BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Rising NBA star Jeremy Lin has won over many young basketball fans in China, but not Shi Shuaijun, who says his hero is an altruist revered by generations of schoolchildren as Uncle Lei Feng.
Lei Feng has won Shi's admiration for making sacrifices to benefit others, which may come as a surprise considering the boy lives in a country where decades of market-oriented reform have resulted in an economic boom and the emergence of self-interest.
The 12-year-old boy studies at a school named for the icon dubbed "Chairman Mao's good soldier."
Shi transferred to Lei Feng Primary School from his hometown in Hebei province two years ago.
His mother hoped he could "learn from Lei Feng's spirit of being industrious and diligent, and learn to be a good man" at the school.
Nestled on the quiet Xitao Hutong in downtown Beijing, the primary school serves as a shrine to the moral icon that has inspired millions of Chinese since the 1960s.
Signs of Lei can be spotted almost everywhere at the school: his huge portrait on the wall greets visitors; an exhibition room where his deeds are shown; and a school song named "Lei Feng Is Always with Us."
About two kilometers from Shi's school is Houhai, a bustling bar strip dominated by pop music and well-heeled crowds, where little, if anything, related to Lei Feng can be found.