China hero boy, now 25, reunites with basketball legend Yao Ming 16 years after he rescued schoolmates from devastation of deadly 2008 earthquake
- Fearless boy, nine, saved schoolmates from rubble of Sichuan earthquake
- 16 years after leading China Olympic parade with Yao Ming, pair meet again
A reunion between Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming and a boy who, aged nine, was hailed as a national hero for his actions in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, has touched many people on mainland social media.
The world looked on in awe, when, at the Beijing Olympics of the same year, 2.29 metre-tall Yao, held the hand of a nine-year-old boy as they led out the 1,099-strong China team at the opening ceremony parade.
That boy was Lin Hao, who had been hailed as a national hero for selflessly saving two of his classmates after the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan county in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on May 12, 2008.
Lin was a primary school pupil in Yingxiu town, the epicentre of the quake.
When the earthquake hit, he risked his life to save his classmates in collapsed buildings.
In an interview following the Olympics opening, Yao, holding Lin in his arms, said the youngster was the “hope for China’s future”. He predicted that Lin would remember his great moment and tell his grandson about it.