzhen.
Through this experience, I’ve learned both how difficult it is to implement environmental protection measures, and also how entwined humans and nature are, making it impossible to sacrifice one for another. This also inspired me to approach dark sky advocacy from a new angle: since we can’t completely eradicate light pollution, I can raise public awareness of this issue and help shape a more self-aware community culture. As a result, I self-curated an art exhibition in Xichong about human interactions with the cosmos. By demonstrating the night sky as an invaluable asset in shaping individual identity and contributing to the overall development of human civilization, I hope to inspire residents to reduce their use of artificial lighting.
Through this experience, I’ve learned both how difficult it is to implement environmental protection measures, and also how entwined humans and nature are, making it impossible to sacrifice one for another. This also inspired me to approach dark sky advocacy from a new angle: since we can’t completely eradicate light pollution, I can raise public awareness of this issue and help shape a more self-aware community culture. As a result, I self-curated an art exhibition in Xichong about human interactions with the cosmos. By demonstrating the night sky as an invaluable asset in shaping individual identity and contributing to the overall development of human civilization, I hope to inspire residents to reduce their use of artificial lighting.
As a current high school student and a registered DarkSky Advocate, Xinyu founded and chaired the first student union in Shenzhen that dedicated to the DarkSky movement. She led 50 active members from several different schools to conduct regular advocacy on campus and in the surrounding community. Moreover, in 2024, Xinyu and her union collaborated with the Shenzhen Observatory to hold its first Dark Sky Week, inviting distinguished scholars to share their insight on local night sky conditions and pass on the spirit of environmentalism to younger generations. Additionally, Xinyu extended her passion for art to the realm of the dark sky, self-curating a touring exhibition that explored humans’ cosmic view and their subsequent behaviors towards the night sky from historical, philosophical, and theological perspectives. Starting in July 2024, Xinyu volunteers at the Communication Department of DarkSky International, working hard to promote the dark sky movement in China. |
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Astronomy
When I went to stargazing in New Zealand, I fell in love with astronomy initially not because of the celestial bodies’ meticulous movements, but the sheer beauty of star light as they shimmered above my head.
In the process of learning more about astronomy, I felt that, under the infinite spatial scale of the grand universe, human beings are small, lonely and helpless. Compared with the universe, human suffering is such an insignificant blip that, for this reason, we have to find meaning within our shot and tiny lives.
Like Art History, Astronomy and Astrophotography are made complete by their perfection and flaws. Because all original images taken by telescopes are black and white, there is never a correct way to visually present the nebulas. The same combination of filtered images can result in completely different outcomes from astrophotographers’ unique interpretation of the universe and diverse process techniques of their works. Even the visual image noise is preserved to portray the authentic imperfection of the universe. Flaws and focus together help piece out a blurred yet authentic image of the objective universe that continues to sharpen with new insights and discoveries.
For me, the universe is a canvas colored by every individual’s imagination. The beauty of astronomy and art lies in this ongoing dialogue between objective reality and subjective interpretation, a dialogue that I hope to keep expanding as I journey further into both fields.
In the process of learning more about astronomy, I felt that, under the infinite spatial scale of the grand universe, human beings are small, lonely and helpless. Compared with the universe, human suffering is such an insignificant blip that, for this reason, we have to find meaning within our shot and tiny lives.
Like Art History, Astronomy and Astrophotography are made complete by their perfection and flaws. Because all original images taken by telescopes are black and white, there is never a correct way to visually present the nebulas. The same combination of filtered images can result in completely different outcomes from astrophotographers’ unique interpretation of the universe and diverse process techniques of their works. Even the visual image noise is preserved to portray the authentic imperfection of the universe. Flaws and focus together help piece out a blurred yet authentic image of the objective universe that continues to sharpen with new insights and discoveries.
For me, the universe is a canvas colored by every individual’s imagination. The beauty of astronomy and art lies in this ongoing dialogue between objective reality and subjective interpretation, a dialogue that I hope to keep expanding as I journey further into both fields.
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Art
While Astronomy constantly reminds me how insignificant and peripheral humans are in the cosmic background, Art History recurringly demonstrates how humans can become the creators of their own universes. Even if it’s just a fleeting moment in the astronomical scale of time, they can still leave indelible spiritual and artistic legacies for future generations.
When I visited the Roman/Greek sculpture room in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I cried when I realized that these sculptures represented lives of real people that once walked on earth just like me.
Drawn by an immense enthusiasm for Museums, Curation, and Art History, I currently volunteer as an exhibition guide at Shenzhen’s Museum of Contemporary Art & Urban Planning. Throughout my hundreds of hours there, the museum has become my intellectual palace, where I collaborate with people from different genders, ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic demographics united in a shared love and ambition to preserve and safeguard this oasis.
When I visited the Roman/Greek sculpture room in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I cried when I realized that these sculptures represented lives of real people that once walked on earth just like me.
Drawn by an immense enthusiasm for Museums, Curation, and Art History, I currently volunteer as an exhibition guide at Shenzhen’s Museum of Contemporary Art & Urban Planning. Throughout my hundreds of hours there, the museum has become my intellectual palace, where I collaborate with people from different genders, ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic demographics united in a shared love and ambition to preserve and safeguard this oasis.
