THERE is something about powerful men and the women who stand behind or beside them.
The saying: ‘Behind every successful man is a strong, wise and hardworking woman’ is true of most powerful men in the world.
Besides the said attributes, the package comes with beauty, ambiance, strong will, humility and determination.
And so it was with the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s wife, Madame Peng Liyuan as witnessed during her visit to Amai Grace Mugabe’s Children’s Home in Mazowe this week.
The Chinese First Lady was part of the Chinese delegation to Zimbabwe this week for the grand signing of the 12 deals that should see our economy recovering.
This visit, which has shaken the West, has not been just an ordinary visit.
Zimbabwe is the first African country that the current Chinese President and his wife have visited.
Amidst all the negative talk by Western media about the visit, it was an honour for the Chinese First Lady to make time and visit the children and donate to them.
She stood out as a humble and beautiful woman.
Her countenance shone and her skin and its radiance were captivating.
She was graceful and her voice was sweet as she sang along with the children a Chinese rhyme that the teachers employed at the Amai Mugabe School had taught the children.
There was no trace of pretence in her behaviour.
It was as though she reaffirmed the message of the children’s rhyme which highlighted the virtues of true friendship.
China has indeed been an all-weather friend to Zimbabwe.
She repeatedly told the children how beautiful they were.
Not many orphanages or children’s homes are able to provide such love and resources for orphaned children and taking on 90 of them can be a mammoth task.
But Amai Dr Grace Mugabe has managed to give these children what many ordinary families are failing to provide for their own children.
In her speech, Madame Peng Liyuan said she was happy to see the children being well looked after and would help make sure the dream continues.
“I am so encouraged to see the children growing so healthily in the care of Mama Grace Mugabe,” she said.
“Although there is a great distance between the two countries, our hearts are linked together and our children have a beautiful dream and we will make sure we do what we can to help you realise your beautiful dream.
“I am looking forward to seeing you again in the future.”
As a token of appreciation, Madame Peng handed over a donation of educational materials worth over 1 million RMB (US$160 000).
Amai Dr Mugabe described the home as the place where: “The children have love and a home where they are safe.
“It is your brothers and sisters from China who have helped me put up this place and this is what they have done for the Zimbabwean people.
“I will cherish this help and the support we continue to receive from them.
“I thank you for coming to give my children love.”
The Amai Grace Mugabe Children’s Home was established in 2007 and currently has 30 houses providing shelter to 90 children.
Other projects on site include a primary school which has a capacity for 1 000 pupils.
All this has been with the help of the Chinese people and government.
Born November 20 1962, Madame Peng Liyuan is a renowned Chinese contemporary folk singer and performing artiste.
She is president of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Art.
In 2014, she was listed as the 57th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine.
Madame Peng Liyuan is a native of Yuncheng County, Shandong province.
She joined the People’s Liberation Army in 1980 when she was 18 and began as an ordinary soldier, but with her vocal talent she later performed during frontline tours to boost troop morale during the Sino-Vietnamese border conflicts.
Madame Peng first performed nationally and came to fame during the earliest rendition of the CCTV New Year’s Gala in 1982, when she performed ‘On the plains of hope’.
She has been married to Chinese President Xi for over 25 years.
They have a daughter named Xi Mingze born in 1992 and nicknamed Xiao Muzi.
For the greater part of their relationship, Madame Peng has had a considerable reputation within China, comparable to that of her politician husband.
Madame Peng gained popularity as a soprano singer from her regular appearances on the annual CCTV New Year’s Gala, a widely viewed mainland Chinese television programme that airs during the Chinese New Year.
She has won many honours in singing competitions nationwide.
Her most famous singles include ‘People from our village’, ‘Zhumulangma’ and ‘In the field of hope’.
She also sang the theme songs of several popular TV series, like The Water Margin (1998).
She was a civilian member of China’s People’s Liberation Army and held the civilian rank equivalent to major general before she was appointed the Art Academy’s dean, upon which she was given the formal rank.
She was the first in China to obtain a Master’s Degree in traditional ethnic music when the degree was established in the 1980s.
Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan is indeed the strong, wise and hardworking woman behind the successful man, Chinese President Xi.