Xu Mingjie, a 28-year-old deaf man, has been recruited as a post-graduate student by the Environmental Art Department of Harbin Normal University in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Xu began losing his hearing ability when he was six, due to misuse of medication. He experienced enormous difficulties during his primary and middle school days.

In 1997, Xu began the undergraduate environmental art program at Harbin Normal, but by the third year, he lost his hearing ability completely and could not hear anything, even with the helpof a hearing aid. But he completed his university studies by reading the lips of his teachers.

In March 2002, his parents raised money for the medical treatment of their son. That year, Xu had an artificial cochlea implanted by doctors from the No. 2 Hospital attached to the Harbin Medical University.

While receiving medical treatment, Xu never stopped preparing for his post-graduate education.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2003)