On Chinese New Year's Eve in 2026, as the camera panned across the seated models who had been titled "National Moral Model" and Role Model of the Times at the 2026 Spring Festival Gala, a youthful yet resolute face appeared before audiences nationwide. He is Hu Dongping, a 15-year-old ninth-grade student at the Affiliated High School of South China Normal University and a recipient of the 2025 national title of "Good Teenager in New Era." Representing hundreds of millions of young people across China, Hu stood with Xu Zhenchao, a recipient of the national honorary title "People's Craftsman," to send New Year greetings to audiences around the world.

A closer look at Hu Dongping's resume shows not just awards and honors but a warm heart: when his maternal grandparents became bedridden, the difficulty of bathing them prompted him to spend a year developing a "robot-assisted bed bathing" system that now benefits tens of millions of people with disabilities and limited mobility; he also invented a "load-reducing robot" that helps students carry backpacks up stairways, alleviating the burden on classmates; and his "Guideyi" robot, designed for people whose work requires prolonged kneeling with the ergonomic design and motion-sensing control technology, has already been deployed in multiple rehabilitation centers and operating rooms at tertiary hospitals.

This post-2010s teen, driven by a desire to serve the country through science and technology, is offering his own answer to what the younger generations can be: not only capable of making breakthroughs, but also determined to use innovation to give back to society. On the innovative soil of Guangdong, countless others like Hu Dongping are breaking ground and growing strong.

向全国观众拜年的少年找到了！他是广州“10后”科创家胡东平

2026年的除夕夜，央视春晚的镜头扫过台下就座的全国道德模范、时代楷模等席位，一张稚气未脱却目光笃定的面孔出现在全国观众面前。他是胡东平，今年15岁，华南师范大学附属中学的初三学生，也是2025年度全国“新时代好少年”称号获得者。代表全国亿万青少年的胡东平，与“人民工匠”许振超一同起身，向全球观众拜年。

翻开胡东平的履历，在获得名次、荣誉的背后，藏着一颗温暖的心：姥姥、姥爷生病卧床，家人帮助两位老人洗澡的艰难促使他历时一年研发出“洗浴床机器人”，让千万失能群体受益；他发明的“帮助学生书包爬楼梯的减重机器人”，有效缓解了同学们的负重困扰；他针对跪姿工作者研发的“跪得易”机器人，凭借人体工学设计和体感控制技术，已在多家康复中心和三甲医院手术室投入使用。

这位怀揣科技报国梦的“10后”少年，正用自己的方式证明：所谓“后浪”，不仅要有掀起浪潮的能力，更要有润泽社会的温度。在广东这片创新热土上，还有无数个“胡东平”正在破土而出，拔节生长。

文 | 记者 龚卫锋
翻译丨郑奕玲
审校丨曾敏