In an act of pure courage and quick thinking, Wang Junyi, a rideshare driver from Jiangsu province in eastern China, transformed what was intended to be a peaceful family evening into a daring rescue operation. The incident, which saw Wang risking his life to save a four-year-old boy dangling from the balcony of a 14th-floor apartment, has earned him immense respect and admiration on Chinese social media, bestowing upon him the endearing moniker, “China’s good neighbor.”
The episode unfolded rather abruptly. Wang was at home, preparing dinner for his family, following his daughter’s university entrance examination. The tranquility was shattered by his wife’s screams, who, while collecting laundry from their balcony, heard desperate cries for help emanating from the apartment above.
The source of the distress was a four-year-old boy who, incredibly, had managed to climb the glass wall of his balcony. He was precariously balanced, his small hands gripping the top of the glass frame, his tiptoes lodged onto the 5-centimeter-wide lower part of the balcony. His plunge to an almost certain death was averted only by these desperate attempts to hold on.
In a moment of pure instinct, Wang sprang into action. He climbed up to the top of his own balcony wall and extended his right hand to support the child’s heels. His left hand clung tightly to the frame of the glass, the only thing preventing him from a potentially fatal fall from his 13th-floor apartment. His wife, daughter, and an elderly neighbor joined the effort, holding onto his legs to keep him stable.
The harrowing situation was captured by a resident, Yi, who stated that this heart-stopping standoff continued for six minutes before property management staff arrived and successfully completed the rescue. The child had been left alone asleep by his family upstairs, and upon waking, he had somehow managed to clamber over the balcony’s glass frame.
Wang, who experiences movement difficulties due to his job as a driver, attributed his actions to pure instinct. This display of heroism, however, did not go unnoticed. Local authorities awarded bravery awards to Wang, his family, the property management staff, and the helpful elderly neighbor.
Reverberations of Wang’s selfless act resonated across mainland social media, with users hailing him as “China’s good neighbor”. Many applauded his bravery and selflessness in risking his life to save a neighbor’s child. This incident served as a reminder of another heroic act, that of Peng Qinglin, a delivery worker in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, who jumped off a 12-meter bridge to rescue a drowning woman, sustaining injuries in the process. Such stories continue to inspire millions, underlining the extraordinary acts of bravery that ordinary individuals are capable of in times of crisis.
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