Cui Qingtao (right) and his family share a happy moment upon receiving an admission letter from Peking University. Born in a poor village in Southwest China's Yunnan province, Cui's success story has become popular on China's social media. [PHOTO BY CHEN YAOBANG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

"I want to make my family's lives easy by gaining knowledge," he says, adding that he will return home after graduation and try his best to bring prosperity to his hometown.

"Getting an education is not the only way to change one's fate, but it's the best way for people like me," says Cui.

His story went viral online right after he got his admission letter.

A Weibo post about him received more than 140,000 likes and 10,000 comments.

Weibo user Wangboi says it's not easy for a student from a poor family like this to get admission to such a good university.

"We cannot imagine how much effort Cui has put in it. Bravo!" says Wangboi.

Cui has become so popular that many reporters from different media organizations nationwide want to contact him and learn more about him and his family, but he has refused.

"I'm just an ordinary person, and there's not much to report about me," Cui told Yunnan Television Station, the only television media that has interviewed him.

The attention Cui got from netizens is totally unexpected for him.

"There are many students like me, who are from poor families but get enrolled in top colleges after a lot of effort," says Cui.

"I am just a lucky one who has got attention."

According to the Yunnan TV report, there are more than 6,300 high school graduates this summer in Huize county, and 14 of them have been admitted either by Peking University or by Tsinghua University.

Among the 14 students, eight are from poor families.

Zhang Hong, the head of the education bureau of Huize county, says children from poor families are usually more determined to make their life better through learning.

Meanwhile, many corporate entities and individuals have offered to provide financial aid to Cui.

But he has declined the help saying that he has applied for a student grant from Peking University to pay for his education.

Contact the writers through zhangyu1@chinadaily.com.cn