Huang Jia, 24, employee of a foreign trade company

Mandela is a warrior of anti-racial segregation. He is also a doctor who cured a broken country, a misshaped regime and an injured people. His lengthy prison life was returned with a Rainbow Nation. He realized racial reconciliation and political transformation in the country. And he became a legend by resigning from the presidency when he reached the political zenith. Here, I pay my respects to this nation's leader and its people.

Mei Xinyu, 45, researcher on economic studies

Mandela's fame reached its zenith with his death. He was a warrior of freedom and led the country to realize national reconciliation. But as a president, he would not be proud of his administrative achievement. The country's economy and social security actually are worse than they were before Mandela came into power. The country now is notorious for its hovering criminal rates. South Africa used to be a big agricultural exporter, but since 2007, it has become a net importer of agricultural products. Over 5 million hectares of farmland are deserted. Moreover, the country is plagued by corruption and becomes less attractive to foreign investment. The consequence of South Africa's misgovernment will be more evident as time goes by. Chinese citizens and enterprises in South Africa should pay more attention to these problems.

Yang Zhiyuan, 23, postgraduate student at Peking University

I admire Mandela's ability to survive the hardships he had to suffer. But more impressively I believe one can learn from his example of forgiveness. I was amazed by his lack of resentment after he was released from prison and subsequent ascent to presidency. Mandela is called a freedom fighter because his cause was just and he was trying to make things better for the majority of South Africans, and he succeeded. I believe people will remember his contributions to human rights in South Africa.

Xi Fengyao, 43, editor of a law journal

Mandela's biggest contribution is realizing national reconciliation in South Africa. He convinced black South Africans to choose tolerance and reconciliation rather than revenge, which saved the country from the disaster of racial slaughter caused by racial conflict and political transformation, like what happed in Rwanda in 1994. Mandela seized a good era of worldwide focus on human rights and racial equality. Few imprisoned political figures have had the good fortune of getting out of prison and entering the presidential compound. I think he could do better on dealing with the balance between protecting human rights and striking crimes. Mandela propelled the abolishment of the death penalty in South Africa, and adopted a relaxed criminal law, which may have helped cause the hidden danger of today's high crime rate in the country.

Yang Xiaojie, 47, private entrepreneur

Mandela made great contributions to South Africa's end of apartheid and national reconciliation. He devoted his whole life to this pursuit, and suffered greatly while struggling to achieve his goal. His spirit should be reflected upon. I feel sorry for the loss of the country.

Wang Mengying, 25, bank clerk

Mandela dedicated himself to building a world without racial discrimination. His perseverance and unselfishness moved and encouraged many people, including me. The best years of his life were spent locked behind bars in prison. But he finally turned the dream of "all men are created equal" into reality. To South Africans, he was a beacon in the dark time of racial segregation and guided freedom fighters ahead. To people in other countries, his story perfectly interprets the proverb "faith can move mountains."