A Primary 3 boy in Yunnan, China showed up in school red-faced, with frost coating his hair and eyebrows, after braving freezing conditions to walk 4.5km to school on the first day of his final exams.

The image melted hearts on Chinese social media site Weibo after the 8-year-old boy's principal shared photos of him on the site.



People's Daily reported that the photos were taken at about 8.15am on Monday morning (Jan 8) by a teacher.

The newspaper quoted the principal of the school in Ludian county, Fu Heng, as saying: "It was -9°C in the morning and it was the first day of the final exam. The temperature had dropped in the last half an hour, and as he lives pretty far from school by the time he got to class his hair was full of frost."

"The child is cute, he made a funny face when he got to class, causing his classmates to burst into laughter," People's Daily quoted the principal as saying.

The student, identified by Pear Video as Wang Fuman, lives 4.5km from school and usually takes about 1.5 hours to walk to school, People's Daily reported.



In an interview with The Paper, the child - since nicknamed "ice boy" by netizens - said he thought it was sunny when he left the house and so wore fewer layers of clothing.

The gates of the primary school frosted over in the cold. (Photo: Weibo)

Pear Video reported that Wang lives in a mud house with his grandmother and older sister. His father works elsewhere as a migrant worker and his mother has left the family, the child said in an interview with the social media startup.

Aside from attending school, the boy also helps his grandmother with farming work, resulting in his calloused hands.

The child's hands are calloused and rough from helping his grandmother with farming. (Photo: Weibo)

People's Daily reported that there is currently no heating in the school's classroom, although Fu said the school had been fighting for it.

The boy's plight drew sympathy online, with one Weibo user saying: "Child, the pain you go through now will light up your future path."

Another netizen encouraged him to study hard to change his destiny.

Wang likes reading science fiction books about aliens and playing basketball and hopes to be a policeman so that he can "catch bad people", he told The Paper.

He also said his New Year resolution was to study hard and get money to help treat his grandmother, who is ill.