A 13-year-old girl in northwestern China has been widely praised online as a “little hero” after she risked her own life to rescue a four-year-old boy who fell through thin ice into a frozen lake, only for both to be saved by arriving firefighters.
The dramatic incident occurred on December 6 in a public park in Tongxin county, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, where temperatures had plummeted to around -5°C (23°F).The boy was playing on the frozen surface of Yuhai Lake when the ice suddenly cracked, causing him to plunge into the frigid water. His panicked mother stood helplessly on the shore as bystanders called emergency services but hesitated to approach due to the fragile ice.
Li Jiating, a student at Tongxin County No. 2 Middle School who was cycling past the scene, spotted the emergency and immediately volunteered to help. Telling the boy’s mother, “Auntie, I am rather light. Let me go down to save him,” she took a pipe from onlookers and carefully crawled across the ice toward the child.
As she neared the boy, the ice gave way again, and Li fell into the freezing water alongside him. She clung tightly to the pipe despite the intense cold. Firefighters arrived shortly after and successfully pulled both children to safety.
Rescuers wrapped Li in a blanket to ward off hypothermia.After confirming the boy was safe, the modest teen quietly left the scene without giving her name and cycled home.
A photo of the soaked girl, taken by a bystander, soon went viral on Chinese social media, sparking widespread admiration. Netizens dubbed her a “little hero,” with many calling for official recognition of her bravery.
Li was later identified through the circulating images. When she arrived home with drenched clothes, she sat by a stove to warm up and told her father she had been splashed by a watering cart.
He only learned the truth after seeing online posts about the rescue.”I am proud of my daughter,” her father told media outlets. “With the water freezing and the ice thin, she still dared to go save a life without hesitation.”
He added a note of caution: “But I would like to remind her that next time, you must make sure of your own safety first before saving others.”The boy’s parents later visited Li’s family to express gratitude in person. Local authorities honored her with a cash reward of 10,000 yuan (about $1,400) and lifetime free medical checkups at a county hospital.
The story has touched millions, highlighting the girl’s selfless courage while serving as a reminder of the dangers of thin ice during winter.
Signpost News is an Imphal-based media house that focuses on delivering news and views from Northeast India and beyond.