Gu Ailing and her grandmother(right).Screenshot from Gu Ailing's Weibo post

Amid the sweeping "mania of Gu Ailing," the retired cadres bureau of China's Ministry of Transport sent a congratulatory message to Gu's grandmother, celebrating Gu as "the descendant of a transport ministry employee."

"Gu's maternal grandmother is Feng Guozhen, a retired official of the Ministry of Transport and a former senior engineer of the ministry," the ministry's official WeChat account disclosed on Tuesday evening through the congratulatory letter. 

"The WeChat group of retired cadres of the ministry was full of excitement, with people sharing and retweeting the news, and being proud of Gu," reads the congratulatory letter of the ministry. 

The letter stressed the "pride and sense of belonging" when the US-born athlete chose to represent Team China in June, 2019. "In her own words on Weibo: 'Chinese freestyle skier Gu Ailing reports for duty!'" 

After the inspiring gold medal snatched by Gu on Tuesday, the 18-year-old prodigy, occupied about 30 of the top 50 topics on the trending list on Sina Weibo. Her life experience and family education have sparked a heated discussion online.  

Growing up in the US, Gu has such a deep affection for China, which is closely related to her grandmother, read the article.   

"After her granddaughter Gu was born, Feng went to the US to take care of her. She took Gu back to Beijing for a period of time every summer, to let her granddaughter know more about Chinese culture, which is also an important reason why Gu feels that she is a real Chinese and a Beijing girl," reads the letter. 

Feng, born in East China's Nanjing, taught Gu how to cook Chinese food and make dumplings, media reported. Gu also talked about her love for the Peking roast duck and dumplings in the post-match briefing on Tuesday.    

The retired cadres' bureau said they contacted Feng soon after Gu snatched the championship, congratulated Feng and thanked her for educating an Olympic champion.

"Everyone is so proud of her [Gu]," reads the letter.   

Global Times