Chinese man who worked aged 12 in mine with father goes on to earn engineering PhD

A man in China who worked at the coalface with his father as a boy has gone on to earn a PhD in mining engineering, inspiring many people online.

The 30-something man, who is known online as “Coal Miner No 3”, recently shared the acknowledgements from his PhD thesis on social media.

He also recalled his childhood in a poor area and being sent to learn martial arts.

At the age of 12, he joined his father down the coal mines while his mother ran the household.

Driven to escape poverty, he studied hard and worked part-time as a construction worker, a waiter, a cook and a miner during secondary school.