A young man from Anhui province who was once too poor to finish high school has now entered a doctoral studies programme thanks to scholarships from a special educational charity foundation.
Project Hope student Zhang Zongyou was already enrolled in a PhD programme at Nanjing University, and expected soon to start courses in classical Chinese literature, Xinhua reported.
'Project Hope has changed my life, and I will use my knowledge and talent to repay the motherland and society,' Mr Zhang was quoted as saying.
Although he was an impressive student and passed the requisite examinations, the student's family in Jinzhai county could no longer afford the cost of his primary education by 1990.
He was left with no option but to drop out of school until funding from Project Hope allowed him to resume his studies.
After Mr Zhang graduated from high school in 1992, he was awarded a special Project Hope scholarship to attend Anhui's Fuyang Normal College.