A seven-year-old boy seen making deliveries in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao has added fuel to an ongoing debate about child poverty in China.

In a video by social media startup Pear Video, Li Changjiang - nicknamed "Little Li" by social media users - is seen cruising up to a doorway on his delivery cart, greeting the recipient of a parcel politely. He delivers up to 30 parcels a day, he says in the interview.



The boy was reportedly raised by deliveryman Yan Shifang, his father's former colleague. His father is believed to be dead and his mother remarried and lost touch with him, according to several reports.

Mr Yan said in an interview with Pear Video he used to bring the boy along for deliveries but Little Li enjoyed the job and soon wanted to have his own little delivery cart.



"I had a very good relationship with his father, so I felt that if I didn't take him in I would feel bad about it."



When Little Li is asked if he finds helping out with the deliveries hard, he answers "no" with a grin, adding that he is willing to do so.



Little Li said he did not find delivering parcels hard. (Screengrab: Pear Video)

The video has been watched more than 18.5 million times since it was uploaded on Chinese social media site Weibo last Sunday (Jan 14).



According to a China Global Television Network (CGTN) report on Tuesday, the boy has since been sent to a welfare centre for children and local authorities are enrolling him in school.

Ren Linsong, the vice-director of the centre, was quoted by CGTN as saying that the boy was in good health but had not yet gotten used to life in the centre.

The television network also reported that authorities have managed to get in touch with Little Li's mother, who has remarried and is living in Shandong province.

According to a news report, the case first came to the public's attention after Little Li delivered a package to schoolteacher Wang Qingwei, who was surprised to see a young boy delivering his parcel on a freezing cold day and uploaded a photo of him to chat app WeChat.

Little Li loading packages onto his cart. (Screengrab: Pear Video)

After the Pear Video feature went online, thousands of social media users reacted, expressing sympathy and concern for Little Li's plight.

"What a mature child, how heartbreaking," one Weibo user wrote. "May your efforts not be disappointed!"

Another person wrote: "Such a good kid, these are tough circumstances indeed. Grateful to the government and kind-hearted netizens!"

The case comes after another young boy melted the hearts of social media users in China by showing up at school with frost in his hair, having walked 4.5km in subzero weather to take an examination. Nicknamed "ice boy" online, his case stirred debate about the impact of poverty on children in rural regions.