This combination of photos shows then-three-year-old Lang Zheng (left) leaving Tangdu Hospital in Xi'an on July 27, 2008 with his father Lang Hongdong after two months of treatment, and the 18-year-old Lang now. (PHOTO / XINHUA, PEOPLE'S DAILY WEIBO ACCOUNT)
Lang Zheng, who touched the nation's heart after the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 by saluting the soldiers rescuing him, has touched the nation again after scoring a high score in the college entrance examination that could help him enter prestigious universities.
Fifteen years ago, then-three-year-old Lang became known as the "Salute Boy," after the deadly 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Southwest China's Sichuan province.
READ MORE: Quake victims recall day their lives changed
In this now famous photograph, three-year-old Lang salutes PLA soldiers after he was rescued in Wenchuan, Sichuan province after the earthquake, on May 13, 2008. (YANG WEIHUA / CHINA DAILY)
As Lang was lying on a stretcher among the rubble that was moved by a group of soldiers who were conducting the rescue task in Beichuan county, the boy gave a salute to those soldiers surrounding him. The moment was captured on camera, and prompted an outpouring of concern from people of all walks of life.
Lang Zheng poses for a photo in Mianyang, Sichuan province, in April 2017. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)
On Saturday, the results of his college entrance examination, or gaokao, came out, in which he scored 637, making him the top 30 among the hundreds of thousands of exam takers of liberal arts in Sichuan.
The annual gaokao, which took place from June 7 to 8 this year, is one of the most significant ones for Chinese students as the scores will largely determine which university they can attend and, by consequence, their future career.
According to Hongxing News, an online news outlet, Lang said he has received the invitation of Peking University and the Renmin University of China, both of which are one of the hardest universities in the country to get into.
"I am very surprised and amazed," said the teen on his score. "I really did not expect to do so well."
Lang said he would like to choose Peking University in the college application process, and history and international relations would be his favorite majors.
Lang Zheng, a middle school student, holds the famous picture of his rescue in his home in Mianyang city on April 14, 2018. (PHOTO / VCG)
"I plan to work as a civil servant or similar jobs in the future, serve the people and live up to expectations of so many people who care about me and help me," he said.