China Local News

Yunnan “Ice Boy” Walks to School in -9 Degrees Celsius

He walked 4,5 kilometers in -9 degrees, but school is also out of heating.

Published

8 years ago

January 10, 2018

A young boy from Yunnan has attracted the attention of Weibo’s netizens this week for his ‘icy looks’ after walking to school in -9 degrees Celsius.

The boy is from Xinjie Town in Ludian County Zhaotong, Yunnan Province, and has to walk a mountainous track to his school for 4,5 kilometers every day.

People’s Daily reports that a photo of the boy went viral on January 9 on Chinese social media, after the teacher sent it to the school’s headmaster.

It shows the third grader with frozen hair and eyebrows, and a red face. The school children in the back are laughing.

The school has not disclosed the boy’s name to protect his identity, but the principal did tell Chinese media:

“The temperature was minus nine degrees that morning, and it was the first day of the finals exams. The temperature had dropped within half an hour, and his home was already far away, so when he arrived in the classroom his hair was covered in frost. It’s a cute kid and he made a funny face when he came to the classroom, making his classmates laugh..”

The school also confirmed that the boy’s parents are laborers who work away from home, and that the boy lives together with his brother and sister as so-called “left-behind children” (留守儿童).

The area around Ludian county is relatively poor. In 2014, the area was hit by 6.5-magnitude earthquake, killing more than 600 people and destroying about 80,000 homes

The phenomenon of China’s “left-behind children” are a result of the country’s rapid urbanization, as people leave the countryside to find work in the cities. Having no means to look after their children while parents are working in urban areas, they often choose to leave their children in the countryside, where other family members can take care of them.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission released a report in 2015 estimating that there are more than 61 million left-behind children in China.

Another result of China’s urbanization is that smaller rural schools are closing their doors. Last year, the story of one teacher who kept a school open for two remaining students also became trending on Weibo.

The principal of ‘ice boy’s’ school also told a People’s Daily reporter that there currently is no heating at their school, but that they are doing all they can to arrange a heating system.

On Weibo, many netizens are concerned about the ‘ice boy’ (#冰花男孩#) and his fellow students and are offering to donate money, clothes, or other items to support the school.

By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo

Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us.

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Manya Koetse

Manya is the founder and editor-in-chief of What's on Weibo, offering independent analysis of social trends, online media, and digital culture in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to content, including the Weibo Watch newsletter, which provides deeper insights into the China trends that matter. More about Manya at manyakoetse.com or follow on X.

China Local News

Six Chinese Students Dead After Falling Into Flotation Tank During Mine Visit

After six students drowned in a mine tank, social media users question safety precautions and media framing.

Published

3 weeks ago

July 25, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

The tragic death of six Chinese students during a visit to the Wunugetushan Copper-Molybdenum Mine (乌努格吐山铜钼矿) in Inner Mongolia has been trending on Chinese social media this week.

The students, who study mineral processing engineering at the School of Resources & Civil Engineering Northeastern University (东北大学), visited the site as part of their studies on Wednesday, July 23.

The facility, which operates under the state-owned China National Gold Group Corporation (中国黄金集团), includes a mineral processing plant where ore is crushed and processed using flotation cells to separate copper and molybdenum concentrate from waste rock.

The students were standing on a metal grate above a deep industrial tank used for mineral processing. The grate then suddenly collapsed, and they fell into the flotation tank, which was filled with mineral slurry (see this video to better understand the situation).

The tank was deep, and once inside, the slurry made it impossible to swim.

By the time the students were taken out of the tank, they had already drowned. They were all aged between 20 and 22. One of their teachers was injured in the incident.

According to Sohu News, citing a preliminary accident investigation report, the direct cause of the incident was a pre-existing crack in the grate above the tank, which caused the entire panel to flip and fall off. The grates had been replaced in February but were not properly tested. The site also lacked warning signs about load capacity and reportedly did not restrict the number of people allowed to stand on it.

