"Lei Feng" is more than a name. For over 40 years, it has been seen as a Chinese symbol of altruism, for people to commemorate and learn.

Lei Feng

Thursday marks the 46th "Lei Feng's Day", and activities were reported from across China.

In the Xinyuan primary school of Jinan, capital of the eastern Shandong Province, more than 1,100 students from 25 classes in six grades kept their "Lei Feng Diary", and the tradition has been kept for 12 years.

The 12-year-old Yang Hengyuan donated money to her classmate who was diagnosed with leukaemia.

"Difficulties are not formidable, so long as we join hands and help each other," she wrote.

Sixth-grader Guo Jiyu said, "learning from Lei Feng is not solely limited to one day, but every day."

In the northwestern Gansu Province, 18-year-old Zhang Kai was among the 50 firefighting volunteers listening attentively to the instructions given by firefighters, while a policeman showed them how to get dressed in the red firefighting uniform, put on masks and jump over obstacles.

A student from the Gansu Agricultural University, he said, "I want to become one of the inheritors of the Lei Feng spirit."

In the Maolangxiang community of Hangzhou, capital city of the eastern Zhejiang Province, ten cancer patients set up a hotline for consultations concerning the disease.

Head of the volunteer team was Yuan Min, 82, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer 17 years ago.

"I want to share with other cancer patients our experiences to curb the disease, dispel their fear and encourage them to live longer," he said.