A street cobbler in China with no legs has impressed the mainland public with his fluent English and his dream of one day delivering a speech at Harvard University.
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The Huang Huaquan, 44, had his legs amputated after he was knocked down by a lorry at a rural market when he was six years old, the Beijing News reported.
Huang, from a village in Heyuan, Guangdong province in the southern part of China, halted his education as a result of his condition after graduating from primary school.
He has been interested in English since childhood, and borrowed old textbooks from friends, teaching himself with the help of cassettes and radio.
Huang is a former disabled weightlifting athlete and has won a gold medal, among others, at the Guangdong provincial disabled people’s sports event in the past.
For the past nine years, he has been earning a living repairing shoes and umbrellas on the street. He has managed to buy a car and a flat as a result.
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“What does not kill me makes me stronger. This is the perfect illustration of my life,” Huang was quoted as saying.
