Zheng Yi kneels on the ground and acts as a pillow for an old man. (Photo provided by the local community)

Zheng Yi is a post-90s policeman at the Taoyuan police station of Dandong city, northeast China's Liaoning province. After a photo that featured Zheng kneeling on the ice, acting as a sort of pillow for an old man who fell on the ground was posted online, Zheng has been spoken of highly by many netizens.

While he patrolled the street with his colleagues, Zheng saw that many people had gathered at a Taoyuan market. He hurried to squeeze through the crowd and discovered an old man lying on ice, struggling but failing to stand up .

"I carelessly fell down when I bought vegetables," the fallen man explained. "My legs hurt so much that I cannot stand up."

"It may hurt if we move you now. Just stay put and wait for ambulance personnel," Zheng told him.

The events took place around noon, and the ice began melting beneath the body of the old man. Zheng and his colleagues went to a nearby store and got some paper boxes and a cotton quilt to keep him warm. Noticing the man's head still on the ground, Zheng knelt on the ice and let the man's head rest on his legs. He kept that posture for an hour until the man was sent to a hospital.

The man underwent surgery after he was found to have fractured his thigh.