CYPT（China Young Physicists’ Tournament）
In the 2024 China Young Physicists’ Tournament (CYPT), our team received Super Gold—a ranking even higher than First Prize—and marched into the ultimate final. I even entered the interview selection process for the IYPT China team as the top 2 commentator (a side in debating) among all 162 debaters.
I was impressed by how many insightful, well-rounded, and thought-provoking physics questions were incorporated into a debate contest. During the competition, we had to listen carefully to our opponents, take comprehensive notes, communicate strategies with our teammates, and discover loopholes in opposing arguments, all while compiling our own presentation in roughly twenty minutes. Although physics isn’t included in the realm of humanities, this contest required high concentration, cohesive team cooperation, well-developed expressive skills, and the spirit of daring curiosity and skepticism towards every detail—all skills essential for a true humanities scholar.
During CYPT, I had the opportunity to meet outstanding students whose intelligence and competitive spirit rivaled—and often surpassed—my own. I loved engaging in rigorous academic debates and clashes of ideas with them. As fierce and intensely as we rivaled onstage, our rivalry immediately thawed into friendships once we stepped off it—cheerfully sharing our theoretical and experimental results and discussing our onstage performances so we could improve in the future.
I was impressed by how many insightful, well-rounded, and thought-provoking physics questions were incorporated into a debate contest. During the competition, we had to listen carefully to our opponents, take comprehensive notes, communicate strategies with our teammates, and discover loopholes in opposing arguments, all while compiling our own presentation in roughly twenty minutes. Although physics isn’t included in the realm of humanities, this contest required high concentration, cohesive team cooperation, well-developed expressive skills, and the spirit of daring curiosity and skepticism towards every detail—all skills essential for a true humanities scholar.
During CYPT, I had the opportunity to meet outstanding students whose intelligence and competitive spirit rivaled—and often surpassed—my own. I loved engaging in rigorous academic debates and clashes of ideas with them. As fierce and intensely as we rivaled onstage, our rivalry immediately thawed into friendships once we stepped off it—cheerfully sharing our theoretical and experimental results and discussing our onstage performances so we could improve in the future.
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Volunteer Sponsor
When I visited a student of my mother’s friend, Huaqiang Zhong, in a remote mountainous region of Jiangxi Province, I was shocked by him and his family’s quality of life. Since they all suffered from severe disabilities, they lived in extreme poverty and discomfort.
At 5’8”, Zhong was not able to stand or touch the table, as his spine had been irreversibly and painfully contorted from an illness. Despite the situation, he and his sister bent over their desks for countless hours, spending both days and nights attempting to improve their family’s situation. Motivated by their determination to change their destiny through education, I decided to use my allowance and annual red-pocket money to financially aid their studies, including buying textbooks and stationary for them.
Through my constant communication with Zhong and his family through WeChat, however, I learned that his experience was not uncommon; many of his classmates were left-behind children in the village, suffering from the same poverty. Without enough money to help all of them, I decided to fund two book drives at my school, calling students and parents from all grades to donate second-hand textbooks and money, and organizing several parents to help deliver donations. In the past two years, we’ve donated over 20,000 books and enough funds to build a school library, with each person contributing a small spark of kindness to kindle a huge blazing fire that lights up these children’s education. This initiative not only improved education access and equity, but also gave these books new significance, as they were passed down to generations of new owners.
Although I’ve been assisting Huaqiang Zhong and his family through my savings and internship salaries, these are insignificant compared to what I’ve learned from him. His immeasurable desire for knowledge and his effort to fulfill his dream constantly inspires me.
At 5’8”, Zhong was not able to stand or touch the table, as his spine had been irreversibly and painfully contorted from an illness. Despite the situation, he and his sister bent over their desks for countless hours, spending both days and nights attempting to improve their family’s situation. Motivated by their determination to change their destiny through education, I decided to use my allowance and annual red-pocket money to financially aid their studies, including buying textbooks and stationary for them.
Through my constant communication with Zhong and his family through WeChat, however, I learned that his experience was not uncommon; many of his classmates were left-behind children in the village, suffering from the same poverty. Without enough money to help all of them, I decided to fund two book drives at my school, calling students and parents from all grades to donate second-hand textbooks and money, and organizing several parents to help deliver donations. In the past two years, we’ve donated over 20,000 books and enough funds to build a school library, with each person contributing a small spark of kindness to kindle a huge blazing fire that lights up these children’s education. This initiative not only improved education access and equity, but also gave these books new significance, as they were passed down to generations of new owners.
Although I’ve been assisting Huaqiang Zhong and his family through my savings and internship salaries, these are insignificant compared to what I’ve learned from him. His immeasurable desire for knowledge and his effort to fulfill his dream constantly inspires me.
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Sports
As a rower for over four years, I love how it encourages mindfulness—while rowing, I can cast all my thoughts and anxieties aside. In my position on the team, I face backwards, towards the boat’s rear. Therefore, during rowing, I can only derive how close I am to my destination based on the relative movement of the landscape that I have left behind. This is just like real life. I don’t know how close I am to my destination; I only know how far I’ve moved from where I started. I anticipate what may come based on what I’ve learned from the past.
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In 2023, the DarkSky Guardian I founded at Shenzhen Middle School designed and produced a series of starry night-themed postcards to raise funds through sales. This is the most popular one, inscribed with the words: "The starry sky, humanity's ultimate romance." |