'Shanghai grandma’ home sellers keep promise

A promise made five years ago was honored when almost a million yuan, part of the proceeds of the sale of a retired teacher’s home sold to help the Sichuan earthquake survivors, was donated to charity.

Shanghai International Commodity Auction Co Ltd donated the difference between the price they paid for the apartment five years ago and the price struck at auction on Sunday, 950,000 yuan ($153,425), to the Shanghai Charity Foundation on Sunday.

The 147-square-meter apartment belonged to Shen Cuiying, better known as “Shanghai grandma”.

The retired teacher, 65, became a household name in Shanghai after the Sichuan quake in 2008 when she sold her centrally located apartment and donated 4.5 million yuan to Dujiangyan for a new school.

“The auction company bought my apartment five years ago and told me if they sold the apartment in the future, the difference would be donated to charity,” said Shen.

Fan Ganping, vice-president of Shanghai International Commodity Auction Co Ltd, told China Daily that the company took Shen’s apartment at a price well above the 2008 price because “that was the right thing to do”.

The apartment was sold for 5,720,000 yuan at Sunday’s auction, 1,220,000 yuan more than the price the auction company paid five years ago. The company then donated the tax-deducted difference of 950,000 yuan to charity, Fan said.

“We finally fulfilled our promise,” he said.