China "frost boy" returns to original school

KUNMING - A poverty-stricken schoolchild in Southwest China's Yunnan province, who was dubbed "frost boy," has returned to his original school after just one week at a private boarding school.

Third-grader Wang Fuman attracted public attention for a second time following media reports that he was forced to leave the private school where he had been offered free boarding.

Wang became an online sensation in January when a photo showing him arriving at school in a thin jacket with rosy cheeks and frost-covered hair after a one-and-a-half-hour walk went viral on social media.

Wang had trekked a more than four-km mountain road from his home to Zhuanshanbao primary school at an elevation of 2,850 meters in Ludian County on the freezing morning.

His hair, eyebrows and eyelashes were covered with ice. His teacher snapped a photo of him and posted it on WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging app. Wang's story soon moved millions of Chinese, who called him "frost boy," and many making donations to help the boy's family.

After the Chinese Lunar New Year, which fell on Feb 16 this year, Xinhua School, a private boarding school in Zhaotong, which administers Ludian, offered the boy and his sister a chance of free boarding education.

The boy's father Wang Gangkui accepted the help and sent the two children to the school more than 40 kilometers away from their home.

"Although the school is far away, my son can live and eat on campus and do his homework after class without the distraction of housework," said the father.

The headmaster of Xinhua School, who gave his surname Yang, said he wanted the boy and his sister to set a good example for other poor children.

"Although they come from poverty, they can change their fate through hard work," said Yang.

"However frequent media interviews and visits by people from all walks of life disrupted the school," said Yang, adding "Students here can only go home once a month and we were worried that the boy could not handle this and his studies would be affected."

"Because of these reasons, we contacted their father and then sent the two back to their original school," he said.

The education department in Ludian confirmed that the two children returned to the Zhuanshanbao primary school on March 7.

Fu Heng, principal of the primary school, said people should respect the decision and support it in the best interests of the child.

"His studies have not been affected by the school transfer," said Fu, adding that the boy is as optimistic as before and gets along well with classmates.