2021年5月22日13时07分，“共和国勋章”获得者、中国工程院院士、国家杂交水稻工程技术研究中心主任、湖南省政协原副主席袁隆平，因病逝世，享年91岁。

袁隆平曾在电影《袁隆平》结尾，亲自出演老年的自己，对外国记者用英语风趣幽默地阐释了自己的两大梦想：分别是“禾下乘凉梦”和“杂交水稻覆盖全球梦”。

Journalist: Your hybrid rice is famous all over the world, and spreading in dozens of countries at a large scale. How do you feel about that?

Yuan Longping: Of course, I’m very happy and excited because hybrid rice technology not only belongs to China, but also to the whole world.

Journalist: Are you still exploring new areas of super-hybrid rice?

Yuan Longping: As long as my life is going on, I’ll never stop pursuing and dreaming for super hybrid of rice.

Journalist: I heard you had a beautiful dream?

Yuan Longping: That’s true. Several years ago, I had a dream. I saw my super-hybrid rice plant as high as the sorghum and the panicle as large as the broom, and the grain as big as the peanuts. I was very happy, and I, with my assistant, to rest under these panicles.