On April 28, the May Day Celebration was held in Beijing. Li Jianguo, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of CPC, Vice Chairman of NPC Standing Committee and ACFTU Chairman delivered a speech on behalf of the CPC Central Committee. Professor Zhang Xiulan of SSDPP was granted a "May Day National Labor Medal" by All-China Federation of Trade Union (ACFTU). "May Day National Labor Medal" is a medal of honor issued to workers making outstanding contributions to the construction of socialism. It is one of the highest awards for Chinese working class. In 2012, a total of 1224 people won this award in the country, including 40 from Beijing. Professor Zhang Xiulan is the only winner from universities in Beijing.

Professor Zhang Xiulan graduated from University of California Berkeley as a PhD student majoring in social welfare in 1999, becoming the first Chinese student of University of California Berkeley majoring in social welfare. At the end of 1999, she created the Institute of Social Development and Public Policy at his alma mater Beijing Normal University, which was later renamed as School of Social Development and Public Policy. Over the past 14 years, Professor Zhang Xiulan fully devoted herself to research in the field of social policy and made unremitting efforts to solve the livelihood problem, achieving remarkable results.