Despite the extremely cold weather one recent morning, some sanitation workers in Changji prefecture of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region received great warmth from a 9-year-old boy.

Ma Haoyu, a student at the primary school of the prefecture's No 5 Middle School, sent 500 steamed stuffed buns and 100 cups of milk tea to the workers for breakfast on Jan 3.

Ma, spent his savings of 600 yuan ($93), including his Spring Festival gift money, to buy the food. With the help of his parents he sent the food to sanitation workers along Jiefang, Ningbian and Zhongshan roads.

"It was still dark at around 7 am when he sent a bag of food to me, and I said thanks but refused at first," sanitation worker Ren Xiaoling said. "However, when the boy told me he wanted to express his respect for our hard work, I felt warm in the chilly winter and accepted the special breakfast."

"My son made the decision when he saw some sanitation workers were still working in the evening as temperatures had dropped to -20 C," Ma's mother said. "I was surprised because he was a frugal boy, but I was gratified by his sensible behavior."

Ma himself explained: "Although I can't send breakfast to the sanitation workers every day, I hope to do something to make them feel a bit warm in the winter .My parents always told me that if I helped others, others may help me when I need it."