Three people responsible for safety measures at the site, including the deputy general manager, have now been placed under criminal detention.

Besides the many questions surfacing online about how such a gruesome accident could have occurred, there is also criticism of how the media has reported on the incident. Some outlets mentioned that the 45 other intern students—presumably also present during the visit—were “emotionally stable,” and that the teacher who was injured was in a “good mental state.”

One blogger criticized these phrases, which are often used in media reports following similar incidents. While they appear to describe the psychological condition of survivors or bystanders, the author argued that they are more political than psychological: their real function is to signal to readers that—despite the loss of life—the situation remains under control.

After the online criticism, the Weibo hashtag “45 Intern Students from Northeastern University Are Emotionally Stable” (#东北大学45名实习学生情绪平稳#) has since been taken offline.

At the time of writing, the official website of Northeastern University has been changed to black and white.

By Manya Koetse

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China Local News

The Liaoyang Restaurant Fire That Killed 22 People

Published

4 months ago

April 29, 2025

Manya Koetse

🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China – Week 18
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

An enormous fire that happened at a restaurant in Liaoning’s Liaoyang on the afternoon of April 29 (see video) has gone top trending on Chinese social media, mainly due to the fact that it caused so many fatalities.

By 7pm, Chinese official media reported that the fire, which happened at 12:25 in the city’s Baita district, had killed 22 people. Three people were injured.

The fire started on the second floor of the restaurant Sanli Chuniang (三里厨娘/Sanli Chef’s Daughter) on Minzhu Road (民主路) and quickly spread throughout the entire two-story brick-concrete structure, which covers an area of about 260 square meters. The windy weather also played a part in how quickly the fire spread. The fire broke out around lunchtime, when there were many customers.

The restaurant before and after the fire.

Some sources on Xiaohongshu report that, according to witnesses, toxic smoke filled the entire building in less than five minutes. The thick smoke, small spaces inside the two-story building, and limited escape routes — some of which were allegedly blocked — all contributed to the high number of fatalities. Some victims were reportedly just ten meters away from the exit, yet still failed to escape.

According to Caixin, the restaurant’s second floor had several private rooms without windows.

To make matters worse, some nearby vehicles were not moved in time, hindering the rescue operations.

Sanli Chuniang was a locally popular restaurant serving various Chinese dishes, snacks, and dumplings. It was in business since 2016.

On social media, many commenters are expressing shock and sadness over the deadly fire. They also want answers into why there seemed to have been little to no fire safety precautions at the establishment.

The last time a restaurant fire with many fatalities made major headlines in China was in 2023, when a gas explosion inside a BBQ restaurant in Yinchuan resulted in 31 deaths. Nine people, including the restaurant owner, were later arrested in connection with the fire and the lack of safety precautions.

Some reports on the Liaoyang restaurant fire have now been removed, but it appears that the restaurant had been operating illegally since 2023 and that its fire safety inspections were not up to date.

Guancha reported that while the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the restaurant owner has been taken into custody.

🔄 Update 1: Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a statement regarding the devastating fire, calling on local authorities to hold those responsible accountable and to properly handle matters related to the victims and console their families.

Premier Li Qiang also emphasized that local authorities across China should screen for fire hazards and strengthen safety measures to prevent such major accidents from occurring.

🔄 Update 2: Preliminary investigations have ruled out arson or gas leakage as the cause of the fire. The specific cause of the incident is still under investigation, focusing on leftover cigarette butts that might have started the fire or possible electrical faults. The restaurant’s furniture and interior materials were highly flammable, and strong winds outside caused the fire to spread quickly and block the exits. This made it difficult for those trapped inside to escape. Most victims died from asphyxiation after inhaling large amounts of toxic smoke in a short time.

As definite results have not yet been issued at the time of writing (May 6), some netizens are wondering: “When can we expect to hear more?”

By Manya Koetse

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