‘Hong Kong children show me real beauty’: mainland student says her photo of boy holding umbrella for woman proves upbringing ‘much better’ in city

A heartwarming photo taken on a rainy Hong Kong street has prompted mainland China’s online community to reflect on the way the city brings up its children.

Taken in March by a mainland student who blogs on the Xiaohongshu social media platform, it shows a small boy wearing what looks like a primary school uniform scurrying alongside an adult woman in the rain.

Nothing remarkable about that you might think, but the boy, who is little more than half the woman’s height, is stretching to protect her from the elements with an umbrella.

The blogger, known by the name Eva, is studying in Hong Kong and often shares posts about skincare, food and her liking of local TV station, TVB.

But she was moved to take the touching photo as she walked behind the pair on the street and believes the image sheds a positive light on the way Hong Kong children are brought up.

The woman in the photo is carrying a large school bag on her back, groceries in one hand and a tote bag in the other.

It is unclear if the woman is his mother or a foreign domestic worker, but whatever the case, the boy is stretching every sinew to make sure his elder helper is protected from the rain.

Eva said in her Xiaohongshu post: “Hong Kong children show me real beauty and humanity. It was raining, yet despite his size, the little boy was chasing after the woman all the way along the street to hold up the umbrella to protect her.”

The photo quickly attracted 2,000 likes and more than 100 comments on the social media platform.

One observer praised the city’s education system saying: “Hong Kong is really much better in terms of bringing up children.”

Another said: “He looks so nice holding the umbrella.”

In response, Eva replied: “I was watching from behind the whole way along the street. He was scurrying to keep up with her for a long time. I couldn’t resist capturing the heartwarming scene.”

Other people appreciated the courtesy shown by the boy.

“Whether it is his mother or a foreign domestic servant, this little boy is so sweet,” said one.

“Hong Kong kids really like to say ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’, they are very polite,” commented another.

Another person speculated that “whoever the woman is, she must be very caring towards him and he can rely on her, so he is returning her care by doing his best to protect her from the rain.”

Some people mentioned the contrast with behaviour on the mainland, but pointed out: “The quality behaviour in big cities on the mainland is slowly improving.”