100,000 yuan in donations delivered to Yunnan school after ‘Ice Boy’ photo goes viral

The boy’s father has also been offered a job in the area

A single photo has completely changed life for students at one impoverished primary school in rural Yunnan province, bringing in tens of thousands of yuan in donations, along with gifts of warm winter clothing from concerned netizens.

On Monday morning, 8-year-old Wang Fuman arrived at Zhuanshanbao Primary School in mountainous Zhaotong County with his hair and eyebrows covered in frost. To get to school each day, Wang must walk 4.5 kilometers. Monday was the school’s first day of final exams and he had to make the hour-long trek as temperatures dropped to a frigid -8 degrees Celsius.

The photo of a frozen Wang arriving in his classroom quickly went viral on Chinese social media, moving the hearts of netizens across the country. Inspired by his dedication to learning, many asked how they could help make things easier for him.

Yesterday, county officials arrived at the primary school to hand out the first round of donations that had come in through the local Communist youth league and youth development foundation, totaling 100,000 yuan. Considering the popularity of this story, we assume that this is only a small part of the donations soon to come.

To begin with, each student was given 500 yuan in “winter subsidies.” Those in need were also given warm clothing like gloves. While the school provides its 81 students with breakfast and lunch, its classrooms are not heated.

Wang, now known across the country as “Ice Boy” (冰花男孩), has turned into an internet celebrity overnight. He normally lives in a ramshackle home with his older sister and ailing grandmother, but his migrant worker father returned home this week to deal with his son’s newfound fame (Wang’s mom reportedly abandoned the family).

He has now been offered a job by a company, working construction at a local sports park project, so that he will be able to remain close to his children.

While all of this is good news for Wang and fellow students at the Zhuanshanbao Primary School, it’s important to note that there are many more children in rural China shivering inside their classrooms, who haven’t had the good fortune of going viral.

If you’d like to make a donation of warm winter clothing to Wang’s school, you can send to the following address:

Yunnan Province, Zhaotong City, Ludian County, Xinjie Town, Zhuanshanbao Primary School (南省昭通市鲁甸县新街镇转山包小学). Postal Code (邮编): 657100.

And if you’d like to donate some money, here’s the bank account information for the local youth development foundation:

账号 (account number)：53001636136051004515，账户 (account name)：昭通市青少年发展基金会，开户行 (bank)：建行昭通昭阳支行，热线 (hotline)：0870–224651.

[Images via NetEase]