The story of Han Yifei from Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province, overcoming adversity to shine on stage with her graceful dances, is moving the Chinese online community. In her self-posted videos, she always appears with an eye patch or a mask, skillfully concealing the injuries caused by the malignant bone cancer.

Born in 2002, Han Yifei began learning dance at the age of four and became involved with sport dance from age eight. For her, dance is the purpose of life. Tragedy struck in 2019, just after she graduated from high school, when she noticed an unusual symptom in her gum area. However, the local hospital then diagnosed it as nothing serious. Days before enrolling in the Dance Performance major at Nanjing Arts Institute, Han Yifei's left cheek swelled. Specialist examination results in Beijing confirmed she had a malignant tumor in her left upper jaw (maxilla). Doctors immediately required surgery to remove the tumor and warned of a high risk of recurrence.

Han Yifei always uses an eye patch and wears a mask on stage. *Photo: Sina*

For the next two years, Han Yifei underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, along with surgery to remove her left upper jaw, and had a titanium mesh implanted to support her facial muscles and eyeball. However, the cancer cells soon returned, taking away the vision in her left eye. More seriously, the facial muscle area suffered severe necrotic infection, forcing doctors to repeatedly take tissue from her lower abdomen and knee for compensatory grafts. After a series of major cellular surgeries and complication treatments, her body was completely exhausted. At that time, the medical team believed it would be difficult for her to walk normally.

Despite the illness relapsing four times within five years and not yet fully recovered, Han Yifei refused to surrender to fate. When her health improved, she returned to school, starting her training again from the smallest steps, combining physical therapy to stand firm, then run, and eventually return to dance. In the beginning, due to prolonged bed rest, Han Yifei's muscles had completely lost strength. The loss of vision also caused her to lose balance, especially when performing spinning movements. Nevertheless, whenever she had free time, Han Yifei would seclude herself in the practice room. The student confided that only when she immersed herself in dance could she forget all physical pain.

In 8/2024, the student had her first performance in Nanjing with a self-choreographed piece inspired by her own life. Since then, Han Yifei's reputation has extended beyond China to Malaysia.

Han Yifei and her mother (in pink shirt). *Photo: HK*

The student stated that her greatest support in overcoming adversity was her mother. When her daughter fell ill, the mother never gave up hope, taking her to major hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai, selling their house, and borrowing money everywhere to cover the expensive medical fees. Han Yifei recounted once wanting to give up because she did not want to be a burden on her family, but her mother's encouragement gave her strength. She recalled a time when she suffered a severe hemorrhage at midnight; her mother carried her on her back, running down five flights of stairs to reach the hospital.

Currently, although her condition is temporarily controlled, the student is still battling three facial ulcers due to severe antibiotic resistance. Nevertheless, she still feels fortunate to be able to stand on stage. Due to health limitations, Han Yifei can only dance for a maximum of just over one hour each day, making her goal of becoming a professional dancer or dance teacher unfeasible. Instead, she wants to become an inspiration, posting dance videos and earning money from this work to help her family. For the young woman, every scar on her body marks the ups and downs of her journey. She chooses to transform them into a source of strength for her next steps.

Han Yifei lying in a hospital bed with her face bandaged. *Photo: Sina*

Binh Minh (*According to SCMP, Sina, QQ*)