Off The Record

The Online Community Is Moved To Tears By The Narrative Of A Father Who Digs A Grave For His 2-Year-Old Daughter

Published on March 27, 2025

Many people have been moved to tears by the account of a father who had to dig his 2-year-old daughter’s grave by hand since she had a terminal disease and wouldn’t live long.

The father claims that this was done so the young girl could gradually get used to the icy grave.

Zhang Liyong, 24, of Jiuzu Yan village (Neijiang town, Sichuan province, China), had to dig his daughter’s grave by himself on June 23.

Liyong was forced to take this action since his family’s financial situation prevented him from paying for Zhang Lei’s treatment after she was diagnosed with congenital anemia.

Liyong clarified that he had dug the grave himself in order to help his daughter gradually acclimate to the chilly underground life so that she wouldn’t be overpowered in the worst case scenario.

Zhang Lei was known to have been diagnosed with congenital anemia at the age of two months. Since then, Liyong’s family has devoted all of their funds and assets to her care.

The young girl needs blood transfusions at the hospital once a month in order to survive.

To date, the total amount of hospital fees the Liyong family has spent exceeds 140,000 yuan (about 465 million VND), while Liyong’s worker salary is only 2,500 yuan (about 8.3 million VND), which is insufficient to continue paying for her treatment, even though Zhang Lei’s health continues to deteriorate.

Little Lei also frequently gets other illnesses due to her weakened immune system, and as a result of her ongoing illness, no other kids in the village play with her.

Lei frequently plays by himself in the yard, converses with the ducks, or plays with the puppy when he is at home. Liyong also takes his daughter fishing or playing in her spare time.

Lei’s mother, Deng Min, claims that the doctors have stated that if the family can supply stem cells for Lei’s treatment, there is still a chance for the young child to live.

In order to find stem cells that would work for Lei’s treatment, the couple chose to have another child because neither the mother nor the father are a match for the stem cells. On July 7th, Deng Min is anticipated to give birth to their second kid.

However, even if they identify a matching stem cell, the cost for conserving and transplanting the stem cells for Lei is 12,000 yuan (about 40 million VND), while the family no longer has any money to continue the treatment.

Overwhelmed with sorrow and heartbroken for his daughter, Liyong resolved to dig his daughter’s tomb himself so that she may gradually become accustomed to the chilly, underground life.

The photograph of Liyong resting in the grave he just dug with his daughter, combined with the touching story of this family, went viral on Chinese social media.

The tale of the Zhang family was spread worldwide, and many netizens in China begged for support to help fund the treatment bills for little Zhang Lei.

After reading the narrative of Zhang Liyong and his daughter, many netizens said they were moved to tears by the relationship between father and daughter.

Many others claimed they felt more love for their own fathers and children after reading the article.