(Chutian Metropolis Daily/Mei Wen)

Sun Xiaohui, a disabled young man with humble beginnings and school dropout, has become a world class memory master, a local newspaper in central China reported on Aug. 22.

There have only been two disabled world memory masters in the past 25 World Memory Championships, and Sun is one of them.

He was born in a rural family in Jingzhou, Hubei. After finishing middle school, his disability forced him to drop out, which made him feel depressed and inferior.

After surviving those dark days under guidance and encouragement from his loving parents, Sun decided to self-study. He found it difficult to memorize the learning materials, especially English vocabulary, so he started to explore ways to enhance his memory.

This young man's life changed once he started learning mnemonics in 2007. By practicing various memory techniques, he improved his learning and gradually, he made a name for himself as a memory talent.

He showed off his extraordinary skills in a series of contests at a memory talent show. In 2011, Sun was crowned champion of names and faces matching, and he set a goal of being world memory master. Diligence is the secret of his achievement, he said, when asked whether his strong memory is natural or nurtured.

Last April, Sun Xiaohui was honored as ambassador of the 26th World Memory Championships, which will be held at the end of this year.

Now, he has a studio in Guangzhou to promote super memory and its application in study and daily life. He expressed his hopes to help the disabled and assist the education in his hometown during an interview with a local newspaper on Aug.19.