A woman who was desperate for a daughter has been detained by police for abandoning her newborn son in a park in north China.

The baby boy, who is only two months old, was discovered by a passer-by in a park on Christmas Eve in Heilongjiang province, where temperatures dropped to minus 28 degrees Celsius.

The mother, surnamed Zhang, told reporters that she was disappointed that her third child turned out to be a son as well and the family could not afford to raise him.

A woman who was desperate for a daughter has been detained by police for abandoning her newborn son in a park in north China's Heilongjiang province. The woman, surnamed Zhang (second left), was brought back to the scene by officers for questioning

The baby boy, who is only two months old, was discovered by a passer-by in a park on Christmas Eve in Heilongjiang province. The witness immediately took him to hospital

According to the witness, the baby's face had turned white after being exposed to the cold weather for several hours. He was found wrapped in a rug and a blanket in the snow at about 3:30pm, according to video news site Pear.

The woman immediately took the baby to Tahe County People's Hospital, where he was treated and fed. Local police also started investigations to locate the boy's family.

They finally apprehended the boy's mother, surnamed Zhang, on December 26 at about 10am on suspicion of child abandonment, according to Kan Kan News.

Zhang told video news site Pear that she had left the baby boy at the park on the morning of December 24 and he was discovered in the afternoon on the same day

According to the witness, the baby's face had turned white after being exposed to the cold weather for several hours. The boy is in healthy condition after a thorough checkup by doctors

Zhang told video news site Pear that she had left the baby boy at the park on the morning of December 24 and he was discovered in the afternoon on the same day.

'We got pregnant accidentally,' she told reporters. 'My husband and I thought it would be a girl, so we kept it. We have always wanted a daughter.'

The couple did not have regular jobs, therefore the family's finances were unstable, Zhang added.

Zhao Hui, a director at the hospital's paediatrics department, said the boy is in good health after receiving treatment.

The baby boy being fed by nurses in Tahe County People's Hospital after a checkup

A couple in the county has expressed interest in adopting the boy and had started the process with local authorities, according to the Pear Video report

The hospital has also received donations including blankets, clothes and infant formula for the baby boy.

A couple in the county has expressed interest in adopting the boy and had started the process with local authorities, according to the report.

Authorities added that Zhang, while under police detention, has been allowed to go home to take care of her sons.