Zhao Youzhu, 28, a PhD candidate at Xiamen University in Fujian province, is determined to make her mark in a professional career.

She was diagnosed with congenital neurological deafness at the age of 4, and learned pinyin, arithmetic and lip-reading before losing her hearing completely.

In 2019, Zhao enrolled in college of environment and ecology of Xiamen University. Now, she is majoring in ocean management and planning. She is studying China's ocean and coastal zones and applying the concept of land-ocean coordination. Immersed in scientific research and writing, she stays up late every night.

Zhao has a threshold of 110 decibels in her left ear and 90 decibels in her right ear and is considered medically deaf.

"It is like being locked in a dark room," she said. "Only with the aid in my right ear can I poke a small hole in the window and see a faint light. But this light is fragile and uncertain, and can be completely blocked by fate at any moment."