Still surprised by nature

Goodall tours displays of environmental projects run by China's Roots & Shoots groups.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"It was the first time the government was talking about ... humans causing environmental damage."

"(Now) environmental awareness is all over China."

Should she no longer be physically able to sustain her manic global circuits, Goodall hopes her mind will remain clear enough to continue writing.

It was publishing her findings about chimpanzees more than half a century ago in Tanzania's Gombe that made Goodall a household name in the West. That, plus her advocacy, has made her an increasingly celebrated icon in China.

Goodall first identified that chimps use meaning-specific vocalizations, share emotions previously believed to be unique to humans and even engage in warfare. Many say she not only redefined what it means to be chimpanzee but also what it means to be human.

"Chimpanzees teach us there's not a really sharp line dividing us from the rest of the animal kingdom," Goodall says.

"They kiss. They embrace. They swagger. They shake their fists ... They can be cruel, just like us. They can also be compassionate and loving, just like us."

It was when she boarded a puddle-jumper out of the Gombe to attend a conference and viewed the vastness of the deforestation below that she realized she must leave the chimps and forests she'd strived to reach as an underprivileged 10-year-old to save them. What started as a personal mission to save the park's apes turned into a global movement to make life better for all living things that has since set her whirling around the planet.

"We have 150,000 active groups around the world," Goodall says.

"All of them are changing the world every single day. Can you understand how I have hope?"

She made the comments upon taking the stage after kids presented an "ecologically friendly percussion" performance, a skit about litter that comes to life and a Peking Opera "Monkey King" show about sorting waste.

"People say to me: 'Jane ... how can you possibly have hope for the future?' You just saw my reason for hope on this stage ... all these young people ... We have huge problems ahead of us. We have to get rid of the pollution in the skies of Beijing. But we can do it. So, my question to you is: Can we stop the air pollution in Beijing? Can we do it?"

The crowd cried: "Yes!"

"Every single one of you is making a difference every single day," Goodall says.

That message resonates with Qi.

"We should take responsibility and take Jane Goodall's spirit into our work," she says.

"Everyone has their own vision - their own way to contribute."

Her 16-year-old classmate Hou Yujia realizes Goodall is 80 and has already considered who'll lead the movement once she's gone.

"It can be all of us," he says.

"A group is stronger than one person. We can do more working together."