Cui Qingtao, 17, was mixing mortar at a construction site with his parents on Sunday when he received his admission letter from Peking University,  which is widely regarded as the top university in China.

In this year's gaokao, or China's college entrance examination, the young man from a low-income family scored 669 points and applied to Peking University, where he was accepted as a student in the School of Journalism and Communication.

Cui's home is in a small village in Qujing city, Southwest China's Yunnan province. He is the oldest son, with a younger brother in high school and a sister in the fourth grade.

Cui is an obedient and thoughtful son. To help his family earn more money, he'd spend his vacations getting up at 3 o'clock in the morning to fertilize and water plants in the greenhouses with his brother.