Guo Mingyi and the child he supported.

Guo has also donated more than 100,000 yuan (about US$15,390) to support 180 children from poor families over the past 16 years.

He began making cash donations in 1994, after watching a public-service advertisement on TV about children in poverty-stricken rural areas of China who could not afford to go to school. He was touched and decided to do something.

He joined "Project Hope", a charity that helps children from poor families complete an elementary school education. His first donation was of 200 yuan to a boy from Xiuyan County. At the time, Guo's monthly earnings amounted to just 600 yuan.

Guo still treasures a letter he received from the boy saying, "Uncle Guo, thanks for the money you sent. I am back at school studying. You gave hope to my family. Can I call you Dad?"

Guo Mingyi admits he burst into tears when he read the letter. From then on he never looked back in his charity work.

"I don't need them to pay me back with anything. All I want is for them to study, and the knowledge that I have changed their lives for the better," he said.

Is he rich? No. Although his monthly salary has increased tenfold from 300 yuan to 3000 yuan, he still lives in a sparsely furnished 1980s apartment with his wife and daughter.