"Ice flower" boy prompts influx of donations to rural students

KUNMING, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A local youth foundation in Yunnan Province launched a fund-raising campaign after a boy covered in frost became an Internet sensation in China.

Third-grader Wang Fuman received his frosted look and chapped cheeks after a 4.5-km walk from his home to school on a freezing day in Ludian County, a rural area in southwest China's Yunnan.

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 netizens, who called him "ice flower boy," with many making donations.

The Youth Development Foundation of Zhaotong City had received more than 500,000 yuan (around 77,000 U.S. dollars) as of Monday afternoon. The first batch of 100,000 yuan was delivered to rural schools, including Zhuanshanbao primary school where Wang studies.

"The donations will be used to help poor left-behind children who live in regions with low temperatures overcome winter coldness," said Chen Yu, office director with the foundation.

According to Chen Furong, the county's educational bureau head, local authorities plan to offer gloves, coats, hats and winter shoes to more than 1,300 students who study at schools at an altitude of more than 2,600 meters in Ludian.

Chen added that the authorities will install two heating furnaces in each classroom in 45 schools with an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. Enditem