As he grew, Xie could not go to school like an ordinary person. Instead, he learned on his own with the help of family members and completed courses from primary school to high school. He also completed independent study courses offered by universities.

In 2011, he took a special college entrance examination. Since he couldn't hold a pen to write, he could answer only the multiple-choice questions. He scored 262 points out of a possible 280, with full marks in mathematics.

The results were good, and Xie and his family were happy, but the score was not high enough for university admission.

His mother contacted the School of Mathematics and Statistics of Lanzhou University and asked if her son could simply audit classes — an expression for sitting in to learn but without receiving credit.

"The dean treasured talent and told us that he was welcome to learn as long as he wanted to," she said.