Capital offers its warm hospitality to 'Snowflake Boy'

Wang Fuman, better known on the internet as "Snowflake Boy", finished a three-day tour of Beijing on Sunday. He visited the capital with his father and his sister at the invitation of two media organizations.

The family from Zhaotong, Yunnan province, watched the flag-raising ceremony at Tian'anmen Square and visited several places related to law enforcement during the visit, including the city's SWAT headquarters and a top police-training university.

"The biggest difference between Beijing and my hometown is Beijing isn't cold but my hometown is," 8-yearold Wang said by phone on Sunday. "Beijing is much warmer than my home because every family here has heating, but we can only warm ourselves by burning wood."

Wang, who was nicknamed "Snowflake Boy" after a picture of his ice-covered hair went viral on Jan 8, was invited with his family to visit the capital by chinapeace.gov.cn－official news website of the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Politics and Law Commission－and btime.com.

Chinapeace.gov.cn said on Sina Weibo that the family arrived by air on Friday afternoon, marking the first time Wang and his 10-year-old sister had flown in a plane. That afternoon, they visited the Beijing Police Museum and received gifts from city police officers.

On Saturday morning, the family witnessed the flag-raising ceremony at Tian'anmen Square.

"That's my favorite tour in Beijing," Wang said at a news conference on Sunday.

After leaving the square, Wang and his sister tried rock climbing and touched a real gun, overseen by the Beijing SWAT team. The police officers also taught the children a few combat skills.

"The real gun was a lot heavier than my toy guns," Wang said. "They (SWAT officers) train really hard every day, but I still want to be a policeman."

The family also went to the People's Public Security University of China on Saturday afternoon. They visited the students' dormitory and were taught how to fold a quilt "as tight as tofu".

Wang Dawei, one of the professors, encouraged Wang Fuman to work hard and "try to be admitted to our university", according to chinapeace.gov.cn.

The now famous image of Wang Fuman was taken after he had walked more than 4 kilometers through freezing snow to reach school for a test. It sparked financial appeals and discussion on the standards at poor rural school.

Wang's family lives in Zhuanshanbao village, which is located in a cold mountainous area. Both he and his sister, Wang Fumei, study at the village primary school. Their mother abandoned the family two years ago.

"I want to study well and be a doctor who can cure my sick grandmother," Wang Fumei said.

Wang Gangkui, the children's father, thanked people for their support at the news conference and added, "I just want my children to have a better and warmer school to study at, and have good jobs in the future."