Student volunteers in Jiangxi guide runners with visual impairments, helping them build confidence, independence and lasting friendships through the shared power of running.
When Zhang Hongying first put on a blindfold to experience what it is like to be blind, she froze, her heart racing.
"I couldn't take a single step. There's an instinctive fear when you face the unknown," she recalled.
At the time, Zhang was training as a new volunteer with the Red Stars Charity Program, an initiative based in Ji'an, Jiangxi province, which supports runners who are blind or have low vision. Now 20, Zhang has been volunteering with the program for a year. Every Sunday morning, she joins a group of runners in a riverside park in Ji'an.
Before working with participants, volunteers complete a three-week guide-running course, including one session conducted entirely in darkness.
As a dental student, Zhang had had little contact with people with vision loss. At first, she assumed her role would be straightforward: point out obstacles and give clear directions so the runners could focus on their pace.
"But when I was plunged into darkness, I realized that these runners are placing not just their bodies, but their full trust in you," she said.
Hu Liang, the founder of Red Stars and an associate professor at Jinggangshan University (JGSU) in Jiangxi province, has visual impairment himself. Born to parents who were both completely blind, he developed severe myopia that gradually worsened until he could see little more than blurred shapes.
Hu said those years were extremely difficult until running helped him rebuild both his physical and mental strength. Later, when he learned that blind athletes at the Paralympic Games competed with the help of guide runners, he had a revelation: running could open new possibilities for people like him, who had lost their sight.
In 2022, Hu founded Red Stars. The name draws inspiration from the revolutionary history of the Jinggangshan area and symbolizes perseverance and hope. Most of the program's volunteers are JGSU students who come from all over China.
"They are like little stars, coming together to shine for a shared cause: supporting people with visual impairments," Hu said.
The program connects volunteers and runners through a guide rope — a sports neck gaiter twisted into a figure-eight.
"It's a clever design," said Chen Xinping, a runner who lost his sight in 2010. "If I drift off course, the rope tightens slightly and gently guides me back. It allows volunteers to lead us without taking over, so we can truly enjoy the run ourselves."
Before joining Red Stars, Chen rarely left home without the support of family members. But the program gave him the confidence to venture beyond his familiar surroundings.
Originally from Shangrao in Jiangxi province, Chen celebrated his 60th birthday in April by setting a personal record at a Red Stars event in Nanchang, the provincial capital, where he completed six kilometers.
"The lives of people with visual impairments are like a long march," Chen said. "Red Stars helped us find our starting point and take the first steps on a new journey."
