Drenched in sweat, Li Futao was playing basketball with his classmates when a letter of admission from Nankai University in Tianjin arrived at his home on Thursday in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.

"My elder sister received the parcel and called me immediately," said the 18-year-old high school graduate from Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School.

He took a bike and rushed home within 10 minutes.

"I knew my letter of admission would come with other gifts, but I couldn't wait another minute to check it out myself," he said.