Qi Hongzhen, a 72-year-old farmer from Tianjian municipality is not spending his golden years enjoying the sunshine in his yard, reading newspapers or visiting with his friends, all in their 70s.

Qi Hongzhen studies at his home in Tianjin municipality. [City Express]

Instead, the farmer, who only has three years of primary school education, has absorbed himself with law-related books and is preparing to take the national judicial examination on September 16 this year, the Tianjin-based City Express reported on August 24.

Qi has obtained a diploma in Chinese Language and Culture after he took the examination in 1997 and gained a law degree in 2006 following four years of study. .

"I have never gave up my determination to pursue a university, " Qi says, adding that he loved studying when he was a child.

According to the paper, he had to quit school to work and make aliving for his family. After his children grew up, he was able to concentrate on books.

But Qi found his diploma in Chinese Language and Culture was not applicable in the countryside.

"I find lots of locals in the countryside commit crimes due to a lack of legal knowledge so I focused on law," the farmer told the paper.

Qi has finished 22 lessons so far, the paper says.

There are only some 100 households in the village and he feels a sense of pride when villagers turned to him for legal consultation.

The elderly man told the paper that he doesn't feel tired when studying, and hits the books until one or two in the morning, after his farm work is finished.

"I don't have a room to study in, so I've learned to study at night when there are no distractions from my family or visitors," says Qi. "I record the contents of my notebook in a recorder and listen to it when I work, in order to makefull use of free and working time."

But examinations have never been smooth for him. When he applied to take the national judicial examination, he faced some problems, according to the paper.

"Although there is not an age limit on the application, the application software puts a limit on applicants who were born before 1935, like me. With the help of a staff member at the Tianjin Judicial Examination Center, I succeeded applying to take the exam," says Qi. "No pain, no gain."

"I may fail the exam this year, but I won't give up," Qi says.

According to the paper, less than one in ten applicants are likely to pass the exam.