A student who was pursuing his PhD has confined himself in a small wooden room in Shaoyang, Hunan, for the past decade.

No cure appears in sight for Fan Zhizhong, whose father was advised by Fan's university to take him home to Zhaishui Township in February 1997. The university said Fan had contracted a serious mental disorder after an experiment he was conducting failed.

The father, Fan Feilong, said he had spent more than 20,000 yuan ($2,564) to help cure Fan of his disease, but Fan has yet to recover. He speaks to no one.

(Sanxiang Metropolitan News)