Lei Feng spirit lives on in cobbler's Harbin workshop

Cobbler Meng Guangbin said the most precious thing about his 30 square meter shoe repair shop in northeastern China is its trademarked Lei Feng name after the model soldier celebrated in China for his selflessness and modesty.

Meng, who runs a shoe repair shop in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, has mended over 120,000 shoes for free and donated more than 30,000 yuan ($4,365) to poverty-stricken students since arriving in the city from Dongping county, in eastern China's Shandong province, in 1988.

"At that time, I only had a stall near Harbin Normal University and the simple shed couldn't withstand the extreme cold in Harbin's winter," the 55-year-old said. "I still remember the day an elderly man gave me his cotton-padded coat when he found my frozen hands had left me unable to work.