A picture of a student standing inside his classroom smiling with frost-covered hair went viral online on Tuesday. Behind him, his classmates are seen bursting into laughter.

The People’s Daily found that the pictures were taken the day before on Jan. 8 at a primary school in Ludian County, Zhaotong City, in southwest China’s Yunnan province. The boy is in grade three.

The temperature on that day dropped to minus 9 degrees Celsius. The boy had walked 4.5 kilometers (about 2.8 miles) to get to the school, so his head was covered with frost after more than an hour of walking, according to the president of the primary school, who refused to disclose the boy’s name for privacy reasons.

According to the president, the student is a left-behind child. The president said that his school is trying to get heating facilities for the students.

The boy’s story has touched many people, with some encouraging him that the difficulties he has conquered will light up his future and learning will change his fate.