Lei Jufang: Pioneering the Tibetan Medicine Industry in Western China—Shining Brilliance on the Plateau

　　According to a report by Xinhua Net’s Gansu Channel (reporter Zhang Wenjing), Lei Jufang, a woman from Longyuan who hails from Lintao in Gansu, has forged a unique Tibetan medicine industry in the western region with her simplicity and resilience. Now well into her “ninth decade,” she continues her relentless pursuit, diligently cultivating and dedicating herself to the fertile lands of the vast western frontier.

　　For more than a decade, Lei Jufang, Chairwoman of Gansu Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Group, has consistently upheld the values of “doing good for others and pursuing righteousness in both business and life.” While continuously expanding her company, she has integrated the word “public welfare” into her business endeavors, gradually realizing her dream of developing a national enterprise and giving back to society.

　　Lei Jufang, 57 years old this year, began working at the Institute of Modern Physics in Lanzhou, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1978.

　　Ten years later, in response to the national call for scientific and technological personnel to head into the economic frontline, she ventured into entrepreneurship and founded an institute for industrial pollution research.

　　In 1992, driven by an extraordinary spirit of adventure, she once again set out alone for Tibet, embarking on a completely different chapter in her life. In 1995, Lei Jufang led Qizheng Tibetan Medicine to take root and flourish in the Tibetan region, bringing not only wealth but also widespread public benefits to the snow-covered plateau.

　　From a science and technology worker to a businesswoman, in Lei Jufang’s own words, she is an idealist. Her spirit of exploration and her desire to serve others and contribute to society have driven her from the laboratory to the marketplace, inspiring her to embrace Tibetan medicine—a cultural tradition dedicated to benefiting the masses.

　　“Wealth belongs to society—and even more so, it belongs to the masses,” said Lei Jufang.

　　In 1995, when a delegation of Chinese private enterprises organized by the China Guangcai Program visited Tibet, Lei Jufang was deeply moved by the Guangcai Program’s philosophy of balancing profit with public welfare. Thus, she planted the seeds of the China Guangcai Program in Tibet for the first time.

　　When Qizheng Tibetan Medicine invested in and built a factory in Linzhi, Tibet, it recruited four batches of local ethnic minority people with disabilities over several years, thereby alleviating the employment challenges faced by the local government. Today, these employees with disabilities have become the economic mainstay of their families, and the Guangcai Project has enabled them to regain their dignity and live with purpose.

　　When it comes to addressing the challenge of employment difficulties faced by ethnic minority communities, Lei Jufang thinks more long-term. She believes that the future development of the Tibetan region is closely linked to its level of education.

　　“Cultivating talent is both a responsibility and an obligation. Only by nurturing talented individuals do I truly feel that I’ve made a meaningful contribution to the western region,” said Lei Jufang.

　　In 2004, she founded a public-benefit school for traditional Tibetan medicine in Tibet. Today, the first cohort of students has already graduated, and their services in Tibetan areas have been widely recognized by local residents. During the Yushu disaster relief efforts, graduates of the school even traveled to Yushu to provide medical assistance, helping disaster victims alleviate their suffering.

　　In the process of establishing businesses across Gansu and Tibet, Lei Jufang has actively recruited Tibetan college students from well-known domestic institutions, stepping up efforts to cultivate multi-ethnic, versatile talents from Tibetan, Han, Hui, Monpa, and other ethnic groups. As a result, she has gradually developed a team of locally-rooted core employees.

　　Having been engaged in the Tibetan medicine sector for over a decade through the Guangcai Initiative, Lei Jufang has steadfastly upheld her altruistic commitment. From donating to build roads and supporting orphans and people with disabilities to actively participating in the Guangcai Initiative, she has established a sustainable mechanism within her own enterprise for continuously fulfilling social responsibilities.

　　In 2007, Lei Jufang established the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Foundation and systematically allocated a portion of its profits to public welfare initiatives. To date, Qizheng has cumulatively invested over 65 million yuan in the development of public welfare projects—including healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation—in western China and Tibetan areas.

　　As an entrepreneur from Gansu, Lei Jufang has never forgotten to do something for her hometown. In 2003, she built Qizheng’s third pharmaceutical factory in Yuzhong, a county designated as nationally impoverished. Compared to building the factory in other more developed regions, locating it in Yuzhong meant that Qizheng had to invest an additional 6 million yuan each year. Today, Qizheng’s pharmaceutical factory in Yuzhong has become one of the region’s major economic drivers.

　　However, Lei Jufang believes that the changes the West has brought her far outweigh her own efforts.

　　“Grateful to the West—because of the West, we’ve been able to nurture and preserve our diverse resources, cultures, and values, gaining inner wisdom that has brought us to where we are today,” she said. “Giving back to society is our greatest aspiration.”

　　More than a decade has passed, and Lei Jufang has composed a brilliant chapter of life with the philosophy of “altruism.” (End)