A young Chinese farm boy has shown all of us the meaning of unconditional love.

Yan Yihang, 11, donated his bone marrow last year to save his critically ill brother who was diagnosed with a rare blood disease.

And in order to pay for ongoing treatment for his younger sibling, the strong-willed child now gets up every day at 5am to sell vegetables in the market - come rain or shine.

Yan Yihang harvests crops in his family's field every morning after getting up at five o'clock

The boy, who lives in a village in China, then cycles to the market to set up a vegetable stall

'I want to save my brother. I want to go to school with him together,' he told a local reporter.

'These vegetables are grown by my family and I want to earn some money by selling them.'

When asked why he didn't ask people for donation, he said: 'I want to earn money with my own effort.'

Yihang's brother was diagnosed with a rare blood disease and his family have run into debts

He sells vegetables near his school to help pay for his sick younger brother's medical bills

Yihang is a fifth-grade pupil, but for his family in rural China, the skinny boy has become their backbone with his bravery, tenacity and maturity.

Yihang, who lives in the small village of Shitai in Henan Province, knew from an early age that he had to work hard to change his family's fate.

His younger brother, seven-year-old Yan Ce, was diagnosed with a rare blood disease in 2015 and needed life-saving treatment.

His sibling's serious condition meant that his mother had to take his brother to the provincial capital to seek better medical attention, and his father had to work in another city as a labourer to pay for expensive medical bills.

The determined boy says he wants to use his own hands to change his family's fortune

Yihang hugs his seven-year-old brother, Yan Ce, while visiting him in a hospital in Zhengzhou

His grandparents, both farmers, have borrowed more than 700,000 yuan (£80,000) from their friends and relatives in the past four years to save their grandson.

Little Ce suffers from aplastic anemia, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the bone marrow and stem cells do not produce enough blood cells.

The disease usually needs to be treated with a bone marrow transplant to kick-start the body into producing enough blood cells.

Last June, doctors suggested Ce undergo the operation.

Yihang told his father (pictured) he was happy to give his bone marrow to his brother

Yihang's mother (middle) was touched after the boy pulled out a bag of money from his schoolbag while visiting his younger brother (right). He earned £134 in four months

Yihang's father couldn't donate his bone marrow for unspecified reasons, but courageous Yihang, who was a match, immediately offered his.

WHAT IS APLASTIC ANAEMIA? Aplastic anaemia is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition in which the bone marrow and stem cells do not produce enough blood cells. The condition causes a drop in levels of red and white blood cells and platelets. Red blood cells transport oxygen around the body, so a lack of them can starve muscles of oxygen, making people weaker and tired. White blood cells are crucial for the immune system to function, and platelets are what helps the blood to clot when someone is injured. Aplastic anaemia usually needs to be treated with a bone marrow transplant to kick-start the body into producing enough blood cells. The condition can be inherited but can also develop on its own at any time. In some cases, aplastic anaemia can develop into leukaemia, and it can lead to life-threatening heart failure. It is a rare disease thought to affect around one in 500,000 people and is more common in children and older people. Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital Advertisement

He told his father not to worry, adding 'who else would save him if I didn't?'

Recalling the medical process, Yihang told Pear Video: 'It was a little painful, but I was not scared. Because only through this could my brother recover quickly.'

According to local news outlet Dahe Daily, Yihang's vegetable stall was previously managed by his 66-year-old grandmother. However, his grandmother had a stroke in March and had to be hospitalised.

Yihang took over the task without a second thought.

Every morning, he gets up at 5am, plucks the spring onions from the field and cycles to the market at around 6am.

He sells the spring onions for one yuan (11p) per bunch through a self-service stall. He goes to school after setting up the vegetable stand.

'I go to check my stall during my lunch break and close my stall after I finish school in the evening,' the boy said.

He also does his own accounting every night at home.

'There are many kind-hearted people. I once earned 50 yuan (£5.6) in one go, but there were other times when I sold nothing.'

After four months of hard work, Yihang earned 1,182 yuan (£134).

The caring brother recently brought the money with him in his schoolbag while visiting his younger brother at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University.

His mother was surprised when Yihang pulled the banknotes from his backpack.

'My son has grown up and knows how to share responsibility with me,' his mother Zhai Feifei said, her eyes starting to tear up.

Yihang said his biggest wish was for his brother to recover as soon as possible so they could go to school together.