A Chinese schoolboy's hair turned into icicles after he walked to school on a sub-zero morning (Photos: People's Daily online)

The fate of a poor schoolboy in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province took a favorable turn after online pictures of him with icicles and frostbite in the hair and chapped hands touched tens of millions of netizens.

Wang Fuman, the third-grader at Zhuanshanbao Primary School, received his frosted look after a 4.5 kilometers walk from his home to school in Ludian, a rural county in Yunnan Province, when a strong cold front brought down the temperatures to -9 C on January 8 morning, according to reports.

The pictures were taken by the boy’s teacher, who noted that other kids in the picture laughed loudly because the lively 8-year-old was making faces to amuse them.

According to the headmaster, the temperature plunged to minus nine degrees suddenly.

Headmaster of the school said Wang makes the hour-long walk every day. Wang and several siblings are all left behind children, whose parents are working in big cities.

Fuman lives in a bare mud house with his grandmother and his elder sister. (Pear Video)

As the pictures went viral online, netizens began to call Wang the "icicle boy," with many showing concerns for him and his classmates.

@Hedgehog-qian: Kid, hardships will lighten your road ahead.

@qwedfgvbn123098: Hit the books to change your future.

Fuman lives in a bare mud house with his grandmother and his elder sister.

Many people have since offered the boy warm clothes and donations, reports said. A local youth foundation also proposed to raise money for students at the school.

A nationwide poverty reduction campaign has been going on for years. In Ludian County, several roads to the boy's home will soon be built, and their new houses have been built with the help of the local poverty relief office, reports said.